In previous articles, I’ve shared information about successful writing, publishing options, and the ins and outs of distributing a book.
Regardless of the path you choose to print your book — be it traditional publishing, hybrid publishing, self-publishing or print-on-demand services — you are going to be the main source of marketing and promotion. Yes, even in traditional publishing, most publishing houses will want to know what the author’s “platform” consists of, usually even before they consider publishing a book. This is because most books don’t make money. (And, when I say, “most” books, I’m talking about traditionally published books.) Bookstore managers will tell you that among the tens of thousands of published books on their shelves, most of those titles will usually go back to distributing. By most accounts, eight out of nine books don’t make a profit.
An author platform is basically everything that an author is doing or plans to do in terms of promoting and marketing a book. From lectures to blogging and from websites to book events, authors need to be proactive in developing a plan to expose their books to the world!
Self-published authors stand to make the greatest profit from their books since they are the main “investor” in their title. They print, store, and distribute their titles and make 100 precent of the profit. A book that costs $3 to print and sells for $19 will net an author a $16 profit, not including marketing expenses. That same book usually nets an author eight to ten percent of the wholesale cost of the book … meaning that $19 book will return 91 cents to the author in an eight percent royalty return.
Thus, any author who hopes to see a paycheck at the end of the day, month, year, or lifetime will need to actively market and promote his or her book. Today, with the Internet, we have many ways to successfully promote ourselves and our work. Social media, personal websites, Amazon and Barnes and Noble retail sellers, e-book sales and reviews, are some ways that an author can maximize marketing and promoting. Authors have far more resources than ever to make their books “visible.”
The problem with many authors is they know very little about these digital programs. There are many sites that offer free information and tutorials about using various marketing programs. There are some sites that provide various promotional options. These and many other vehicles can be used to increase visibility and ultimately sales. Evaluate some important considerations when seeking these programs:
—Who is your audience?
—What is your competition?
—With what sites can you network?
—How can you enlist your current contact list to help spread various messages?
—What do you hope to achieve?
Finally, if your book is “that good,” each book you sell should sell many others by word-of-mouth. Explore and learn what is out there to help you along the way!
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