Notice the title of this post… writing AND selling books. For many authors, writing books is the easy part, it’s the selling books that is hard!
However, if you want to support yourself with your writing, then selling books is an important part of the equation.
Deborah Greenspan of Llumina Publishing writes in Tips on Marketing Books:
If you’re a writer, you have to write. And if you want to continue to be a writer, eventually you have to publish. It’s really very simple: stop hiding; get out and take charge of your life.
Think of it this way: if you had been accepted by a large publishing house, you’d still have to do the talk shows, and the book signings, the interviews and the lectures. The only difference would be that someone else would arrange it for you. Someone else would get on the horn and handle the rejections.
How do they do it? The secret is twofold: The first part involves detachment. So what if the bookstore says no? So what if the talk show host has other commitments? It’s not necessarily personal. The second part of the secret is simply to remember it’s a numbers game. The more people who say no, the closer you’re getting to a “yes.”
When you write and publish a book, you’re creating a PRODUCT. The first key is to produce a PRODUCT (aka a book) that people want. However, even more important is promoting that product so people know it’s available.
If you’re going to write books then you’d better get comfortable selling books as well. The two go hand in hand for the full time author.
There was a time when an author’s ONLY option was to pack a suit case and go on a coast to coast promotional tour. Fortunately, the internet has made that an OPTION for promoting your book instead of a REQUIREMENT.
That’s why I love blogs as the “website of choice” for authors. Blogs display your writing ability AND enable you to reach a large online audience. You can promote your book via a “virtual” book tour and then refer potential book buyers back to your blog… all without leaving your home or your computer!
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