Is Your Book Finding Readers?

 

 

Authors, I love you dearly. Where would the world be without its authors to create and imagine new worlds; record history; dig to uncover or challenge the truth; and analyze and question the world we live in? Writers can entertain, enlighten, educate, and/or inspire us. But what if you fall short in your task to get readers, failing to meet your core obligation and most important goal?

Authors have several things required of them.

First, they must write a good book, one that is interesting and useful. It must strive to be better than -- or different from -- its competition, otherwise why exist? The book should be edited properly and factually correct. It must be accessible to all — this speaks to distribution and price. It should be penned to such a length that is no longer than it takes to achieve its desired effect.

But, in addition to crafting a book that meets these nearly universal requirements, authors must also commit to getting readers. Dear writer, you do not write for yourself only — you write to be read, seen, and heard. If your words are to have any impact, they must be discovered and consumed by others. It is your job to lure in as many readers as possible.

Too often, writers divorce themselves of completing the full book process that starts with writing, advances to editing, getting published, and then, most importantly, selling and promoting your book. They just want to write and ignore, neglect, and avoid the heavy lifting of getting readers.

Rarely do books sell themselves. This requires that authors generate positive word-of-mouth spread wide and far from readers, librarians, bookstores, the news media, book reviewers, and social media influencers. It also means you can and should tell any and all about your book by building a platform with a big megaphone.

So, as obvious as this may sound, you have a duty to do all that you can to generate awareness of, and interest in, your book. What shall you do to fulfill that obligation?

Look at what can be done — and then execute a plan to make it happen. Identify your assets, connections, ideas, and resources that can help you succeed. Clearly draw a picture of whom your likely reader demographic is — and see where they play and hang out. Find the mechanisms to reach those whom are your targeted readers.  

Below are the top 15 book marketing practices of the day:

Book Reviews — professional (paid/free) and consumer   

News Media — interviews and feature articles

Social Media Platforms — actively post on your social media such as Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and Linkedin

Produce Content: free website downloads; blog; podcast; video; byline articles

Speaking — at bookstores, libraries, events, fairs, groups, businesses, non-profits, and government agencies

Book Awards and Contests — apply, apply, apply

Selling Rights — foreign, film, or other formats such as audio

Giveaways — free can lead to sales, reviews, and social media posts

Sales — discounted prices yield more books sold

Testimonials — get qualified third-party validation from many experts

Trade or Beg — get others to assist you  

Advertising — targeted digital ads on certain sites

Strong Website — take ownership of your retail site

Hire A Book Marketer — pay to get professional help

Networking — always

If your book turns out to just not be as good as you thought it to be, so be it, but let others decide that. You write and put it out there — and actively promote it as best you can. The name of the game is to secure lots of readers and your job isn’t done until you achieve that. You need to let people know your book exists and get word-of-mouth going. Make no mistake about it. Writing a great book is not enough. 

It is step one of a two-part process that must be followed if one hopes for their book to be read, influential, and profitable.

 

 

Please Contact Me For Help

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres.

 

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Interview With A Leading Book Marketer For Over 30 Years, Brian Feinblum

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https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2022/04/do-authors-really-have-marketing-budget.html

 

Are There Alternative Methods To Marketing A Book?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2022/03/are-there-alternative-methods-to.html

 

How Do Authors Get More Book Reviews?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2022/03/how-do-authors-get-more-book-reviews.html

 

What Should You Do To Promote Your Book?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2022/01/what-should-you-do-to-promote-your-book.html

 

Ask Me Anything About Book Marketing

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2021/12/ask-me-anything-about-book-marketing.html

 

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2022. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This blog, with over 4,000 posts over the past decade, was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Susan RoAne, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, IBPA, Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.