You've written. You've edited. You've sent your manuscript off to a publisher. They liked it! After more editing and cover design, you're finally a published author! That's the end, right? If you think that's it, you may want to rethink this whole process.
Once you've gotten your book published, there's much more work to do if you want to find success with your work. Don't think your publisher has an army of promoters walking out the door of your publishing house with your book in hand ready to spread the news. Don't get me wrong. A really good publisher will do some marketing and promoting for you. But the grassroots part of getting your name and your product out there won't be done by them. The main chunk of the marketing needs to be done by you.
So, right now you may be thinking, "How do I market my book?" Well there are several ways to do that. We live in the modern era of social media. So you don't have a Facebook account, Twitter account, or blog? Well sign up for one. Facebook, Twitter, and Blogger are free for your use! These are fantastic tools that you can use to get your name and your book in the spotlight for free! A great way to start is to connect with other authors and readers alike. After all, these are people who have the same goal you do. They've published a book and want to see it be successful. Find groups online that promote or review the genre you've written.
Don't saturate the groups with your posts though. If you post five and six times a day links to Amazon or Barnes and Noble where people can buy your book you might find yourself getting banned for overdoing it. You've also got to promote to the right groups. If you write mysteries, a group of romance readers may not be the best avenue for you to visit to promote your book. Saturating the market makes you look desperate. Trust me, I understand that you're extremely excited but be smart about your promoting.
The internet is an excellent tool for promotion but don't forget about old fashioned face time. Check out your local book stores, especially independently owned ones. Attend events at the bookstores. Make yourself known there. Get to know the staff and owners. Once you have a copy of your book in hand, then pay a visit to them and talk with them about the possibility of them stocking your book. If they know you already, that can make things a bit easier to convince them to give your book a chance.
I've made the mistakes above. My first book was published in 2009. I fell for a scam from a publisher that agreed to publish and market the book for free. When my book came out, it looked perfect. It was everything I'd hoped for in a cover design. Inside though, it was clear that the book had not been edited at all. During the publication process I found several errors and e-mailed them corrections. They charged me $50 to make the corrections. I paid it, but found many more errors after it was published. By then it was too late to make any more changes. I then became inundated with e-mails from them saying that they would submit it to various places for certain fees. Apparently in order to get the so-called promotion they promised I had to pay hefty fees or buy large copies of my own book to get that done. Even though I know that copies of the book had sold, I never once saw a single royalty payment from them. As a new author I was led to believe that they would handle it all and I'd be reaping the rewards of success. The reality was far from that. In talking with local bookstores, most of them didn't like to stock self-published books or ones by this particular publisher because they often didn't sell. I was sunk before I even began.
Don't make the mistakes I did the first time around. My first book went nowhere because I didn't know how to market it. I expected the publisher to handle all of that, as they said they would. Since then, I've read and researched. I've gotten involved with a wonderful, reputable publisher now whose goal is to help me be successful and will give me the tools and guidance needed to find that success. After all, my success will be their success! They believe in me. I believe in myself. As a partnership, we can share success in my book!
Don't think that once you've been published that all you have to do is write. Market yourself and your product. Interact with your Facebook friends, Twitter followers, and blog readers. Show them that they are important to you! Make friends with your local booksellers. Last, don't fall for any self-publication scams. Find a reputable traditional publisher who will be your partner, not one that offers empty promises as a self-publication scam. Believe in yourself!
This blog post will offer some insight into what happens once you have a book in hand. Even then, it's not a cake walk. There's still plenty of work involved.
Are you still up for the challenge? Do you still want to be an author? If so, go for it! You believe in yourself and that's the first step!
