Tips Self Publishers Can Use To Help Sell More Books Fast
By Helen
It's one thing to write a book, but an entirely different thing to write one that's saleable, viable, and marketable. Whether you've just published a book or have a book that isn't selling, now is the time to get to it; start marketing today! Your book selling, book marketing, and book promotion planning should begin before the manuscript is completed.

Make sure your press release spells out the 'who, what, where, when, and why.' Using press releases can be a very effective marketing tool if used properly. Using press releases for marketing or promoting your book or book's website has become increasingly popular as publishers discover the powerful benefits of using press releases.

Mail a press release to at least 1000 print and broadcast contacts just prior to publishing your title and again and again after you publish; you can never send too many. Mail a press release to all the trade journals in your field over and over again; you can use the same release. Send out at least 10 press releases to the print and broadcast media in your area every month.

Invest in press release submitting software and set aside time every week to send out a press release online to the press directories. Make sure you have at least one good press release, written in AP style that you can send out for the lifetime of your book.

Submit articles to online article directories that focus on your book's topic to drive customers to your website. It's important to publish a website that focuses on your title; you'll be able to refer editors and customers and all interested parties to your book information with the click of a mouse. Get as many testimonials about your book, as possible, from experts in the field relating to your title, not customers; use on your fliers and back of books.

Make five telephone calls a day that relate to marketing your book. Make sure not to overlook the Internet; get yourself interviewed or profiled for sites both about writing, publishing and about the topics covered in your book. Why not give away your book in a raffle at a local function to get more recognition


The PC in those Mac ads, the Daily Show's "resident expert" — yes, him. After a star turn in our recent State by State film, John Hodgman returns to Powell's with More Information Than You Require, his second volume of complete(ly made-up) world knowledge. At the Burnside Street store, during a break from Wordstock, he talked about mole-men and hobos, of course, but also Battlestar Galactica, Mall of America food stands, and life as a famous minor television personality.]]>

Graphic designer extraordinaire Chip Kidd presents Bat-Manga!, the first collection of Japanese Batman comics anywhere in the world! Originally published in 1966, at the height of the first worldwide Batman craze, and written and illustrated by manga legend Jiro Kuwata, these adventures were never collected in Japan, and had never been translated into English. We spoke with Kidd about his lifelong Batman obsession, the process of hunting down and collecting these incredibly rare issues, and why these 40-year-old comics are some of the most entertaining Batman stories ever made! ]]>

Thirty years after its initial publication, the new edition of Art Spiegelman's Breakdowns is bookended by a brand new, career-spanning, illustrated comic and a prose postscript supplemented by yet more classic drawings. Together, the three sections offer a grand, unifying vision of a master's career. In conversation, Spiegelman covered just as much ground, from the seminal early strips in Breakdowns to Maus (winner of a Pulitzer Prize in 1992) to In the Shadow of No Towers, even his much-loved commercial work. (Remember Wacky Packages and Garbage Pail Kids?)]]>

Iain Banks first published The Crow Road in the UK in 1992, and it is one of his best-loved books. Time Out called it "Riveting...exhilarating...its pace, development, intensity and, above all, its hip and sexy humour never allow it to flag." The Crow Road is a philosophical saga and a romantic coming-of-age story, a mystery and a comedy, and a raucous, moving, and deeply human look at relationships and family. As Publishers Weekly says, "Readers unfamiliar with Banks's prodigious output have a great starting point here." ]]>

Neal Stephenson has been a staple name in science fiction ever since his incandescent opus Snow Crash appeared. What separated Snow Crash from the other cyberpunk novels of the world was, first, Stephenson's knowledge of computers and programming and, second, his wealth of research on topics as obscure as Sumerian mythology. This theme of in-depth research has continued through his other books, especially Cryptonomicon and The Baroque Cycle. Before his reading, Stephenson discussed the mathematical philosophy and quantum mechanics in his newest novel, Anathem, as well as why he still writes by hand.]]>



Inspired by a WPA state guide series from the 1930s and 40s, State by State will surely rank among 2008's most notable literary achievements. Fifty writers on fifty states: Anthony Bourdain on New Jersey, Susan Orlean on Ohio, Sarah Vowell on Montana, S.E. Hinton on Oklahoma, Dave Eggers on Illinois... the list goes on and on. Weeks before publication, editors Matt Weiland and Sean Wilsey discuss working with the authors, noteworthy contributions, pleasing surprises, and the new Out of the Book film, which stars 19 of the collection's contributors.]]>

Annie Barrows's creative process for co-authoring The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was, by her own admission, unusual. It's not often that your adored librarian aunt hands you a rough manuscript to finish. And allowing for the fact that we are prejudiced towards the novel's pure expression of love for booksellers, we found it to be absolutely delightful. Barrows takes the time to explain her experience of co-writing Guernsey, what it means to be a community of readers, and why we hunger for charm in these modern times. ]]>

As David Carr tells it, "The dude was addicted to coke, got off the coke, obtained custody of his kids, a single parent, got off welfare, survived cancer, married well. But that's not what is resonating with people. It's much more the pathology." The dude being Carr, himself. Kurt Andersen attests, The Night of the Gun is "a breathtakingly candid, laugh-out-loud funny, heroically rigorous, consistently riveting, and deeply moving account of a nightmarish descent and amazing redemption." Carr discusses coke and cancer, fact and fiction, parenthood, new media, hope, and his new remarkable book.]]>

Why do Americans spend more than $10 billion a year on bottled water? "The facile answer is marketing, marketing and more marketing," supposes the New York Times Book Review, "but Elizabeth Royte goes much deeper into the drink, streaming trends cultural, economic, political and hydrological into an engaging investigation of an unexpectedly murky substance." The Boston Globe calls Bottlemania, "Ingenious. Amiably, without haranguing or hyperventilating, this veteran environmental writer has produced what could be, assuming enough people read it, one of the year's most influential books."]]>

City of Thieves, the newest novel by David Benioff, author of The 25th Hour and When the Nines Roll Over, has been hailed by critics as "a smart crowd-pleaser" (Publishers Weekly, starred review), a "gut-churning thriller [that] will sweep you along" (Kirkus, starred review), and "a funny, sad, and thrilling novel" (Entertainment Weekly). Set during the Germans' brutal siege of Leningrad in World War II, the novel follows the captivating odyssey of two young men trying to survive against desperate odds on an impossible mission through unimaginable depravity. Surprisingly, it's also thrilling, absorbing, and very funny. In this interview, Benioff discusses why it took so long to finish the first chapter, the difficulty of trying to capture the voice of a 17-year-old Russian boy during World War II, and more.]]>

Kirkus calls America America, Ethan Canin's first novel in seven years, "[a] novel of character [that] is powerful and haunting, a major work." It is a sweeping, epic story that more fully explores themes Canin has written about previously — class, politics, fatherhood, wealth, and power — in a seamless and beautiful multigenerational American saga. America America is both an important work and a page-turning summer read. Especially in this election year, it is a powerful reminder about what is great, and what is broken, within our country. In this interview, Canin discusses his new book, the politics of generosity, class-jumping, and method acting for writing.]]>

It's rare that you have the opportunity to interview someone as notorious as James Frey. Whether you were a fan or reader of A Million Little Pieces, you couldn't escape the news of the Oprah endorsement or the subsequent drubbing Frey received on her program when it was revealed that parts of his memoir were embellished. After reading an early advance copy of his new novel Bright Shiny Morning, we couldn't wait to talk with him about it. It's a compelling book about hope and firmly establishes James Frey as the comeback kid of 2008. Kudos aside, our interview with Frey made for one of the most interesting conversations we have had in recent memory.]]>



Two predictions: The Outlander will win at least one major award. And The Story of Edgar Sawtelle will find a home on bestseller lists. When we discovered these two remarkable debut novels and decided to feature them together in Indiespensable, Powell's subscription club, someone on staff proposed a joint interview with the authors. Their books share more than you might imagine: runaways, ghostly visions, improvised outdoor survival, scenes rendered so powerfully you may forget you're reading fiction (you may forget you're reading, altogether), and characters that linger long after you close the book.]]>


for your book.

Your sales letter or flier should include an eye-grabbing headline, the benefits to the buyer, the book features, book sales information and testimonials. Contact non-bookstore booksellers and offer to leave books on consignment. Create an online contest and list it in online contest directories to drive traffic to your website.

Print and online publications provide longevity to your marketing campaign in terms of having something tangible for people to reference ongoing. Remember to make sure your book is listed in Books-in-Print; don't assume it's already listed. Make sure your sales letter or flier is first class; this is your formal presentation of your title to the prospective buyer.

Build a web site that provides another avenue for ordering, a virtual online press kit and link exchanges with sites that relate to your topic. Women buy more books then men; see how you can fit your book into the women's market.

Make sure to promote and market your book each and every day, both online and offline. If your book fits a specialty market, find a store that fits the genre and offer to leave books on consignment; many publishers have sold thousands of books this way.

Don't delay another day if you've fallen by the wayside; make sure to focus on promoting, selling and marketing your book each and every day. If you apply yourself every day and you promote your book like crazy, you can achieve that ultimate goal of selling thousands of copies of your book, many self publishers have. With well chosen book marketing and book promotion, online and offline, you'll reap the profits you deserve for your efforts by way of the Internet and in your mailbox.


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