Monday, June 23, 2008

Book Club Outlets

Book clubs are another outlet for your book. They usually pay royalties of 4% of the cover price if sold at $1 a piece. If sold at the regular book club price, the royalty can be 8% of the cover price. There are many national clubs, most of which specialize in a genre. A Google search can help in making a choice on who to approach about your book and here are a few to get you started.

Book of the Month Club
Children's Book of the Month Club
Conservative Book Club
History Book Club
Progressive Book Club

Monday, June 02, 2008

5 Points of Book Promotion

Here is a nice, concise list of points that the major book publishers use when creating and then working a marketing plan. The points are in their order of importance.

1. Prominent Bookstore Placement. This usually means at/near the front door and/or along the most frequently-traveled isles. Major publishers pay to occupy the spaces.
2. Author Tours. A mainstay of authors everywhere, a tour could include a reading, book signing, short seminar, etc. Contact groups/book stores in a geographic area and schedule the event before hitting the road. Your audience wants to see and hear what you have to say (and the groups/book stores appreciate the attention).
3. Online Marketing. This continues to be a largely unexplored outlet that all publishers are rushing into. Take your book online through your own website or blog. To guarantee more viewers, use an established online retailer such as Amazon.com.
4. Appeals to Book Clubs. Whether a national book club or a local one, be sure to let them know that you and your book are available. Read from an existing book, tell of your plans for the next title, offer to help aspiring writers, etc.
5. Community Reading Organization. Local entities such as a public library system, will often hold programs promoting reading. Contact as many as you can and offer your services and book, maybe even help set up such a program for them.