If You Write It, They Will Come -- Maybe

In the celebrated movie, Field of Dreams, a man is told if he builds a baseball diamond in a corn field, old-time baseball players would come to play. Sure they were ghosts, but who wouldn’t pay to see the dead hit home runs? Can the phrase be true today and applied to books? If you write it, readers will come?

Readers seek out a book if they know it exists. They search certain genres for a book that would interest them. They follow specific writers or story topics. They get recommendations from reviewers and friends. But how often do people find books they didn’t know existed?

Discoverability is not a complex concept. To get readers, authors and publishers must push exposure of the book in some fashion. Little happens accidentally or by chance. Distribution, publicity, appearances, advertising, and marketing make or break a book. If one can’t afford to promote their book, there is little chance for the book’s success. Of course, investing money and time to promote or market a book is not a guaranteed formula for success, but to not do so invites a guaranteed formula for failure.

Before you even contemplate writing a book, think about how it might be promoted and marketed. If you write it, they may not come, but if you market it, they may very well come.

Brian Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his employer, the nation’s largest book promoter. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in the third-person. This blog is copyrighted material by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2013 ©