Marketing and Publicity for Your Book
Marketing your book can begin as early as thinking about what you want to write. Understanding how bookstores and publishers market books can help you choose which of several projects to write first.
Knowing what category your book is in is the first step. Bookstores shelve books according to the category the publisher tells them and sometimes under a category they feel is most appropriate. A book is rarely shelved under more than one category. Space on the shelves is considered prime real estate. If a book isn't selling, it is taken off the shelf and either sent back to the publisher, or sold at a discount to make room for the new books that are always coming in.
Go to a bookstore and find books that are similar in subject to yours. Note what category they are under. If you're not sure, ask the bookstore. That's the category you should mention in your query letter.
Tip: It can be very helpful to include marketing information in your query package. See Guerrilla Marketing for Writers : 100 Weapons to Help You Sell Your Work, by Jay Conrad Levinson, Rick Frishman, & Michael Larsen.
Tip: It's especially important to include marketing and publicity information in your nonfiction book proposal.
Once you have sold your book, with or without an agent, it's time to go on the road to let people know about it so they can buy it. Or, if you have the personality and time for it, use your presentations to sell the book.
Tip: There are two excellent books on marketing and publicity for your book. We have used the first book and related databases with great results:
John Kremer's 1001 Ways to Market Your Books.
Guerrilla Marketing for Writers : 100 Weapons to Help You Sell Your Work, by Jay Conrad Levinson, Rick Frishman, & Michael Larsen.
If you need help coordinating a book tour, or contacting the media for interviews and articles, you may wish to hire a book publicity firm. The only one we have found in over a decade of looking that is reliable, communicates well, has the necessary contacts, and is reasonably priced is Breakthrough Promotions. Most publicity firms charge $2000-$5000 per month to coordinate a book tour in major cities. Click here to see Breakthrough Promotions much lower prices. Other publicity firms you may want to contact are:
- C.S. Lewis & Co. Publicists - a small firm that prides itself on developing personal, highly collaborative relationships with authors and publishers
- Annie Jennings PR - a national publicist specializing in promoting authors and experts to the media
- S.J. Miller Communications - a full-service book publicity firm with about fifteen years in promoting trade books in all genres
If you know of another publicity firm for authors that is reasonably priced, please let us know by sending email to aboutwords at gmail dot com. We would love to share the information with other writers.
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