Promoting Your Book: It’s All About PR
by Chellie Campbell
“After you’ve written your book, found an agent, gotten a publisher, and your book is finally in the bookstores, five percent of your work has been done.” -Jack Canfield
You learn that, in the book world, PR is everything. When you walk into a bookstore, you are walking into a treasure house of 140,000 books. Online at Amazon.com, there are 2.5 million books. Somewhere in your mind, dimly, you knew that, but nothing drives it home so much as walking into a bookstore and seeing rack upon rack of beautiful books and then you go find your section and see all the racks of beautiful self-help books and then, tucked into a small shelf on the bottom left, there is your one-and-only, your own beautiful book. Ahhh, you sigh, your book, your dream, has magically materialized and actually exists in a real bookstore in real space in real time. Then your eyes widen, you look around, and you think, “Gadzooks (or some such expletive)! How am I going to get my book noticed?”
The answer is PR, PR, pr, PR, PR, PR, pr, PR, and more PR. As in public relations, press, advertising, newsletters, e-zines, magazine articles, newspaper articles, radio if you’re lucky, television if you’re really lucky, etc., etc., etc. Then you put on your gold tennis shoes and do a book signing, speak at the Lions Club, the Direct Marketing Association, the Church of Religious Science, the Women’s City Club, the Society for Technical Communication, and anyone else who will book you. You go to other people’s book signings and schmooze, give copies of your book to celebrities (Marianne Williamson, Mark Victor Hansen, Martha Beck, and Suze Orman all own personally autographed copies of The Wealthy Spirit). You go to your six or seven regular networking meetings, National Association of Women Business Owners, Women’s Referral Service, Chambers of Commerce, NEW Women Entrepreneurs (it really helps if you like chicken).
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Shortly after a I read an article in the New York Times about publishers not having the luxury (budget) to throw posh launch parties for all the new authors and releases, I launched a blog that promotes authors books and also chronicles my reading journey. It’s a project from the heart. Blog are a great way to promote your new book and search engines love them.
Earlier this year, because of email conversations from an author in Switzerland, I found myself launching an author’s book tour for Coast Highway. Now this is something I normally wouldn’t do. Chris Corbett, the author and yogi, flew in to LAX and I set him up at a coffee shop in Montecito for a reading. The point is just go out there and fun with your book! If people pick up on fun — you never know who might ‘pick’ up your book.
Maria Carbonell Elliott
http://www.booklaunchcafe.com
[...] read this little nugget on the Ladies Who Launch website: Promoting Your Book: It’s All about PR. Ignoring the fact that the title is redundant, the article makes a good [...]
Wow! I just had a book published and boy am I learning how true that quote is that after writing the book only 5 percent of your work is done. My book, The Unlikely Lavender Queen: A Memoir of Unexpected Blossoming (about how I went from being a journalist in Manhattan to a lavender farmer and entrepreneur in rural Texas) was published in May by a major publisher, Doubleday, and I have had a wonderful publicist working like crazy on the book. But it’s a tough time for publishing and I think there is so much more out-of-the-box thinking that’s needed now. This article was very helpful, giving me more ideas to work with. Thanks.
Jeannie Ralston
http://www.jeannieralston.com
Chellie is dead-on with this. I wrote a series of parenting books, called “Watch Me Grow, I’m 1-2-3″. Since the publisher had sought ME out, I assumed that PR would be something they would want to focus on. The budget for promotion, it turned out was $3000. When I asked a fellow author if this reflected anything, she responded, “That’s just the way the book business is.” Ironically, they WILL promote already famous authors (who don’t need PR like us novices) to the hilt.
So, heed the above advice, use the internet to viral market and alert everyone you know every chance you get about your book…One tactic I used was to use the launch of my parent coaching business (think Supernanny on the QT) to reintroduce the book into folks’ minds. Since it’s been promoted on http://www.destinationparenting.com, it’s been selling more!
Hello everyone.I have wtitten a book called “What Does shw Want and Where can I get it?” I am a hairdresser by trade, and listen to women talk about what they want from the men in their life.On a whim I outlined and wrote this little book, self published etc. My research.(my meager way) by scouring the internet and bookstores and no one seemed to have a “book” for men.Much to my chagrin,I quickly realized they would not buy this book unless they were desparate from a recent divorce,no dating life and etc…you ge the picture.Well Now I see I need a literary agent in which I can re-design the cover and name…I have a business called “Ask Ange”.I am that go to person when you need help..based in Brentwood, Tn just give me shout.I would love to write a 2nd book of intrigue and etc and would love a co-author??Find me on the net at askange.com. Later..Ange~