Reality Vs Myth Time – Publish or Not To Publish

Many do seem to think that when they have a book published, the extent of marketing is limited to:
1. One image of the book cover to go along with the 10 thousand other images of them in a bathroom, selfies, and food snaps that are uploaded to Fb, Twitter, Instagram or other SM.
2. Released a self-pub book and think that their work is done.

Reality – Being an author makes you a BRAND. Hence, you need to spend at least 10 hours a week marketing your book. That includes: Virtual Book Tours, Trade Shows, Hitting book buyers (Schools, clubs), and doing everything you can to ensure your book is a success.

Excuses not to market your book:
1. I don’t have time. Answer: Hire a PR or Marketing agency who will do this for you for a cost.
2. I don’t have the funds. Answer: Then you need to promote your work yourself.
3. I don’t know how marketing works. Answer: Get educated and learn marketing techniques, or refer to the Answer in Point 1.

Traditional Publishing has changed so much in recent years. Many traditional publishers will expect you to do a bulk of your own marketing, and even fewer will offer an advance. This is because too many authors sit and do nothing and have the mindset of “I thought I could sit back and watch the royalty checks come in“.

Even Self-Pub through eNook (B&N) has requirements, whereas to host a book signing, you need to have a minimum of 500 copies of your eBook sold within 12 months. Now unless you are going to get all your family to purchase a ton of eBooks so you can have a signing at B&N, you better know how to market yourself effectively.

If you do not understand the constant changing techniques of marketing, hire a PR/ Marketing Agency who can do this for you. Or, run with a Hybrid Publisher who already knows how marketing works.