In my series of blogs called How to Self-Publish, it’s time to turn to promotion.
So, imagine a writer who’s completed a book of fiction, had it edited and had a cover designed. He’s decided to self-publish the book, and selected the distribution channels and prices for the digital and print versions. But how does he get readers to buy the book?
This question is the discoverability problem. I’m going to spend the next few blogs trying to help with it. I say “trying” because there’s no simple, one-size-fits-all solution to the problem. There simply are too many good writers and books vying for readers’ attention.
What I do think is clear is this. Readers will only buy a self-published writer’s book if they believe they’ll be entertained or get some other benefit. This means they have to know about the book and likely what other readers think about it. For this, the writer must:
- Make sure his book is good. Probably really good.
- Promote himself and his book in a way that readers generally like.
- Be persistent at that promotion.
- Keep assessing what’s working and what’s not.
- Understand that he often won’t have any idea why a reader bought his book.
- Leave lots of time to write the next book.
A tall order!
So, in my next posts in this category, I’m going to discuss promotional strategies like developing word of mouth through family and friends, getting reviews, building a website and blogging, using social media, giving presentations and a few others.There’s lots written already on these strategies, so I’ll be adding my personal experiences.
And I’ll be hoping to hear the experiences of others.
Copyright © 2015 Peter Fritze
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