Patricia Fry says:
"Personality sells books. It's true. The most powerful tool in your book promotion toolkit is
your personality. More now than ever before, readers want a relationship with authors of the
books they read."
Thanks to my friend, Bill Ramsey, I found Patricia Fry online. She is a prolific writer
with tons of books on how to write, publish, and most important, I think is her advice
on promoting your book. As she says, your book can be on Amazon.com and on the
shelves of Barnes and Noble but unless someone knows it is there and wants to read it,
it will just sit where it sits.
That is when the author must step up and promote his book, himself, and do all he can
to get the public to want to read his book. I talk with people all the time who are so
frustrated that their books are languishing on the shelves or lost in space on Amazon.
Sadly, these authors never gave a thought to how they might sell their books once they
were written or published. I heard from a writer tonight who is hoping for recognition
of his new book, published by a small press, and that his book will somehow reach all
the people who would appreciate it. I don't know what he is or has done to make this
happen, but I feel sure he will have to work on promoting it. Small presses certainly
don't have the funds to send authors on promotional forays or pay big bucks for
advertising.
No matter how much we think folks will love our work that we have slaved over
for such a long time, most of them don't care about our books unless we make
them care.
How do we do that? As I told a friend recently, I never see her husband, the author,
at any writing events or making talks to groups or any articles by him or about him
in the newspapers. I never see where he is holding a book signing or giving a talk.
The days when a writer could sit home, write a book, and send it to a New York
Publisher who snaps it up, prints it and sells it, are gone forever. Even if a large
publisher accepts a book, the author is still responsible for selling that book.
Why do we see authors on TV shows, blogging, speaking at events? They hope
they can present a warm and inviting personality the public will like well enough
to buy their book.
I have watched successful authors at festivals and conferences. They engage people,
make eye contact with everyone who passes by, and finds some way to talk
with them. As one who purchases books, I have bought books from authors that I
would never buy in a book store.
I go to conferences and hear writers speak. If that author's personality grabs me, I'll go
and look at her books. I have lots of novels around here that I plan to read one day
because I liked the author when I met her or him although I am not into reading novels
at this time.
I don't have a book to sell right now, but I am reading all the advice I can find on
how to market the book I plan to write. I will create a marketing plan. I know that
the most important part of writing for the public is getting them to read my work.
Do you have a book you are trying to sell? Are you writing a book, and do you have
a marketing plan? Do you have any advice for our readers?
