iUniverse publishing in this latest excerpt of the intriguing interview with the Star Author of the series, Folly Beach Mysteries, Bill Noel gives his insights into his book marketing techniques.
iUniverse: How do you usually market your books?
“Noel: When I began writing my novels, I naively believed that writing the books would be the most difficult task I would face. I was wrong, way wrong. Marketing the books made writing them seem as simple as choosing between eating ice cream or having a root canal.
A January article in the Wall Street Journal reported that there are 1,500 books published in the US each day. That’s more than a half-million each year. Fewer than 20,000 of them make it into the average chain bookstore. Most authors—traditional and self-published—must do most of the marketing themselves.
To succeed in the world of writing, I’ve spent thousands hours marketing and selling my words. To quote the same Wall Street Journal article, “To get noticed, you have to throw more at people than just your book.” I’ve talked to groups ranging in size from three to a hundred fifty; I’ve spent hours traveling to talk to most any size group. I’ve done, and will continue to do, book signings at restaurants, groceries both large and small, beauty salons, hotels, art and craft gallery gift shops, universities, and even a twenty-seven story office building. I’ve also spoken to groups at traditional big-box bookstores, and small, mom-and-pop booksellers. But, to be honest, I would rather do a signing, or make a presentation, where people are rather than where books are—less competition and fewer distractions.
Like most writers, I have a fairly active presence on Facebook, and through my website attempt to keep readers and potential readers updated on my books and appearances. I also collect email addresses of readers to keep them posted on coming events or news.”
0 comments:
Post a Comment