Tag: publishing
Simple Steps Lead To Successful Books
Like most first time authors, I figured that once the word was out that I’d written a book, the world would beat a path to my door wanting to buy it. I’ll admit I gave little thought to marketing until the day my first printing of Handbook To A Happier Life was delivered. In a panic, I called a published author I knew and asked, “What do I do now?” She suggested several books about book marketing, which I bought immediately. I was on my way.
Success in book selling is a three step process: 1. Write the book. 2. Print the book. 3. Sell the book. That last one can be bit tricky:-)
Space does not permit me to go into all the details of my process or to list the many people who helped, however, there are a couple of very important points I learned early on which made all the difference.
The most important thing I learned was to identify my reader. As much as I hated to admit it, not everyone would buy my book. My early feedback told me entrepreneurs, network marketers and salespeople were buying my book. I began to ask myself focused questions as to how I could best reach these people. I set goals. After all, if you don’t have a goal, how will you know when you’ve succeeded? I took specific actions daily. That’s important. Consistent action will make all the difference.
There were days when I was ready to give up but I kept taking action. I refused to give up. Another important point. Never, never, never give up! One day, a door opened. I had located a distributor who was selling to the market I wanted to reach. They reviewed “Handbook To A Happier Life” and it was put on a recommended reading list. It went into eight printings with almost 100,000 copies sold and was translated into several languages, and then sold to a big publisher. I knew all along that once people saw this book, they would want to read it.
I firmly believe most books will sell once you have taken the time to clearly define your market, set your goals and commit to taking daily action. And more action – keeping in mind that there are many places you can sell books besides bookstores. Go for it!
The Best Business Card You Ever Had
“Keep in mind Jim, this is a great business card.” That was my first lesson as a new author and it has served me well over the years. On a lark, I sent 20 copies of my new book to the presidents of several big direct sales companies. The result was a glowing testimonial from the president of one of the companies, along with an order for 250 books. Was it worth the cost of giving away the 20? You bet it was! I like to think of giving away books as planting seeds. You never know which ones will spout or when.
Many professional speakers and coaches willingly give away their $12 paperback book (with a cost of a $2-$4) and attract clients and bookings worth thousands of dollars from it. Others obtain high priced consulting contracts using the book as a door opener.
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A Strategy For Coming Up With A Great Book Title
Book publishing companies hire high-priced people to come up with a title or ìheadline,î because book publishing is a big business; therefore a lot of contemplation goes into making their titles as commercially-viable as possible.
Go into a bookstore and browse through the titles in the bestseller section. Book publishing companies hire high-priced people to come up with a title or ìheadline,î because book publishing is a big business; therefore a lot of contemplation goes into making their titles as commercially-viable as possible. Many well-known and highly successful books started out with other titles. According to Dan Poynter, the father of self-publishing:
ï Tomorrow is Another Day became Gone With The Wind.
ï Blossom and the Flower became Peyton Place.
ï The Rainbow Book became Free Stuff For Kids.
ï The Squash Book became the Zucchini Book.
ï John Thomas and Lady Jane became Lady Chatterlyís Lover.
ï Trimalchio in West Egg became Fitzgeraldís The Great Gatsby.
ï Something that Happened became Steinbeckís Of Mice and Men.
ï Catch 18 became Catch 22
While you are at the store, notice how the other browsers pick up a book, scan the front and back cover, and then put it down again before going on to another book. The whole process takes about two seconds each. Thatís all of the time you have to make an impression on a potential reader. In those two seconds, you must appeal literally to three of the five senses that human beings have, sight, speech, and hearing, and figuratively to the last two, touch and smell.
1) Sight: When someone first comes in contact with your bookís title, it is usually by seeing it on the front cover. So your title must be aesthetically appealing.
2) Speech: If a person stumbles over the words, it will add to the difficult in marketing your book. Even if you are writing only for family members and friends, and you are giving away your book for free, there is still an element of marketing.
3) Sound: Business philosopher Jim Rhone says in order to have effective communication, you must ìHave something good to say, say it well and say it often.î Your title will be heard often, but will it be good and will it be said well?
4) Touch: Touch also means to ìrelate toî or ìto have an influence on.î Figuratively, your title must allow itself to touch or be touched by being able to relate to your readers or have some type of influence on them.
5) Smell: Your title should figuratively give off an aroma. In other words it should project ìa distinctive quality or atmosphere.î If the aroma the title gives off suggests that very little thought or concern was given to it, people will assume that the rest of the book is the same way.
On a recent Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller list, out of 20 books, one had a one-word title; five had two-word titles; four had three-word titles; five had four-word titles; three had five-word titles; one had a seven-word title and one had an eight-word title. The point is, most honchos at major publishing companies believe that the simpler/shorter the title, the better. None of the titles were complex.
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