The book is written. And rewritten. It's been edited, and rewritten. It's been fact checked, indexed, designed, and proofread. It's legal, it's going to be printed.
Hurrah. You have a book.
But if you don't market it, you have several cases of doorstops. So let's tackle marketing and publicity.
To Tell the Truth is a weekly series exploring the practical side of non-fiction writing and publishing. The original 18-week series follows the outline located here, and previous episodes may be found here. To Tell the Truth is published Monday evenings and is crossed posted at MélangePress.
For more writing and book diaries, visit Write On! on Thursdays, Bookflurries and What Are You Reading on Wednesdays, and Books by Kossacks. Also, don't miss the new front page Book Club, hosted by Mark Sumner.
Now I have a confession to make: I hate this part of the process. I am an expert on the development thru design process. I am even pretty good at the identification of target markets, knowing who would read your book, how to spin off your book into seminars, workshops, and more books. But I HATE doing this work, because it's such a tough game, and my skin isn't thick enough to take rejection.
Hence, this diary will be short. I know I'm not an expert in this area, and if this series does turn into a book, I'll be turning to my colleagues at The Cadence Group for advice, detail, and clarity.
On the other hand, there are a few things I've learned about publicizing books...
If people don't know, they won't buy.
Don't kid yourself; even if you have the only book that covers your topic, people who don't know your book exists won't buy it. Thus, it's important to go viral, do lots of mailings, interviews, signings, chatting. Everywhere you go, mention your book.
Why go viral?
The book market is saturated. And the big boys (Random House and company) have LOTS of money to saturate the market (think the US Chamber of Commerce on a literary scale). If you're not a major author with major bucks, you will be competing with hundreds of thousands of other authors hoping for a slice of the pie.
Thus, it is worth activating an online viral campaign - both with the usual suspects (Twitter, Facebook) and the book-related ones (GoodReads, etc.). Consider making a book trailer on YouTube. Consider trying to guest blog on other sites. Get people talking/cross posting/retweeting.
Targets Matter.
Early on, you identified your target market. That's good - remember to target your marketing to them.
Spin Off
Non fiction authors have a better shot at spin-offs - whether they be workbooks to support the book, workshops and seminars, webinars, DVDs, etc. There are some business writers who see their book AS their marketing tool for their business. Use the spin-offs as tools for further publicity.
You Are the Best Marketing Tool Your Book Has
I read somewhere that an author should expect to spend at least as much time marketing his book as writing it. Think Gregory McGuire did the Empire State Book Festival because he loves to talk? Think James Patterson appeared at Book Expo America because he loves people? Think Malcolm Gladwell goes on The Daily Show because Jon Stewart serves a kickass cup of coffee? Not a chance. They are pimping their books. And if THEY have to do it, so do you.
Read, Read, Read
There are a number of average/good/great books and sites on book marketing. I recommend reading everything you can get your hands on. Some of the information will be outdated - many books will list specific companies or people, and many have closed/moved on. And some won't take into account the spawning of social networking. But you can still learn a lot about what might work.
Most Important Lesson
Make sure your publisher has on staff - or for hire - a marketing professional who knows books. If you're self-publishing, hire someone. These people know the process, know the ins and outs, and have both the patience and thick skin.
So... go forth and market. Make a plan with your publisher/marketing professionals, and work it.
Next week we'll have an open thread, where I'll mention a few things I wish I'd said earlier, and answer your questions, both on what we've talked about and what you'd like to see me cover in the coming weeks/months. Also...if you have a project, please be ready to pimp it next week!
Cheers!
PS: I totally want this clock for Christmas - after all, it's voiced by Stephen Fry!