Why Do I Have to Market My Book? I Just Want to Write a Book

Source by Kathleen Birmingham

Today's authors need to be expert marketers.

At one time, authors were coddled and coseted (a very, very long time ago). Today's authors need to consider how they're going to get that book sold, often long before the book is written.

Anyone who goes the route of self-publishing knows that they are responsible for getting the word out about their book, but many authors do not realize that even the larger publishing houses have cut their marketing divisions down to such an amount that unless you're ' re a regular name on the New York Times Bestseller List, you're not going to qualify for a marketing slush fund.

What does this mean for you?

If you have any intention of writing a book that will reach the audience you want to reach, you are going to have to do all the marketing for your book.

Even before you write the first word, you need to consider the following points:

Who your audience is
What they want to know
Why they need your book
How your book is going to help them better than anyone else's book out there

I admire anyone who has the desire to write a book, especially a nonfiction book that is designed to share information that the author has and I do not. When I talk to authors, however, many of them do not look much beyond their desire to write a book. They fail to take into consideration their future audience, their future readers. They want to roam and ramble through their topic, much like taking a wandering stroll through the woods without a map or a compass. What is likely to happen is that hiker is going to get lost.

So will your reader.

This is a big mistake. You do not want your reader getting lost or confused when they pick up your book.

In order for a book to be any sort of a success, it must absolutely take the reader into account. It must answer the four points above in great detail. Before your reader even reads the first page of your book, they want to know that you understand their problem and are going to solve it for them.

What does this have to do with marketing?

Simple. My identifying your reader's major problem and showing how it can be solved with your book, you've taken the first step toward marketing your own book. You've identified a need and with your book, you have a solution.

That's not only going to make your book a better book. It's good business sense to write a book that people will pay money to read.