How to Market a Self-Published Book

In addition to traditional publishing options, it is actually possible to self-publish your book and make money from it. In this article, I'll show you techniques on how you can market your self-published book once you're finished with it.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. First of all, it's very important to select a good company to publish your book. I personally recommend companies that do publishing on demand (POD)--Lulu.com is a great example and is the company that I use, but there are other good ones out there. Basically POD companies don't make money unless you make money--taking a small percentage when you make a sale. Your costs as an author are going to be very minimal, and I've even done some e-book projects without spending dime out of pocket.
   
   You want to avoid companies that are known as "vanity presses"--who basically end up trying to charge you hundreds if not thousands of dollars to get your book published. Read up on this issue if you're not familiar with it so you don't get scammed. Some even tend to mimic traditional publishers--making it seem like you were selected out of a pool of authors (when they're really accepting everyone that contacts them), and then you're asked to pay a lot of money to get your book out there. A traditional publisher will not do this to you.

2. Now when it comes to marketing a self-published book, it's extremely helpful if you have the ability to sell your book online. The web address to your book's product page can be placed on your blog, website, e-mail and forum signatures, business cards, and any other market materials you want to consider.
   
   The most important place to have it however is at the bottom of a book preview page--post a small sample of your book online (Writing.com or Gather.com are great options for this). If you can get people drawn in and hooked--they will want to know more. It's the online equivalent of letting someone browse your book in a store.

3. Some writers have a easier time with this than others, but you also have to get comfortable with talking about your book with people. If you show excitement and enthusiasm over what you've done, it tends to get other people interested as well. This does two things--1) Many people you know can help promote your book if they know what it's about. 2) It helps you prepare if you later want to do things like local interviews and book signings.

4. If you have a non-fiction book, one very easy thing to do is the write short articles about your topic and then link your book as a resource for more information. eHow is a great vehicle for this. If you can help solve an issue or help people learn more details about a particular topic, there's a good possibility you can find people trying to find a book about it.

5. Be consistent and creative when it comes to your book marketing. It's usually not going to happen overnight, but it is possible to succeed at this. Thinking of creative ideas specific to your particular book can help you stand out from what other people do, and taking the time to brainstorm is worthwhile. I hope this article gave you some good starting points, and best wishes to you!

Resources

• More Articles and Resources on Writing
• Web Writer Central
• Patricia Gilliam's Article Index (Sorted by Topic)
• Patricia Gilliam's Author's Blog
• Books by Patricia Gilliam (Amazon Kindle/Apple iPhone format)
• Books by Patricia Gilliam (Paperback/Adobe .pdf eBook formats)

[MrBB]

on 2/28/2009 I hope to put this to use someday.