It's All About the Marketing

WARNING: This post might sound like a broken record playing the same lyrics over and over.

Recently, I subscribed to a Publishing Online Discussion Group and have been amazed at the number of authors testifying to the fact that if they don't market their book themselves there are no sales. Amazingly, most novice authors think that if they write a good book and a publishing company picks it up and decides to launch it the author's work is done. This couldn't be further from the truth.

Over and over the same refrain comes through. So, why am I going on about this issue? I am stressing it because custom publishing offers the greatest opportunity for success for most authors or organizations. If you are going to publish yourself it is imperative that you understand all that is involved with the marketing of your book and not just focus on the content.  One publisher that is involved with the discussion group mentioned that if someone has already successfully published on their own and sold 12,000 copies, he is much more likely to try and sign that author to a publishing deal.

Throughout my career I have stressed building the marketing plan while you are building the book. I believe this philosophy is the reason that our clients have had such huge successes.

If you have ideas to share on this subject or questions I would love to hear from you.

Winter Doldrums

I recently read a cartoon that depicted a note addressed to optimists and pessimists which read "while you are arguing half full or half empty I drank the water" and was signed Opportunist. I like this philosophy and encourage you to make the most opportunity of your time in what I term the "winter doldrums". When the weather is bad and folks are just sitting around waiting for spring, it is an opportune time for you to get things in place for increased sales.

Remember, you might not be able to control whether or not consumers purchase your book  but you can control the effort that goes into promoting it and marketing it. During the winter months I encourage you to be aggressive in your plans for marketing. While others are waiting for something to happen, you can be an opportunist and make things happen.

Get Creative and Don't Forget Marketing

Happy Thanksgiving! I do hope you'll be enjoying good food and fellowship this holiday.

Book opportunitites abound. The opportunities are not determinded by the format--printed or electronic but rather on whether there is a market for the content. It is simply not true that a new book cannot be successful in today's world.

This was recently confirmed by our new Meet Me At imprint which was launched last year and is currently being expanded.  Our Meet Me At Opryland Hotel just placed a rush order for 2,000 more copies after going through an initial order of 5,000 books earlier in the year. And this re-order is just to get them through their immediate needs.

Another beautiful book in this series is Meet Me on Jekyll Island and projections say it will be in a reprint mode by May of 2012. 

Now, there are many books already on the market about Opryland Hotel and Jekyll Island. So why would someone publish another title? Because the Meet Me At books are in a creative format and design which also provides interesting information that appeals to consumers. These books are currently in a printed version but I can see a day in the not too distant future where there will be a niche for an electronic version as well.

Book selling is about creative content and a strong marketing effort. More books have failed due to a poor marketing plan than vice versa. If you decide that you have a good book idea by all means pursue it; just don't forget that if you want it to sell well you cannot scrimp on the marketing efforts.