The Ugly Truth: Marketing a Book Is the Author’s Job

If you just published a acim authors and are waiting for it to fly off the book shelf, think again. No one even knows that your book exists, unless of course you happen to be famous. Whether a traditional publishing house publishes your book or you publish you own book, you own responsibility for marketing. No one cares as much about your book as you do. The good news if you published your own book is that once a book hits the market, all authors are equal.

You can control how well your book sells and you should start thinking about marketing several months before publication. While this may seem early and you might not even have finished your book, you can never start too early.

You probably realize that you have to use social networks to increase market potential, but one of the first things you should consider is creating a web site where you can drive visitors. Create a site before you start using the social networks, so that you can promote your book on the social sites. Consider your web site your hub to the world.

What makes marketing so impactful today is that the internet provides you with global reach. No longer do you have to rely on someone walking into a book store to buy your book. As a matter of fact, you probably will not see your book on your local book store’s shelves since each book store decides what stock to carry, even if a traditional publisher published your book. Amazon is one of the most powerful distribution channels today.

Building a web site is not as difficult as it may sound. Many companies exist that offer complete packages including the purchase of a domain name, simple drag-and-drop site builders, and hosting services. What do these terms means?

Building a web site is the first step to preparing yourself to effectively market your book. Take control of your destiny and focus on marketing. Save your money and do not hire a publicist – you have what you need to market and sell your book.

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