Two Small Tips to Help Market You and Your Book
There are countless books, blog posts, and articles that have been written about the art of marketing your book. I have read many of those books and blog posts and they’ve helped me along the way. I don’t believe everyone has “the” answer because it has been a work in progress for me, and over time I have learned what works best. So you need to choose which works best for you and what you feel comfortable doing.
Contact Local Newspapers – this piece of advice was given to me when my first book, Sullivan’s Secret, was published by a small press. At first I couldn’t imagine why the local newspaper would have any interest in me, and then I realized I had to put those thoughts right out of my head and believe everyone would be interested in reading about my story.
You can easily find the contact by going to a newspapers website, or in the printed version, that is if they still print their newspaper. Let’s face it, that’s slowly becoming obsolete, but once you have a contact you can reach them through email, phone, etc.
Each newspaper is different in how they publish a “local author” story. My local newspaper used to request a copy of the printed book and then did an interview. I was then sent to the photographer to get a picture to be used with the story. Recently though, they just use a scripted interview, but they still take a fresh photo.
What’s great about being interviewed by any local newspaper is they also publicize the story on their website and the story will be archived…forever. I’ve done a search many times where that newspaper interview appears in the feed. That’s pretty exciting and this is the patient and slow process of getting your name out there for readers to find you.
Libraries – the possibilities are endless. If you choose to get a Library of Congress number, which I strongly suggest, then you will have some amazing opportunities to get your book out to the public. You only need to contact them, I suggest stopping in and introducing yourself. Ask them if they would be interested in having your book or books in the library. I have never had anyone say no, they love local authors.
After the librarian read my book/s I was asked to be a part of a book signing/selling event with other local authors during a town festival, and then they asked me to give a talk on a subject of my choosing. It became a domino effect just because I reached out to them. So don’t be shy. You’d be surprised what opportunities develop from your library.
Another way to get your book out in libraries is to have a family member or a friend, who lives in another area or state, go to their local library and request your book/s. The library will in turn purchase your book wholesale, which is a sale for you, and then add it to their catalogue. It may seem like a small or impossible way to get a readership, but these small steps lead to bigger and better things.
