Pay It
Ahead
One day
most of us hope to be in print. The longer we write, the clearer it becomes that
writing a book is a huge effort. We may not understand that what comes after
publication is an even bigger one--bigger because most of us are not
publicists or book marketing experts.
Now, six months
after publication I find myself with a second business. On the left, ClarityWorks at which I teach and
scribble a bit in notebooks and on the right Story Water Press, which wants a
publicist, a speaker, a workshop leader, a traveler. Oh dear! The book, the baby
I birthed, has a great many demands, far more than I had imagined. And, I cannot
quit my ClarityWorks job to take care of it nor do I have the resources to hire
an army of nannies!
The best marketing has legs. You
have the potential to be a walking, talking billboard. Here's what you can do as
a tribute to your author friends or to any author, whether myself or another,
friend or famed, whose book you enjoyed.
- Buy or borrow the book and read it.
- Go to Amazon or Barnes & Noble or other
online bookstores and give a review. This can be two sentences or longer. It's
more important to be specific with what you liked than to be long winded. Here's
a portion from an endorsement Laura Frisbie (www.beat-depression-naturally.com)
wrote about my book: There were many pages I bookmarked and highlighted,
many gems of wisdom, depth, and inspiration. I can't wait to revisit the book. A
friend wanted to borrow mine, I told her to get her own, I won't part with
it.
- Send out an email message to friends or
post a note on Facebook, Twitter, or other networking sites.
- Mention the book and the author to your
face-to-face friends too. These are the people you hope will one day be touting
your book.
Remember that famous authors become famous because
they gather an audience. Most have websites and you can send an email note or
post a comment on the website. I have a feeling that the more well known an
author becomes, the greater the distance between him or her and the reader. Give
them a pat on the back; acknowledge that they've worked hard to get where they
are. They didn't make it only on luck or incredible talent.
