Blogs by Glenda A Bixler
The Good News
8/5/2008 11:48:50 AM
You're an Author...trying to sell your books... A few hints
You have made a big step by joining AD! The more you gain exposure on the Internet, the better you will gain recognition!
If you have a review(s) of your books, ask your reviewer to work with you to post reviews at as many places as possible! Right now, for new reviews, I post a minimum of ten sites and most of the time, more than that.
There are also lots of marketing gurus online. Don't have the money to buy their books? Then sign up for their newsletters and read them faithfully. Depending upon the type of book you have written, there are many ways to gain interest in your book(s). Just one idea that you haven't tried might be just the thing for you!
Now, if you have self-published, one of the issues you must face is that your book cost is probably higher than most people want to pay... So, think up clever contests, or what is contained in your book that you can highlight that will entice readers.
Consider, again, your book content. Can you create short articles regarding the topic/issues covered in your book? For instance, if you have a romance book in which a couple is considering going through a divorce, then research divorce and maybe do a series of articles about the various aspects; e.g., choosing a lawyer, what you should think of before you file for divorce, etc. If you did research to write your book--then use that same research effort to help market your book!
Are you selling your own books? A friend of mine indicated that he was not, because his accountant advised against it. Frankly, I think you need to do some research on this. It seems to me that you should have a supply of your book(s) available for immediate sale--any time and any where...and if somebody asks you about your book...get it out and sell!
Have you considered trade or yard sale locations? Why not? People buy used books there...so why not at least try one or two...maybe have a raffle or give away...and of course, autograph your books! One of my clients traveled to this type of selling place every weekend!
Consider ways to "tell" about your books without selling. Write a blog, use signatures with your book on all email, etc. These are easy things to do, but if you don't think about them...you'll miss an opportunity.
Now, my expertise is not in marketing...but you may have noticed that one of my former entries was about a client who had sold over 100,000 books in just a few months. How? He used a publicist.
You may have considered hiring a publicist, but the cost was too much. That may be true, but do think about the long-range ramifications. If your first book sells over 100,000 due to hiring a publicist...you may very well realize that if you plan on writing more books, then it will be to your advantage to go into that expense for your first book. If you are now self-published, you can plan on submitting your next manuscripts with a fantastic sales record for your earlier book. Would that make the expense worthwhile? Only you can decide, but do take the time to think of it logically and from a planning standpoint, not just because of the cost!
Do you have a distributor? Have you tried to get your books into local libraries and bookstores? Have you tried independent book stores?
What have you tried...and has it failed? Can you share that for others?
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More Blogs by Glenda A Bixler
• Have you Checked Out Raw Talent by Dave Ross - Thursday, April 29, 2010
• Attention Poets - Wednesday, April 1, 2009
• Free Books! - Tuesday, January 6, 2009
• Thought for the Day... - Tuesday, January 6, 2009
• Welcome My Friend Doug Boren - Saturday, January 3, 2009
• Welcome to Richard S. Lucas - Friday, November 14, 2008
• Standing the Watch - A True Story of Love! - Wednesday, October 15, 2008
• Check out the Gray Fox! - Saturday, October 11, 2008
• Peer Critical Reviews - Friday, September 26, 2008
• Check It Out! - Saturday, September 20, 2008
• A/D's youngest author??? - Saturday, September 13, 2008
• Do we Want Only Good Reviews? - Friday, September 12, 2008
• The Reviewer Gets A Bad Review... - Thursday, September 11, 2008
• Honor Defended Coming Soon! - Tuesday, September 9, 2008
• Starting to Read a New Book - Monday, September 8, 2008
• A New Friend - Sunday, September 7, 2008
• Critiques - Tuesday, August 26, 2008
• Oh Boy... - Tuesday, August 19, 2008
• Charlie's Book - My Review - Monday, August 18, 2008
• Bob Noonan Snags Award Finalist Recognition! - Tuesday, August 12, 2008
• Sweetwater's Sips... - Wednesday, August 6, 2008
• Charlie's High! - Wednesday, August 6, 2008
• The Good News - Tuesday, August 5, 2008
• Yours to Hold.....and Sell! - Saturday, August 2, 2008
• Edit Me, Honey - Friday, August 1, 2008
• Proofreading and Grammar - Does It Matter? - Thursday, July 31, 2008
• Saturday at the Computer - Saturday, July 26, 2008
• Didn't Know, Did You? - Monday, July 21, 2008
• So Many Writers... - Sunday, July 20, 2008
• I'M So Excited! - Saturday, July 19, 2008
• Taking a Break - Friday, July 18, 2008
• Color Me... - Wednesday, July 16, 2008
• Good Morning - Tuesday, July 15, 2008
• Reading A Book a Day - Monday, July 14, 2008
• Thoughts on online publishing - Monday, July 7, 2008
• Browsing Authors' Den - Saturday, July 5, 2008
• Hello - Wednesday, July 2, 2008
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