10 Reasons to Read (or Re-Read) Marketing Books

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

 

The book market is crowded which is no news to those of us in publishing. Thousands of new books pour into our world every day. No matter who publishes our book the author has to be taking action to tell others about your book or to find readers. The author has to continually spread the news about their book and the importance of it for their readers.

 

If I'm honest, I'd love for someone else to do this work and be able to devote more time to writing. It's simply not reality with our world and market. Another reality is there is always more to be done as a writer to be telling a new audience about your book—whether it has been out a while or whether it is brand new. Consistently in these articles, I've written about the importance of marketing and highlighted different how-to books because it is an area every writer needs help. In this article, I want to highlight a number of reasons writers need to read marketing books (and then take action on what they learn).

 

1. You are probably missing some element and the book can give you an idea. For example, maybe you are missing effective use of press releases for your book or pitching podcasts or radio stations for interviews. Have you prepared a list of possible questions? Marketing books can remind you of these tested strategies and motivate you to take action.

 

2. You get fresh encouragement to take action and try a new path. Possibly you need to launch a new product related to your book or something else that you will be reminded through the marketing book.

 

3. You reach out and touch new readers with your message and your book as you apply ideas.

 

4. You are reminded that without your actions, your book stagnates and reaches no one. Last week I was reminded about my product Editor Reveals Book Proposal Secrets. These CDs contain valuable insights and teaching but to be honest have not been selling. Why? It is my own fault because I have not been telling people about this well-done product.

 

5. Even older marketing books have valuable contents. For example, the book, Guerrilla Marketing for Writers was published before social media but still contains valuable insights and ideas. Postcards are still an effective marketing technique.

 

6. No single marketing book has all of the answers. The path is different for each of us. What works for you may or may not work for me.

 

7. If you don't try, it will not fly. In the marketing area, it is necessary to try different techniques to see what will work for you. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen talk about the rule of five. Watch this short video explanation.

 

8. Reading marketing books recommits you to consistent action. While my Billy Graham biography came out over five years ago. I'm still marketing it every day but with different messages and different photos.

 

9. Reading these marketing books opens you to new (and possibly free) ideas. If you take action on the ideas.

 

10. There is nothing new under the sun yet there are proven paths to sell books—and each of us need to walk these paths with our books.

 

Notice I didn't give you a series of marketing books in this article. Why? There are many different books and I have many different possibilities. The key is to use and re-use the books you already have—or check them out of your local library.

 

Did I leave out some reason? Let me know in the comments below.

 

Tweetable:

If your book isn't selling enough copies, this prolific editor and author gives 10 reasons to read marketing books. Get the details here. (ClickToTweet)

Get 10 Publishing Myths for only $10 +FREE shipping + over $200 of free bonuses.

 

When Your Book Isn't Selling

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

I used to cringe when I saw the mail or email from one of my publishers. It probably contained a royalty statement and experience told me many of those numbers would begin with a minus (negative balance).  I’ve written for many different traditional publishers and have had this experience from a broad spectrum of types of books including how-to, self-help, biographies, gift books and children’s books.

When your book sales are off, it’s a natural tendency to want to blame someone. Maybe my editor has left and my book was orphaned inside the publisher with no champion or advocate. Maybe my publisher didn’t market the book to bookstores. Maybe they changed the title between what was printed in the catalog and what was published. Or _______(fill in the blank). I’ve had all of these things happen to my published books. 

Good publishing involves a cooperative process and working with many different people. Much of this process is outside of the author’s control. I’ve also learned there are many pro-active steps authors can take to change their situation.

1.      Take 100% responsibility for your own success. In The Success Principles, Jack Canfield makes this the first principle. Over ten years ago, I heard this principle and adopted it in my publishing efforts.

2.      Be active in the promotion and marketing of your book.  As the author, you have the greatest passion for your book—way beyond anyone else including your publisher. The great promoter, PT Barnum said, “Without promotion, something terrible happens—nothing.” Consistent promotion of your book is important.

3.      Be Generous with your book. Reviews sell books but many authors have few reviews for their book on Amazon or Goodreads or Barnes & Noble. Give books to people who are willing to write a review. If they’ve never written a review, give them a tool to help them like with this form.

4.      Ask for others for help. In the New Testament, James 4:2-3 says, “You do not have because you do not ask.” If you need endorsements, ask but make it easy for them to say yes (offer to draft it). If you need social media promotion, ask but create possible posts. Here’s an example of a page, I created to help others help me spread the word on my latest book. Use this page as an example of something you can create for your own book.

5.      Take the long view of publishing. Publishing and promoting a book is more like a marathon than a sprint. With the huge volume of published books, someone has to hear about your book seven to twelve times before they purchase it. What actions can you take every day to give your book this exposure? My Billy Graham book trailer has been seen over 11,500 times in the last five years.

6.      No matter what happens in your life, keep going. In Perennial Seller, New York Times bestselling author Ryan Holiday writes, “The hard part is not the dream or the idea, it’s the doing.” If there were a simple formula to create a bestseller, every book would be a bestseller. There are practical actions every author can take. Each part of the publishing process has challenges and as writers your persistence and consistency is critical. As #1 New York Times bestselling author Jerry B. Jenkins wrote in the foreword of my book, 10 Publishing Myths, “Only one of a hundred writers literally make their deadlines.” If you meet deadlines with quality writing, it’s an easy way to stand out from the crowd. I wrote 10 Publishing Myths (released December 17th) to give writers realistic expectations and practical steps every author can take to succeed. Today, you can get the 11th Publishing Myth as a free ebook (which is not in the book).

When you point a finger at others because your book is not selling, just remember: when you extend your pointer finger, four more fingers are bent back toward you. Take action today.

Am I missing an action idea you can take? Or maybe you have other feedback. Let me know in the comments below.

Tweetable:


What action steps can you take when your book isn't selling? Get some ideas from this prolific writer and editor. (ClickToTweet)

Tap Into the Power of Asking

Mega-promoter P.T. Barnum said, “Without promotion, something terrible happens. Nothing.” This statement is true for promotion and marketing but it is also true for almost every aspect of the publishing business. If you are not tapping into the power of asking, you are not having opportunities for your writing to be published and sold.

For example, if you want more reviews on Amazon for your books, are you consistently asking people if they are willing to read your book and write a review? It's been proven that a steady stream of reviews on Amazon (even if your book has been out a while) helps your book to sell even more copies. I understand it is important to get over 20 Amazon reviews (if possible) and 50 reviews is another benchmark. And when it comes to these reviews, I've often found willing people—but they haven't posted their review. Part of the process is to return to these individuals and make sure they have the book and remind them about the review. I understand there is a lot to read and write about since new books are being released into the market every day.

If you want to do more publishing in the world of print magazines, are you creating article ideas and pitching them to editors? I'm not talking about doing it once but over and over on a regular basis. You need to learn how to write a query letter then write your ideas and send them out to editors. I'd love for more editors to approach me with their ideas—but that is not my reality—even though I've written for over 50 magazines. Instead I have to ask editors to write for their publication.

If you want to get a literary agent, are you crafting your proposals then consistently pitching agents? Every agent receives numerous pitches every day and you have to be part of those pitches. As another strategy, are you going to conferences to meet agents and editors face to face and make your pitches? As editors (and a former literary agent), we work with people that we know, like and trust. Nothing happens if you sit back and do not actively pitch editors and agent.

Are you writing a book and need someone with a high profile to write the foreword for the book? Or does your book need some endorsements? Readers buy books every day because of endorsements and the foreword for the book—even if behind the scenes you had to write these endorsements. You will have to ask others for these endorsements, then probably give them a deadline, follow-up and even offer to write them a “draft” endorsement for it to happen. See how you have to be actively involved in this process and be asking for something to transpire?

While we depend on email, know that email can often not deliver—so make sure your pitch is reaching the right person and they are able to read it—even with a quick follow-up call or follow-up email to see if they got it.

If you don't have enough writing work or your books aren't selling, then I encourage you to become more active in asking others to buy your book or publish your work. Every writer (including me) would love to not have to ask others and have editors and agents clamor for their writing and work. In an extreme few cases, these writers exist—but for the bulk of us, we have to continue to pitch our work, promote our writing and get in front of new audiences.

How are you tapping into the power of asking in your writing work? Let me know in the comments below.

Tweetable:

How can writers tap into the power of asking? Here's ideas from a prolific writer and editor.  (ClickToTweet)
 

Learn to Pitch Anything

Editors and agents are always looking for fresh ideas. Something innovative that will capture the imagination of the reading public. The process begins with an idea then it evolves into a story to illustrate the concept with some compelling words. 

For many years I've been interested in the publishing process. Which ideas are published and which ideas languish? What is the process to persuade an editor or agent to take your project or to get a magazine editor to publish your words?

Some of this process happens in your pitch. During writers conferences, I've often participated in pitch sessions. I've been the writer coming to the editor or agent with a single idea or maybe several ideas. I've had to craft my words and target a particular magazine or publication (researched ahead of time). I want to persuade the publishing professional to express enough interest that he wants to see my material after the conference. I've also been the agent or editor listening to the writer pitch their ideas at these events.

What are the factors that make a difference to capture interest? 

At the recent Author 101 University, a writing coach told me about a business book from Oren Klaff called Pitch Anything. Notice how I purchased this book because of a word of mouth recommendation. It is the strongest way to influence others to buy a book. It was the title that caught my attention. Then the subtitle hooked me, “An Innovative Method for Presenting, Persuading, and Winning the Deal.”

In the first chapter, Klaff reveals that he raises capital for businesses “at a rate of about $2 million per week. From the outside, the reasons for my success seem simple: I offer wealthy investors profitable deals that involve Wall Street banks. But others do that, too. Yet I raise a lot more money than they do. They compete in the same markets. Do the same types of deals. Pitch the same kinds of facts and figures. But the numbers show I am consistently one of the best. The difference isn't luck. It is not a special gift. And I have no background in sales. What I do have is a good method.”

As a writer, you may be reading this last paragraph and think this book is only for business people and way beyond your publishing life. Not so. Whether you are pitching a magazine article or a book to a publisher, the pitching (or selling) dynamics are the same. Some creative types are going to resist the concept of selling. Yet selling is exactly what you do every time you persuade an editor to publish your work (book or magazine or newsletter or whatever).

I've been captivated with the writing in Klaff's Pitch Anything. His stories combined with how-to information make this book worth reading. I'm still reading this book and was also impressed with the customer reviews on Amazon for this book. It is one more indicator about the valuable contents of this title. 

If you want to publish your work as a writer, you need to learn to pitch. I'm gaining insights about this important topic from Pitch Anything. What steps are you taking to improve your abilities and your success in publishing? 

Catch this Book Marketing Resource

For almost a month, I've had a browser window open to catch this interview with John Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books for Authors and Publishers. I receive blog post email updates from Joel Friedlander and this interview looked like a good one. I didn't have a chance to listen to it—until today.

Joel has the link to the audio on his website or you can watch the interview on YouTube. You can download the audio and hear it on your computer or iPod. I listened to the audio version and found it fascinating.

To quote Joel's blog:

“John’s three top tips:

1. Build relationships with bloggers
2. Blog tours with big blogs to be effective
3. Social sites where readers congregate

Topics discussed:

• What killed the Amazon Bestseller campaigns
• The role of social media in book marketing
• John’s three favorite social networking sites and why
• How to connect with thought leaders on social media
• Automating your marketing efforts
• How John uses Twitter lists
• Why John doesn’t check his Twitter DMs
• How blogs help authors market
• What to do about ebooks
• A quick way to raise your book’s ranking in the Kindle store
• The problem with book trailers
• The power of women in book marketing”

I found the discussion between Joel and John engaging. Both of these men know a great deal about marketing and selling books. I recommend you take notes and apply it to your own books.

Keep Experimenting to Sell Books

I've never met a book author who didn't want to sell more copies of their work. It doesn't matter if they are published through one of the largest publishers or Podunk Press (I don't believe there is such a small publisher named Podunk Press but maybe since there are many of them).

I've interviewed more than 150 bestselling authors and spoken with hundreds of other authors. If you bring up the topic of selling more books, almost every author has a story about something they tried yet failed to work. Often these stories are filled with the author blaming someone else for the lack of sales. They blame:

• their publisher
• their publicist
• their agent
• their editor
• the wrong title
• the wrong cover
• the missing endorsements
• _____ you name it

It's rare that I hear the author blame the real culprit: themselves. Yes, it's hard to admit but it is the first step toward selling more books and understanding who bears the true responsibility for selling books—the author.

In Jack Canfield's bestselling title, The Success Principles, How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, he begins the book with some fundamentals for success. The first principle is: Take 100% Responsibility for Your Life.

For book authors, you can easily take the word Life and substitute Book: Take 100% Responsibility for Your Book. It's amazing how your attitude will shift if you take this simple step.

Many authors long to have their book appear on the bestseller list. For some authors they equate getting on the bestseller list as their benchmark of success for their book. Over ten years ago, I read Michael Korda's Making the List, a Cultural History of the American Bestseller 1900–1999. Korda at the time was the Editor-in-Chief at Simon and Schuster, one of the largest publishers. If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it.

In the introduction, Korda writes, “The bestseller list is therefore neither as predictable nor as dominating as its critics make it out to be. Plenty of strange books get onto the list and stay there for a long time…at least half of the books on any given list are there to the immense surprise and puzzlement of their publishers. That's why publishers find it so hard to repeat their success—half the time they can't figure out how they happened in the first place.” (Page xv) I love his honesty. There is no magic bullet and it is different for every book. The author is key.

Some books start slow and steadily sell then catapult in sales. Other books begin strong then sales drop to nothing. There is no consistent pattern.

My encouragement is for you to keep experimenting with different methods to sell your book. Each author has a different experience.

Yesterday I spoke with an author who had sold 8,000 to 10,000 copies of his self-published books. He had held over 300 book signings for his book. For many authors book signings have yielded almost nothing but not for this author. He regularly speaks at schools and service clubs and even AARP meetings.

If you aren't speaking much as an author, I encourage you to get a copy of Barbara Techel's Class Act, Sell More Books Through School and Library Appearances. This book gives step-by-step help and is loaded with ideas where you can take action.

What proactive steps can you take to learn a new skill or try some new way to sell books? It doesn't matter if your book is brand new or has been in print for a while. Keep the experimentation going until you hit the elements which work for your book.

Use Speaking to Increase Your Book Sales

In many ways they seem opposite ends of the spectrum: writing and speaking. When they've tested writers and editors, the results have shown the bulk of these people are introverts. They aren't the life of the party. Instead they prefer to communicate with their keyboard or pen and paper.

Yet repeatedly I find the truth in what my friend Alex Mandossian teaches: the money in books is not in the book itself but it is in explaining the book.

One of the ways you give your book exposure and “explain” the book is through public speaking. As I've written in the past, someone has to hear about your product at least seven times before they decide to purchase it. A key part of this repeat exposure comes through speaking.

In the weeks ahead, I have a number of opportunities to speak and teach at different types of meetings. I maintain my speaking schedule at this link and continue to add new events.

Would you like to make 2012 a breakthrough year for your speaking?

I'm always looking for new resources to help you be more successful with selling your books and your writing. One of those areas could be speaking.

Last week, I learned about the Speaker Expert Teleseminar series which begins on Tuesday, January 31. If you hear the speakers during the live recording, then it is FREE but if you want to hear them on your own schedule then you can get the paid version to receive the recordings and the transcripts from the calls.

It looks like every Tuesday night for the next few weeks, the Speaker Expert Teleseminar series has a terrific line-up of teachers and topics.

Use Your Book For Leverage

Are you leveraging the power of your book to engage your reader? You may be wondering what I'm talking about since many people see the book as their end goal. These people are trying to learn the craft of writing and take the necessary steps to get their ideas into print--which is a great starting place in the journey.

The book isn't the end but it's the beginning in many regards. Repeatedly I've heard my friend Alex Mandossian say, "People do not make money writing books (true). People make money explaining books."

I've probably burst a few people's dream with those words about making money writing books. In the last few days, I've read Patricia L. Fry's excellent book, The Right Way To Write, Publish and Sell Your Book (more about this soon). Fry writes on page 14, "The Author's Guild has determined that a fiction book is successful if it sells 5,000 copies and a successful nonfiction book sells 7,500 copies." Arielle Eckstut and David Sterry write in Putting Your Passion Into Print that less than 10% of books published (yes fiction and nonfiction) ever earn back their advance. These statistics are the norm and you could break out of the norm but realize what you have to overcome and leverage to make that happen. While hope springs eternal, it is good to root your hope in reality.

I was stirred to think about this concept of leverage for books earlier this week with a thought-provoking post from Paul Mikos at Cumberland House Publishing. As Mikos wrote in his post quoting Michael Cader from Publishers Lunch another source that I will also use, "The book, Cader said, 'is the [most] meaningful place for you to have meaningful interaction with your readers…When I finish a book, I want to know what to do next… Can I write the author? … Is there a club? … If there's a Web site, don't just give me a URL, tell me what's good there.' [Cader's] larger message: 'Get your mind-set out of the book business and into the reader business.'

Mikos pointed me to read this article from the EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Noelle Skodzinski. Here's the paragraph from this article that I want to point out: "Books have a power, for many of us, unparalleled by television or movies. We grow strangely attached to the characters. I recently finished reading “Water for Elephants” and didn’t want the story to end. I wanted friends to read it, to share the experience. And I definitely want to read another book by Sara Gruen. Fortunately, the publisher was smart enough to tell me what other books she has written."

How are you leveraging this power in your own books and creating products which explain your book? Are you doing it through a regular newsletter where you connect to your readers? For example, several years ago I wrote Book Proposals That Sell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. While the book is available instantly in an Ebook format, it is also in a paperback on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and many other places. It is important to give the book to people in as many different formats as possible. In addition, I created several products like the audio interview with eight top editors and literary agents in publishing called Secrets About Proposals. As another tool, I'm providing daily proposal coaching through another product, Proposal Secrets. Or I've provided an audio package of my teaching about book proposals called Editor Reveals Book Proposal Secrets.

Each of these products is an example of how I'm leveraging my book and focused on attracting readers and growing the audience. You can follow the same pattern.

A Resource For Author's Platform Building

The last time I wrote about platform, I received several vocal comments--especially from the fiction authors, who many times believe they don't need a platform. Yes, story is important but increasingly the better your platform, the more likely to sell your book.

In the last few days, I've read a new book from Stephanie Chandler called The Author's Guide to Building an Online Platform, Leveraging the Internet to Sell More Books. I just wrote a five star review for Amazon but wanted to also give you the insight from this review--then I have even more information from Stephanie Chandler. First my review:

Every writer has great dreams and aspirations of selling many copies of their published book. Stephanie Chandler gives you the real story about publishers. They can make beautiful well-crafted books but selling those books? That's a key responsibility for the author. THE AUTHOR'S GUIDE TO BUILDING AN ONLINE PLATFORM gives writers the critical tools to sell their books into the marketplace.

As Chandler writes at the bottom of the first page of Chapter 1: "The reality in the world of publishing is that without marketing, a book simply cannot be successful. And even if you have the biggest publishers on the planet behind you, it is unlikely that they will run your entire marketing campaign for you. You will still be required to do the majority of the work."

Publishers use the word "platform" a great deal and Chandler explains, "The formation of a platform is essential for publishing nonfiction and helpful for writers of fiction. A platform encompasses your ability to reach a broad audience before the book is even released."…"Authors of fiction and gift books aren't always required to have a platform first. But if you come to the table with one, your chances of getting published will be dramatically increased. Agents and publishers want authors who can sell books. Once you realize this and figure out how to demonstrate that you can do that, your future in publishing will be bright." (page 6)

In a no nonsense style, Chandler gives you the details to stand apart from the run of the mill book submission or published book author—because you will be motivated and informed to sell more books."

That was my review. Now I want to give you an article from Stephanie Chandler's website which will give you a bit of her writing style and a sample of the type of information in this book:

Create Passive Income Online: A Formula for Financial Freedom

By Stephanie Chandler

Passive income is money you make while you sleep. Real estate is the most traditional form of passive income, but the Internet has opened up opportunities for anyone who wants to generate revenue online. Following is a strategy you can follow to develop your own passive income business:

Create a Content-Rich Website.

Content really is king. Not only does it give your site visitors a reason to return to your site, but it gives the search engines plenty of reasons to index your pages. Load your website with articles, links and other resources. By offering free information, you can convert many of your visitors into paying customers.

Publish a Useful E-zine.

Online newsletters or e-zines are powerful tools for keeping your name in front of your customers. Pay attention to the e-zines you receive from other businesses. What do you like about them? What could you do better? Publish yours weekly or monthly and make sure it offers plenty of value. This is your chance to build a rapport with your readers while you soft-sell your products and services.

Develop Products to Sell.

Information products are powerful revenue generators. Product opportunities include books, e-books, special reports, teleseminars, workbooks, tips booklets, mp3 files and virtually and form in which you deliver information. Use your expertise to develop products that your site visitors need. Electronic products are ideal passive-income earners since once the product is created; it can continue to sell for years with little effort on your part.

Write Persuasive Ad Copy.

Once you create a quality product, you need to convince customers to get out their credit cards. Offer a list of product features, testimonials from others who have enjoyed the product, and appeal to your buyer's emotions. The key to successful ad copy is to identify the buyer's need and show them how your product will fill that need.

Automate Your Online Business.

The key to passive income is to minimize the amount of work involved. Instead of manually responding to every sale that you make or every inquiry you receive through your website, you can automate these tasks. Add a shopping cart solution to your site such as www.1shoppingcart.com, a comprehensive shopping cart solution or www.payloadz.com, a service that automates electronic file delivery.

Implement Affiliate Programs.

You can sell other people's products and services directly through your website and earn a percentage from every sale. Find products and services that compliment the content on your site. Popular affiliate programs include those offered by Amazon.com, Google Adsense (www.google.com), and Commission Junction (www.cj.com). Your shopping cart service provider may also allow you to implement your own affiliate program so that you can empower others to sell your products and services. You can also create affiliate programs through services such as Click Bank (www.clickbank.com) or Pay Dot Com (https://paydotcom.com/).

Market Your Business.

Drive traffic to your site by spreading your website link across the Internet. Some strategies to employ include swapping links with other businesses, publishing articles online through services like www.ideamarketers.com and www.ezinearticles.com, submitting press releases through www.prweb.com, and purchasing classified ads in industry publications. Try to do one to three tasks every day to market your business and soon your website traffic will begin to explode.

Continue the Product Development Cycle.

Be on the lookout for new product opportunities. Pay attention to what questions your customers are asking so you can create products that they need. Each new product should help increase your bottom line by generating new income streams and new reasons to advertise your business. Keep in mind that customers who liked your previous products will be more likely to purchase new products from you for years to come.

About the Author:

Stephanie Chandler is the author of several business and marketing books including FROM ENTREPRENEUR TO INFOPRENEUR: MAKE MONEY WITH BOOKS, E-BOOKS AND INFORMATION PRODUCTS. She is the founder of www.businessinfoguide.com, a directory of resources for entrepreneurs and www.thebusinessgrowthconnection.com, a marketing company specializing in electronic newsletters.

You may recognize that I've been writing about a number of these elements through these entries on The Writing Life. Stephanie Chandler pulls this information into a worthy resource that I recommend: The Author's Guide to Building an Online Platform.

Another Weapon For Your Book Marketing Arsenal

Any writer has a dual responsibility in my view. First, they have to learn the craft of writing and create a remarkable series of words. This "series of words" can take all sorts of shapes and forms--whether nonfiction or fiction--whether historical fiction or romance fiction or thriller fiction or _____ fiction--or nonfiction how-to material or a little gift book or something for children or dozens of other types of books. It takes a lot of craft and energy to put together the perfect book. Many publishers are great at guiding the author, editing their work and improving that storytelling (fiction or nonfiction) and creating a compelling title and design. Eventually after a lot of hard work, that book gets into print and gets into the bookstore.

Publishers (and many authors) are not good about marketing their book. I've heard the horror stories from authors and it doesn't matter if their book has been released from a long-established publisher or the newest small press. It's one of the reasons as someone who cares about books and getting them into the hands of readers, that I continue to encourage writers in their marketing efforts. It's not easy for any author (including me) but the marketing for your book is the second element that every writer needs to take on--especially if they want results. I mentioned this statistic in November 2006 and many writers don't even want to know this information--but they should--the average book in the United States sells about 500 copies. If you want to fall into this statistical average, then don't do anything to help spread the word about your book. If you want to be the exception and sell books, then you need to take back the primary responsibility for marketing your book and gather every possible tool for your book marketing arsenal. I wanted to tell you about another great resource called Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers by She Horowitz.

After reading thousands of book proposals and pitches from authors and would-be authors, the majority have no idea how to write a realistic marketing plan. The bulk of these proposals are written with the assumption the publisher will do the majority of the marketing. Instead Shel Horowitz, creator of FrugalMarketing.com, shows writers how to use easily reached resources to sell books. Valuable tips and insights are scattered throughout his book including areas such as endorsements, book reviews and awards. Tapping into your personal networking possibilities and even hooking the traditional media and how to give a great interview. Also in Grassroots Marketing Horowitz will teach you the straight story about how bookstores work then libraries and the online bookstores like Amazon. Finally in his advanced marketing section, he covers speaking to sell books, trade shows and book fairs, affiliate and joint-venture marketing, advertising and direct mail plus how to extend your brand and increase your profits. This book is another valuable resource for any book author or publisher.

In addition, I recommend you subscribe to Horowitz's book tips for authors. As you explore the tips and resources in Grassroots Marketing, you will increase your value to a publisher and most importantly--sell more books.

The 7-Question Author Profile Quiz

I have a quick multiple choice question for you to answer today.

Here it is:

"Which of these three statements best describes your current or future book or info marketing project?"

(a) "I'm a published author who needs more sales and marketing advice with my current campaign."

(b) "I have a written manuscript that I need to complete in order to publish it into book or info product form."

(c) "I have a book in my heart that I need to write first and then learn how to promote it."

What's your answer going to be?

No matter what your ANSWER is, that's just one of the 7-Question Author Profile Quiz my colleague, Alex Mandossian, has developed to see how you stack up against other authors and infopreneurs worldwide!

To get free instant access to this Quiz, you'll need to click this link.

The Quiz takes about 60-seconds to take and you'll get your "Author Profile" a few minutes after you're done. It's fast. It's easy. And it's fun so take this Quiz now.

If you're an author, info marketer, small business owner or Entrepreneurial CEO and you have a book in your heart, then this "Author Quiz" is a must do for you.

Also after taking the Quiz, you'll also be eligible to attend a live tele-training on June 5th (2 hours) that will teach you how to sell more books (or info products) faster, better and with less human effort. Here's the link again to the "Author Quiz."

Two Free Teleseminars For Authors

I'm constantly learning new ways to sell books and want to help other authors to accomplish great sales with their books. One of the most cost effective ways for you to learn about new aspects of marketing and communications is through teleseminars. I held a paid teleseminar last week but some of these events are free. You may have to call into a particular phone number but with flat fee rates in the US, it is basically free training (except for your time) and you don't have to travel anywhere or pay a conference fee. I wanted to mention two opportunities that are coming up fast—in fact Thursday, January 17th.

The first opportunity is January 17th, Steve Harrison, the publisher of Book Marketing Update is holding a free teleseminar with Matthew Bennett (use the link to register). Last fall Bennett and Harrison held a day-long live event on this topic. I was intrigued with their information but was going to be at another seminar at the same time. I ended up talking with Bennett on the phone for a few minutes. If you don’t know, Matthew Bennett is a self-published author who's relatively unknown to the general public. Yet he's sold over 5 million books in quantity to Fortune 500 corporations including Disney, Reebok, NBC, Abbott Labs, Pfizer, US Healthplans, Subway and innumerable others.

You'll hear how, as a single guy living in California, he wrote a book called "The Maternal Journal." He sold more than 3 millions copies of that book alone to companies like Ross Labs and Babies 'R Us. These companies offered the book as an incentive to increase sales. He'll also reveal:

--How he's used this strategy to sell millions of books AND raise over $1 million for charity.

--The top three reasons it's often easier to make one huge sale than it is to make small ones.

--How even shy, introverted writers can sell a boatload of books to big companies.

--The three things you ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO ARM YOURSELF WITH before ever pitching your project.

--Matthew's five secrets of how to identify and reach the right person at the right company to sell truckloads of your books.

--How to never pay a printing bill again with your own money! You'll learn how to get paid BEFORE you print your books!

--Three proven ways to avoid wasting months (and sometimes years!!) on your project.

--How to get nonprofit organizations to endorse your book (he's gotten endorsements from such organizations as American Heart Association, March of Dimes, and American Diabetes Association!)

Again, to register for Thursday's call with Matthew, go here now. I've signed up for this free call tomorrow—and I wanted you to know about it.

For the second teleseminar (and actually two teleseminars rather than one), my friend and colleague, Ellen Violette, The eBook Coach is giving not one but TWO free preview calls for her upcoming Get Going! Teleseminar Coaching Program where she is going to teach people who to create ebooks with NO writing and sell them helping them to create a 6-figure income using teleseminars! (And Ellen isn't just talking about it, she's done it herself!)

This Thursday, January 17th, 2008 5:30 p.m. Pacific/ 8:30 p.m. Eastern she'll be discussing "Answers To Your Most Burning Questions About Teleseminars and Creating eBooks with Teleseminars. (When you register for the call you'll be taken to the page where you can ask your burning question.)

And on Monday, January 21st, 2008 5:30 p.m. Pacific/ 8:30 p.m. Eastern she'll show you how to start creating an eBook with NO writing! This is information nobody else is teaching! For details use this link. Even if you don't think you can make it, register so you can hear the replay lines for both calls.

I know firsthand about Ellen Violette and her excellent teaching. I met her last year at Mega Book Marketing University in Los Angeles and Ellen participated in my recent efforts for Proposal Secrets. You can see if you go to this page and scan down into the bonus items.