The new authors I work with are like every other new author: they have a story they want to get out into the world.
It’s an exciting process to have an idea and see it come to life. And as it gets closer to the finish line, it gets more and more exciting.
But…
What happens once the story is finished?
Doing a little research, it seems the average book sales for self-published books are 250-300 in the first year. Now, the information didn’t mention whether the authors in the statistics are promoting their books.
I suspect they are to make that many book sales. I also suspect the number of sales may be a bit generous for the self-publishing children’s fiction market.
And if the author isn’t promoting their book, I’m sure the number of books sold is A LOT LESS.
Why?
Promotion sells books.
A while ago, I watched an episode of Home Town (an HGTV show).
In the episode, one of the stars, Erin Napier, weaved in a visit to a local library where she read a portion of her children’s picture book, published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Not only does the author have a major publisher, but she also has major publicity, for example, the subtle or not-so-subtle plug on her show.
While I no longer watch the show, Napier was very creative, so writing a children’s book isn’t a far stretch, but the marketing power of celebrities is.
The average author doesn’t have this promotional power, which creates a disadvantage that the majority of authors have to deal with.
But it doesn’t mean you can’t sell those 250-300 books or more. What it means is you absolutely need to promote your books.
YOU NEED VISIBILITY.
A lot of writers use the word marketing when referring to promotion - I’m often one of them.
In case you’re not sure of the difference between promoting your book and marketing it, here’s a little breakdown:
Marketing is comprised of the four Ps: product, place, promotion, and price. According to Principio Marketing, these elements are the “cornerstone of any marketing plan.”
The point of this is that promotion falls under the marketing umbrella.
So once you have a book to sell, it’s on to the promotion phase of marketing.
Promotion is everything you do to make your product (your book) known. It’s building awareness, creating visibility. In other words, it’s about letting people know you have a book and why they should buy your book over another.
So what does promotion entail?
Aside from producing an exceptional book, the very first step in book promotion is creating an author website and an Amazon Author page.
It’s about regularly letting people know about your book.
You can do this through writing powerful copy for the book. This includes the metadata for distribution and the back cover copy. It’s also blogging and using social media.
For those authors who just don’t want to bother with a website and blogging, the very least you should do is create blurbs about your book and post them regularly to your social media networks.
You can’t expect that just because your book is available for sale, people will see it. To sell your book, it needs to be visible.
So now you know what most new authors don’t know.
I’m a working children’s ghostwriter, rewriter, and coach. I can help turn your story into a book you’ll be proud to be author of, one that’s publishable and marketable.
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