Your Book's Coming Out, Are You Ready to Rock?

By greenhem

The YouTube video Your Book’s Coming Out. Are You Ready to Rock? is a must see.

It features an author talking to his agent on the phone about the release of his new book.  The agent asks the author how he plans to publicize his book.  Oprah?  "No.  No, Oprah hasn't called yet."  Reviews?  "No.  No reviews."  Book tours?  "No.  No tour."  You can imagine the frustration of the agent on the other end of the line.  Soooo?  "What am I doing?" the author says.  "Yes, that's a good question.  Ah...well, my neighbor has a book club."

This is too funny.  And too sad.

Many authors do not plan ahead for the release of their books, a major reason why their books fail.



By 2-Dog-Farm

 Do you have all your ducks in a row? 

What if by some miracle, an agent says "Yes, I want to represent you," and then a publisher says, "Yes.  Yes.  Yes."  Would you be ready to promote your own book?

If you think family and friends will come to the rescue, think again.

It's you, baby.  It's you, you, you.  You have to increase your own audience, cause a stir, make your own waves.  And if you succeed, watch agents and publishers come along for a ride.  When it comes to getting published, a platform is as important as the quality of your work. 

Oh, and by the way, a platform doesn't develop overnight.  Word is, you need to start promoting your book three years before it's published.  It takes time (and patience) to build a readership and cause a stir.



By relhom

 A good place to start is by setting up a blog.  Spread the word to people you'll never meet, places you'll never go.  Potential readers, agents, and the media can see what you have to offer, twenty-four hours a day, at no inconvenience to you.

Sure, blogging takes time.  A lot of it.  But it also keeps you writing and interacting with other professionals in the field.  As an extra bonus, you'll gain more confidence in your writing and communicating skills.  Ideas for posts will start popping into your head and, if you're lucky, you'll find yourself anxious to write them down and share them with the world.

Two books to help get you started with your platform and marketing plan are:

• Get Known before the Book Deal.  Christina Katz defines platform and shows you how to build one. 
• Guerrilla Marketing for Writers.  Jay Conrad Levinson, Rick Frishman, and Michael Larsen give you 100 weapons for selling your work--a battle that begins before your book even hits the shelves.