Congratulations! You have found a publisher well suited to your book. The contract has been signed. You are a publicized author! What's next? What will your publisher do? What should you do to enhance the publisher's efforts?
Authors covet traditional (trade) publishers because those publishers are experts in taking a book from manuscript to retail stores with perfection. No matter how many clauses you power have read about the enticement of self-publication or "vanity" publishers, trade publishers know what must be done, how to accomplish the tasks and they can give it a try at it in a timely manner. They have the artists, printers, distribution channels and retail connections that you require. That's why you should be willing to share some of the profit with trade publishers.
Without a publisher, you would need to be an expert at cover art, graphic design, editing, printing, acquiring distribution channels, internet site design, merchandising to retail booksellers and all facets of gross sales. Very few excellent writers are also experts altogether of those areas. And, even if you were an expert altogether of those fields, would you have the time to accomplish all of those tasks, too as restock retail stores? In nowadays's extremely competitive and quickly dynamic retail book market, even trade publishers cannot do everything. So, unless your last name is King or Clancy, you will need to contribute with some time and effort to make your book a smashing retail winner.
What can you expect from your publisher?
A trade publisher will edit your book, create cover art, print the books, contract with distributors then place your book on the Internet sites of Amazon, Borders, Barnes & Noble, Target and other major global retailers. Your publisher will market your book globally and arrange for distribution altogether pertinent countries. The publisher will then process the books to gross sales outlets and restock them on a regular basis. Your publisher may also promote your book at book fairs, through catalogs, through an e-mail or fax blast, generate media publicity, arrange book tours, create a internet site, solicit reviews and arrange book signings. And, despite all of this effort on the part of your publisher, you'll receive royalties, which a pretty nice feeling.
However, in nowadays's ever-dynamic book gross sales market, a lot of additive work clay to be done by the author. Much of this is electronic merchandising. Because of the dynamic nature of the publication world and the gyration in electronic book buying, individual inevitably to market your book throughout the Internet world. Because this work is extremely labor-intensive and detail-oriented, few publishers have the time, workers and enthusiasm to make it happen. This is where the author must step in, with the motivation to work hard on behalf of his or her book. The bad news is that there is much of work for the author to do. The good news is that about no expertise or money is required to accomplish these vital tasks.
Viral merchandising:
The Internet has turned the publication world top down. Even large publication houses are nowadays petrified with this abrupt change. People can purchase on the Internet, bypassing brick and mortar stores. They download books to their Kindle. They can even download books on the Internet gratis. People nowadays make buying decisions based upon what they can see and read on the Internet. For example, Amazon not only allows you to describe your book, display its cover and details; it also has a feature called "Search Inside" that allows prospective buyers to sample many pages of your book before buying. Bookstores and publishers are frightened and losing profit margin. But here is where you can step in and help your publisher.
What should you do to help your publisher? You can contact your local newspapers, magazines and on-line Blogs in order to solicit clauses about you and reviews for your book. You can contact local bookshops and arrange for book signings. You can sell books on your own through local organizations. You can try to obtain reviews and interviews about your book everyplace in town. One of the fastest ways to solicit business for your book is through the media. Since you require positive reviews to sell your book, newspapers, magazines and book clubs are a great place to start. When you encounter serious interest, send them a review copy. If your publisher runs out of review copies, send them the e-book as a review copy, or ask them to purchase the Kindle version.
But, the world is much large than your neighborhood. If you want a great many people to read your book, you will need to create a global electronic merchandising campaign. Fortunately, about all of this can be accomplished with your computer. Better yet, it won't cost you a dime.
First, create a micro-organism merchandising campaign. Viral merchandising means many things, including webpages, Blogs, social networking, video merchandising and all other electronic means of merchandising your book. It sounds difficult. In reality, it is simple and free. Use effective search terms in Google or Yahoo to find places and people connected your book. For example, a book about the account could be promoted to schools, public and private colleges, universities, historical societies and organizations dedicated to historical preservation. Thousands of people, places and organizations that power use such a book can be set with Internet searches.
Once you uncover these people, places and organizations, all that clay is to contact them with a gross pitch for your book. E-mail merchandising is cheap and fast. However, your gross pitch must grab the reader's interest quickly. You must construct an e-mail cover page that is informative, has embedded golf links to your internet sites and the publisher and will sell the value of your book instantly. More about e-mail merchandising later in that clause.
Web site merchandising:
Most publishers will create a webpage for your book. But ne'er depend on the public determination that one page, or even your publisher's internet site. Anyone can create a free webpage for his or her book. Just visit Yahoo, Google, Hotmail, Wordpress, Blogspot, Goodreads, or Geocities and begin building your site. There are many other Internet sites where you can build a internet site or Blog gratis. The book of instructions are simple and fast. The more webpages that you create for your book, on your own, the more chances buyers will discover it. I have mountain of such sites.
You can create a free webpage that admits many careful facts about your book, including review excerpts, historical data and golf links to your Blogs and internet sites, too as your publisher. To keep readers on the site, add mountain of stimulating and useful golf links about the topic of your book. Then, you can create another free internet site that admits a programme for your book, packed with features and reasons why people should purchase it. Connect these webpages to each other via golf links. This is FREE. All it takes is some of your time.
The secret to winner with Internet internet sites is to make them stimulating and to use effective key words. Key words (a.k.a. "tags") are the way that search engines find webpages. Select your key words very carefully. The more accurate and appealing your key words, the better the chance that search engines will uncover your book.
Some people recommend that you give away downloadable copies of your book on the Internet, as a merchandising tool. Publishers may disagree. However, if you allow individual to download your e-book, or e-mail it to them, there is a chance that they will enjoy it and tell their friends about it. Since most people do not wish to read a book on their computer particularly a long book, print gross sales will increase as a result. Someone recently asked me if I was discomfited that so many people were reading my book from the local library, rather than paying for it at a bookshop. I don't mind at all. People who enjoy your book will tell friends and family about it. In the end, giving away books judiciously is an effective gross sales tool.
There is no limit to the number of webpages that you can create. The more multiplication you create a new webpage, and the more multiplication you update an existing page, the more multiplication people will discover your book. Continue to perform maintenance on your key words and update your sites with new golf links. Before you are done, attend this webpage http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl. Here you will be able to submit your internet sites to Google's search tool. This step is critical, so that your internet sites will appear on all future Google searches.
Blogs:
Blogging about your book, or writing on other Blogs about it can be a powerful tool to increase gross sales. Anyone can create a Blog gratis and use it to promote a book. I Blog on two of my own sites. Blog about anything of interest to you, or any particular expertise you have acquired. It doesn't have to be connected your book. Note that you can easily promote your book on Blog pages, through golf links and sidebar widgets. Just be sure to sign off each post as, "Author of ..." below your name.
Perhaps more importantly, you can comment on other people's Blogs, immensely increasing your book's visibility. Use a Google search feature to troll the Internet searching for key words connected your book's topic. When you find Internet newspaper or magazine clauses about your book's topic, visit the site and write something there about your book. Always sign off on Blogs with the title of your book and a link to your book's internet site under your name.
Similarly, you can comment on clauses in magazines and newspapers via their Internet versions. In most cases, you will need to register. It's free and the time you put into registering is a small price to invite the power to promote your book altogether future iterations of that newspaper or magazine. Most Internet fourth estate allow reader comments after an clause. When you find an clause connected your book, write your comment then sign your name and, "Author of ..." after your name. Be sure to admit the title of your book and a link to its internet site under your name.
Write clauses:
Anyone can write clauses and have them publicized on the Internet. Where is your expertise? In what way can you provide people with valuable information? Writing clauses is not simple or swift. You may need to conduct some research. Take your time and write carefully. Your topic need not be connected with your book. I have had clauses publicized on topics as wide ranging as publication, psychology, religion, life, death, war, happiness, prejudice and philosophy. Each clause is a chance to sign off with your book's name and a link to its internet site.
Establish a Goodreads account. Goodreads is a internet site for readers and authors. It is a terrific place to see and be seen. There is no more natural place to sell your book's value to potential readers. Although Goodreads is not a retail site, it offers an chance to network with other authors who have similar interests and problems.
Social networking:
Join as many social networking sites as possible. MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, Ziggs, Yahoo, LinkedIn, Multiply, Urbis, Squidoo... They are all valuable ways to make your book known. You may be able to generate your own Wikipedia page. At each of these social networking sites, you can create a visibility, including a description of your book and stores where it is sold. But your work there is not finished. Join groups inside the sites that are connected your book, your writing, or anything connected the topic. Promote your book through Facebook, MySpace and Twitter by connexion groups connected it. LinkedIn is an excellent place to network with professionals of all types. At LinkedIn, you can create a visibility to describe your book that will be seen by immeasurable readers. You can also join groups of interest connected your book. You can reach literally thousands of people inside these groups.
Amazon:
Amazon is not only a place to sell your book. It is a place to post a Blog. Amazon has a new sponsored link called "Filedby" that admits an author life page where you can post a Blog and pertinent clauses. Also inside Amazon, each content section has forums in which people start topics or respond to the topics of others. You can post substances and responded to substances in Amazon forums as wide ranging as account, fiction, war, romance, art, science, religion, literature, etc. Again, each time you write, sign off with your name and the title of your book. You will instantly reach thousands of potential buyers.
Another Amazon feature allows anyone with an Amazon account to create a review for any book sold there. Think about every book that you have read. You can locate the book on Amazon and create your own client review. Just scroll down the Amazon page for any book until you see a button that says, "Create Your Own Customer Review." Follow the book of instructions to rate then review the book. When you are done, be sure to write, "Author of ..." after your name. Every time individual reads your review of that book, the name of your book will appear. Since the reader is already on Amazon, they can purchase your book by typewriting its name at the top of the page. You can review as many books as you wish, each time merchandising your own book under your signature.
Email merchandising:
You can in person contact tens of thousands of critical people and organizations with e-mail. Never estimate your publisher doing this. They can only dream of having the time and labor to accomplish such a task. All that you need are e-mail addresses, an effective gross sales letter and some time.
Use the Internet to search for lists of people who would have a natural interest in your book. You can uncover literally thousands of e-mail addresses connected your book's topic. Organizations often admit rank e-mail addresses. All that is left for you to do is to create an effective e-mail cover letter and send it to each member electronically. This is not spamming because the addresses are in public posted.
While few of us are brave enough to open an attachment from a stranger, we are all willing to open a hyperlink. Embedding Internet hypergolf links into your e-mail cover page is simple and fast. In most e-mail programs, you can right-click on any word in an outgoing substance then select the "Hyperlink" option. Follow the book of instructions to embed the hyperlink. That word will appear altogether future e-mail versions of your letter in blue or red. When your reader clicks on the blue or red word (spell compression the "Control" key), your internet site will emerge in their browser. With this method, the reader can access all of your book's important internet sites, including your publisher's internet site, book reviews, the book's Amazon page, another internet site that contains a programme, author interviews and much more.
Hypergolf links are also immensely superior to typewriting in drawn-out Internet addresses. For example, the Amazon Internet address for many books can be quite drawn-out and would occupy at to the last-place degree two lines in an e-mail pitch page. Instead, simply hyperlink the word "here" at the end of a sentence. Clicking the word "here," which will appear in blue or red, will transport the e-mail reader to the book's Amazon page.
Your e-mail cover page substance must be brief and brief - to a small degree one page; spell compelling the reader to learn more about your book. No one will bother to read a drawn-out dissertation about your book spell the rest of his or her daily incoming mail is spile up, waiting to be read. Just grab their interest quickly, hyperlink the best internet sites and provide contact information. The e-mail is only designed to command their interest. The embedded internet sites will sell your book. At to the last-place degree one of your embedded internet sites should allow the reader to instantly purchase the book. Another hyperlinked internet site should contain the book's programme, access to your best reviews, the author's life and golf links to other pertinent sites, clauses, Blogs and books.
Once you have created an impressive e-mail cover letter, save it in generic form for future use. Then, each time you wish to contact individual new about your book, retrieve the file and customize it thereto particular receipient. In most cases, you will require only few minor changes to your original letter. This will allow you to contact literally hundreds of people quickly.
Only few days are required to create and modify e-mail cover letters, internet sites and Blogs appropriately. It will cost nothing. In fact, some large Internet companies, like Google, will pay you per click if you allow them to advertise on your site. Instead of paying for internet site development, create your own site and make money by merchandising advertising on it. Learn more about the "affiliate programs" at Google and Amazon.
Conclusion:
The world of book merchandising and gross sales is undergoing considerable, rapid change. People who at once explored books and purchased them at their local bookshop now increasingly accomplish this task from home or work on the Internet. Since publishers are still required to edit, print, distribute and market in traditional ways, and since they have few staff attributable lower margins, it falls upon the author to accomplish many new tasks connected electronic merchandising and gross sales.
You can construct internet sites and Blogs that can be accustomed attract the public to your book and accomplish the sale with few mouse clicks. You can solicit reviews, clauses and gross sales by creating several attractive and brief webpages, by exploitation appropriate key words in those internet sites to attract search engines and by implementing an effective e-mail merchandising campaign. You can accomplish all of this right from your own computer - and it is about cost free.
Marketing a book can be time overwhelming and frustrating. But do not estimate your publisher to accomplish everything, particularly if you are a new author. Be willing to implement your own merchandising campaign with internet sites, Blogs, by writing clauses and with an effective e-mail blitz. The harder your effort, the large your royal house checks will become.
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