Title: An author’s role in book promotion
Length: 1,371 words
Reprint Terms: May be freely reprinted in print and electronic publications, including newsletters, ezines and web sites, provided that it is reproduced in full, including copyright notice and author information at the end of the article. Advance permission is not required; however, please notify me at jillaterry.aol.com when you use this article. I would also appreciate receiving a copy of your publication with the article included.

An author’s role in book promotion
by Jill Terry, authorjaterry.com
Copyright 2004, Jill Terry


So, you think writing your book was the hard part, think again…you’ve only just begun my friend!
Hopefully by sharing with you some of the things I’ve learned, it will save you time and give you a better understanding of what your roll is in promoting your book.
Regardless of how your book was published; traditional, POD, self published or by a small press publisher, you’re still going to have to get out there and promote your book, because no one else is going to do it for you. The publicity campaigns that are for sale from various publishers who use the POD method offer the bare basics, but they don’t offer you anything that you can’t do on your own. They’re good if you don’t want to create your own press kit, bookmarks, postcards, announcements etc., but no matter if you buy these products or create them yourself, it’s still up to you to get the materials into the hands of the right people. The only real alternative is to hire a professional literary publicist, but then you can plan on spending at least $3000-$5000 to get you started, and the cost just goes up from there. This
truly is money well invested, since they have all the contacts and know the ins and outs of book promotion and the industry in general, but not everyone has the money to invest.

So you need a plan. But before you go any further, you need to make the commitment and stick to it. The process is slow and daunting, and although there are many places and ways to promote your book for free, the reality is, it’s going to cost you, but the time and money you spend is an investment in your future. Just hold onto that thought!

The first thing you need to do is make sure your book is the best it can possibly be, because no amount of money nor the best marketing strategy in the world is going sell a book that isn’t well written and edited. Once you’ve done that, and the editing process is complete, you need to get ready to send out advance review copies or “galleys” for prerelease reviews. This is an essential tool, not only to get the buzz started about your book before it even hits the street, but because the reviews you receive will play a major roll in your promotion. If your publisher doesn’t supply you with galley copies, you can request a CD of your interior, formatted into PDF that you can take to your local Kinko’s. They can print your galley copies with perfect book binding and your all set. The cover should be plain white card stock and contain all the pertinent information for the reviewer; UNCORRECTED PROOF should always be printed on the top of the galley. Following this you will list your title, author name, category, edition, price, ISBN, LCCN, approximate length, trim size, publisher and contact information, publicist and their contact information. I always type a disclaimer at the bottom reminding the reviewer that changes may be made to the proof copy before the books are printed, and not to quote without prior permission of the publisher. The back of the galley is where you will print the description of your book. Don’t waste space with information about yourself; use this area to give the best possible description of your book in the limited space available.

The galleys should be sent to online and print reviewers at least 3-6 months before the publishing date. Remember that most reviewers require that you query them first, so make sure you have your list ready before the galleys are even printed. Once you have them, it’s a good idea to include a postcard with the cover of your book, along with a letter that includes all your contact information. It isn’t necessary to
include a press kit with your galley unless one is requested. You’ll include your reviews in your press kits, post them to your website, even include snippets in your signature line, as well as sending them to your publisher to be added to your manuscript before your book is published. These should be listed on a 'kudos' or 'author praise' page in the front or back of your book.

Your media kit will be used to publicize you and your book and hopefully grab the attention of media people who are in the position to schedule you for interviews and talks. The kit should include your author biography, promotional photo, media tip sheet, interview questions (that include your response), a book description or sell sheet that includes a picture of the cover and all the pertinent information, (refer to
aforementioned galley cover content) press release and business card, (I always use a folder that has a built in business card holder in one of the pockets). Make a list of your local and surrounding media outlets then find out the proper person to submit your press kit to then start mailing them. Be sure to follow up with a phone call, fax or email, as this will be key to your success.

You also need to determine who your target audience is. These are the people who will be buying your book and the ones you need to target. Make a list then get ready to publicize your work to your audience. Whether this is through direct mailings, Internet posts or phone/fax blasts, speaking engagements, etc., you need to have a platform and a strong sense of who is going to be buying your book. An easy way to do this is to do an Internet search of keywords that pertain to your book. You’ll be amazed at the sites you find that are filled with people interested in what you write about. This process is time consuming and can seem overwhelming at times, so pace yourself and don’t get discouraged. Make a list of the sites you want to contact as you go through your search, this way you won’t waste time going back to a site you’re not going to use, (believe me, after a while they all start looking the same). For offline target markets, look to local organizations, women's / men's groups, book clubs and reading groups, just to name a few. Think outside the box and outside the bookstore! The success of your promotion is limited only by your imagination.

Search for Internet news groups, chat groups, online author organizations, basically any place where readers and writers congregate on the Internet, then join them. Get a feel for the site before you blatantly start self promoting and be sure to read their rules regarding posting to the group. And remember, if this is a site for authors only, then you don’t want to do promotion on this site, use these places to gather information from the experiences of others. Save the promotion for the places where the readers gather and then make your presence known!

Press releases are a wonderful tool and I’ve personally had great success in attaining newspaper features both locally and nationally by sending my press release to the media. But the key is to have a hook line right at the beginning, something that will grab their attention and hold it. It’s a proven fact that press releases are only read as far as the attention is held and at that point they’re either pitched or kept for possible use. Make sure you follow up. You’ll find several places on the Internet that will post your press release for free. A simple search of ‘places to post press releases’ will give you more connections than you will ever use.

These are just a few basic things that every author should know about promotion. As time allows, I’ll be posting more in-depth articles outlining some of the specifics necessary for successful self promotion. I hope you’ve found this article helpful. Feel free to contact me if you have questions or would like to see an article on a specific topic and I'll see what I can do to help.

Believe in your dreams and make them your reality.

Jill Terry, Author - Poet
www.authorjaterry.com