Think like a publisher, because you are. The desktop publishing industry has made it easier than ever to write a book and get it published. To the dismay of the big publishers, people are proving that they can do it themselves and that their work doesn’t have to suffer for it.
Along with this newfound ease in book publishing comes the reality that you must be very active in all aspects of your book’s progression. From writing an amazing story to selling the book to your clients and everything in between. There’s marketing, and people who once never considered selling an item become marketing wizards.
You can rest easy knowing there are a lot of things about publishing, marketing, and retailing that are just common sense and you’ll get through it, maybe with a little help, but you’ll get through it just the same.
If you want to make a career out of self-publishing or hope that in the future a big publisher will pick up your book with a good publishing deal, you need to realize that this will be a work in progress. Unless, of course, you come out with a really great book the first time, but these things don’t always happen, so you’ll just have to take it as it comes and learn as you go.
Advertise your book everywhere and often. One of the main things is to advertise your book, people need to know you exist, so take every opportunity you find to write about your book online. Create a website for your book and for you. Create a blog about the niche your book is in and add to it daily. People are more inclined to buy your book if they first see that you know what you’re talking about.
People often say that writing in a specific niche or genre is your best bet, especially when you’re first starting out. As the old saying goes “You can please a few people sometime…”, not everyone is going to love your book, but you can target your marketing to the people who are likely to.
Join groups and blogs of people who might be interested in your book, and while spamming is not cool and nobody likes spam, you can find subtle ways to direct people to your website or blog.
You can also play with the price of your book. In this new world of Print on Demand there are no rules. Adjust the price of your book based on supply and demand, but keep an active role in sales.
There are several options available to help you in the process of getting your book into the hands of people to enjoy.