Add these 4 to the 6 we already did, and you’ve got a good start.
- When anyone asks “what do you do?” introduce yourself as “the author of [your book’s name.]” When you self-identify as a writer, it changes your own perspective. This is not the same as pestering every person you meet with “hey, I wrote a book, and I’m going to tell you about it whether you like it or not.” Just identify yourself as the author, and if they don’t ask, you don’t pester. But say it.
- Ask your readers to write honest reviews at Amazon
- Carry copies with you everywhere, so when an opportunity arises, you can talk about it and sell it.
- Write your next book. A single-book author doesn’t stand out very much any more. “I’m working on my second book” is a good way to show you’re a career author, not a flash in the pan.
Authors who learn to love marketing will win in the long run. Marketing can feel like a slog through wet clay —wet clay flowing downhill, taking you with it. No matter what you do, how much time you spend in a million different social networks, nothing happens.
Start your marketing program the minute you decide to write a book. It can take a year or two to build a platform, your tribe of fans. Start now.
Consider how movies are marketed. A year in advance, sometimes more, teasers start to come out. A website goes up with trivia, bits and pieces.
If you’re totally completely helplessly lost about this “ebook” thing, I’ll try to answer the question “Where do I start?” as long as we agree that it’s akin to asking “I’d like to learn to play music; where do I start?” Far too vague to have a real answer, but enough to start hacking through the underbrush to some better questions.
