Self-Published Authors – 5 Tips To Get Your Book Noticed
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You could write a beautiful novel that’s destined to be a classic of our time, but if you don’t have the right PR strategy, no one’s going to ever read it. Most of the work will come after the book is written and in the form of consistent, high quality book promotion. Here are 5 tips to get your book into the hands of more readers:
1. Start your social media strategy long before your book’s releaseThe day your book comes out is the not the day you should be creating Twitter and Facebook accounts. Start early, create a separate Twitter account for yourself as an author, mention your upcoming book in your profile and start participating in genre discussions, writer topics and book groups (yes, there are book groups that happen in less than 140 characters). This same idea applies to Facebook.
2. Connect with other successful authorsFind other self-published authors in your genre who write a blog and start commenting. Always include a link to your profile or website and always be engaging. If you’re just posting to get a link up, people will know, so try to keep your comments on topic and interesting. Basically, be sincere.
Follow other authors on Twitter, introduce yourself and start making connections. Yes, you want to connect with readers, not authors, but the right mention from a popular writer means you might get access to their fans.
3. Contact your local bookstore about purchasing or promoting your bookMost local bookstores and libraries are enthusiastic about supporting local authors, even the self-published ones. Get in touch with the purchasing department to see if they’d like to buy the book or if you can donate a copy, but also get in touch with the special events coordinator. Many libraries and bookstores run regular author talks, spotlights on local writers or workshops. Getting your face on to these panels means getting your book into readers’ hands.
4. Have a saleA benefit to being your own publisher is that you can set your own prices. If you’re delivering your book digitally, this can be as simple as a few clicks. Either giving away your book for free for a few days or drastically reducing the price can lead to a surge in downloads – the idea being that these people read your book, love it, review it and boost your book’s rankings.
5. Hire a PR professionalIf you don't have the time to do your own book promotion, your best option is to hire a professional that has experience promoting self-published books. It can be costly, but with the right PR efforts you will see the return on your investment. Before you hire anyone, make sure you understand exactly what they’ll be doing for you, what you can expect and for how long they’ll continue working for you.
Book promotion isn’t something you can cross off your list in a day. It’s a continuous effort. Working on it for 30 minutes every day for a month is going to be a lot more fruitful than whittling away a Saturday trying to squeeze in your publicity quota. Expect your PR strategy to start well before your book’s release date and continue for as long as you can maintain momentum.