If you’re about to publish or have just published a non-fiction a course in miracles one of the biggest challenges you’ll face is simply how to sell your book and ideally sell it by the truckload. There are thousands of books being published each and every week. Somehow you have to find a way to make your book stand out from the crowd especially since it is estimated that 94% of books published today flop.
However, rather than see this as a depressing fact and believe that your book has little chance of being successful; recognize that you’re going to have to work hard in order for your book to be a success. In addition, if your book is being published by a traditional publisher you’ll want to hit the ground running once your book is actually available in bookstores.
With new books continually being published, some bookstores will give your book just 30 days to make an impact. And, if it is not selling by then they’ll return it to the publishers to make room for other books. So first of all you want to ensure that your book is being sent to appropriate bookstores. And, you’ll want to structure your book marketing plan so that individuals actually buy your book from bookstores as well as purchase it online from book sellers such as Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
However, the problem is that new authors often do not pay sufficient attention to how they will market their book. They become engrossed in the writing and production of their book. The fact that they have to sell their book, and more than just a handful of copies, in order for their book to be a success is sometimes only given serious consideration when suddenly boxes upon boxes of their precious book arrive on their doorstep.
To sell tens, scores, hundreds and then hopefully thousands of copies of your book will require creativity, persistence and a great deal of energy. There are some aspects of the marketing and promotion of your book that you can outsource but there are some things that you just have to do yourself. For instance, you can hire someone to schedule interviews for you but you’ll have to do the interviews.
Your book may contain a message but you have to convey it. You have to ensure that its message is both seen and heard.
It’s said that “you have to be seen to sell”. And there’s no getting away from it – the greater your visibility the more books you’ll sell.
One of the best ways to gain greater visibility and market your book is by public speaking. As John Kremer, author of “1001 Ways to Market Your Book” said:
