To Market We Will Go...

In one of my early posts, I mentioned that one of the reasons that I gave eBook publishing a try was that I had a couple of neighbors who had published.  You know, the if-they-can-do-it-so-can-I logic.  I even went online and bought one of these books.  At the time, its Amazon ranking was “#1,546,950 Paid in Kindle Store”. 

I’m not sure about you, but I rarely search 1,546,949 eBooks, reading each synopsis and at least a few of the helpful reviews before a fork over, in this case, $2.99.  Hey, my time is not worth much, but it is worth more than that.

 

So, I cannot claim ignorance.  I knew that if you just write a book and put it at various retail sites, it’ll sit there unfound forever.  Well, OK, it will be found by the handful of friends and relatives you can strong-arm into buying a copy.  And then it will sit there unfound for the rest of forever.

 

So yes, I knew if you want anyone to find your book, you have to market it.  And since I wanted the whole struggling author experience (sans any real struggles), I have been learning about marketing eBooks.  What have I learned so far?

 

First, you are supposed to have a marketing plan before the book, not the other way around.  Who knew?  I thought I’d make it up as I go along – and now, that’s exactly what I am doing.

 

And second, these aspiring authors are DRIVEN.  I read one blog where the author talked about taking her laptop to a public library and walking up to complete strangers with a sales pitch.  I admire the guts that would take, but I don’t need my experience to be that realistic. 

 

But I did find a lot of helpful information online.  Perhaps one of the best is: http://anaspoke.com/2015/10/08/the-mo... , with the understated title of “The Most Super-Duper, Exhaustive, Comprehensive, and Current Listing of Free and Paid Book Advertising Websites and Ideas”.

She does throw in the occasional suggestion that you buy her book, but who could blame her; the post is about marketing.  But the number and variety of options she cites for publicizing your work is incredible.  If you have a book, give it a read.  Or even better.  Don’t follow my example and read it before you publish.

 

Happy writing,

BmP