Francine Craft

Well Balanced

Marketing is more than a notion.  Done right, it can yield thrilling results without stripping your budget.  Done wrong, it can make you weep while you wonder where the money went.  Right off the bat, make up your mind to use a hands-on approach no matter what gurus you use.  It’s your baby and you’re the one to handle the basic care.

I’ve found where marketing books is concerned, your best bet is to personally get acquainted with the librarians in your town or city.  Take a well written flyer with a photo of your cover, your author bio and what benefits come from ordering your book.  See that you give maximum discounts, and, of course, see that returns are accepted.  If you don’t do all this, you’re likely to find few takers.

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Going Green

You’ll note my heading does not begin with the words self-publishing.  That’s because this blog is as much for writers being published by regular publishers.  If you’re not studying marketing and the ways it’s done nowadays, stop and wonder if you’re serious about what you’re doing.

The average self-published novel sells around 400 copies.  A listing on a mystery writing lineup featuring publishers who are open to mystery acquisitions states that they sell about 2,000 copies.  That was when the economy was neither booming nor sinking.  Think what it’s like today.

What I’m saying holds as true for self-publishers as for those published by regular publishers.  Today’s market needs a different approach.  First of all, you need first-rate books on how and where to sell.  Three I can think of that can be purchased on Amazon — used if need be — and are worth their weight in platinum are John Kremer’s sixth edition of his fabulous “1001 Ways To Market Your Books.”  From soup to nuts he lays out the ways and means of reaching the readers you want.  Another is Penny Sansevieri’s “Red Hot Internet Advertising.”  Still another is “Plug Your Book,” by Steve Weber.  Amazon’s website is http://www.amazon.com

It’s so important to keep abreast of what’s going on in book marketing.  The internet has taken over.  Print is still important, but fading.  All three of these books set forth the steps you need to take to find and keep readers.  And isn’t that what you want most of all?