Keeping Up With Standard Publishers

Do you ever say to yourself, "I wish I had the time and means to keep my marketing up to snuff with those standard publishers"?


Photo by: 401(K)2013, courtesy of Flickr

If you consider that most writers are writers because they love it and not because they're making a trunk load of money, then you quickly get a sense of how difficult it is for some of us to keep up. With a standard publishing company, you may go on a few book signings or give your publisher some ideas on how to get the word out about your newest book, but you usually don't have to set up your own signings and the company will pretty much let you in on what it will take to sell your book.

Photo by Toby Otter, courtesy of Flickr

If you're self-publishing like I am, these ideas are not handed out on a platter, though you want to stay in the loop without too much trouble. That's why I teach classes on marketing and why I'm also putting together the second issue of Marketing Your Book on a Budget.

 

We need the help and we need to save as much time and money as possible.

Still, with the Internet continuing to give us FREE opportunities to sell and talk about our work, we really don't have any excuses for not marketing. In fact, most people check online blogs and websites for the books they are going to purchase (if they haven't had a friend tell them about their latest favorite book first) and it's really not necessary for you to worry about your book getting mentioned in a magazine or newspaper.

People, quite honestly, aren't reading many magazines and newspapers, unless they are online!

I tell writers that they can do A LOT to get their work out there without spending a mint, but I'm not sure many of them believe me, until I give them the list. Not every marketing idea is as good as the next, but be assured that being open to new and creative ways to market is the best thing you can do as a modern day writer.

It takes GUTS to get your work out there in the first place, but it takes extra DETERMINATION to have enough faith in it to put it anywhere and everywhere you can.

How else is a potential reader going to see it?

This blog post might sound to you like a rah rah speech and it is!! Get out there and talk to other writers. Get their ideas for marketing. Share yours.

And keep up with those standard publishers!