Here’s what every book promoter and author should know: Libraries (and your local bookstore) provide a significant market for independent titles—especially self-published or those from small presses, said Kimber Bilby, ForeWord Reviews marketing director.
To be a successful writer, first you must promote
One of the most important parts of textbook publicity and marketing is the press release. A simple yet well-written document that is going to put who, what, where, why and how can I buy this book; out into the marketplace.
If you want media coverage, you’ve got to make your story newsworthy and make clear why anyone should care about your new book. And you’ve got to offer valuable lessons learned, tips, or other useful suggestions from which the readers, listeners, or viewers can benefit. Bullet points and statistics are always helpful.
Textbook promotion: How to earn local, national media attention
“Houghton Mifflin Harcourt putting a halt on buying any new manuscripts”
“Publishing companies will no longer expense (extravagant) lunches with literary agents”
“Plunging sales and stocks reported from booksellers”
With headlines like these, the publishing community is wondering how the book industry will survive in a rocky economy, especially those in publicity. Anyone in public relations, media and even writers know promotion is needed to sell books but convincing upper brass can sometimes be an uphill battle. The good news is anyone can promote his or her work. A fancy Manhattan PR firm doesn’t have to be hired for big dollars.
How to advocate for your textbook before, during, and after a national sales meeting
Reid Hester, a 15-year veteran in textbook sales and marketing, and Robert Christopherson, a best-selling geography textbook author, share their advice for making the most of your participation in national sales meetings:
• Provide specific, actionable information. “If it can be used to sell your book, it’s worth its weight in gold,” said Hester. For example, build sales-ready bullet points about your book’s features. Or track the updates and changes you make to a new edition as you make them. “Your editor and the sales reps will want to know,” said Christopherson.
Targeted marketing key to successful self-publishing
Self-published authors need to be more marketing savvy and more willing to dedicate time to the task of marketing, said Jeremy Robinson, author of POD People: Beating the Print-on-Demand Stigma.
“Marketing is really the only way a self-published author can get those first books sold and kick off the word-of-mouth machine,” he said.
13 Ways to market your textbook before, during & after publication
Marketing your textbook is about author-publisher cooperation, says mathematics author Michael Sullivan. He shares 13 ways authors can market their textbook before the writing begins, as the writing progresses, before publication, after publication and when preparing for the second edition.