Going Electronic - How to Sell Your Book

​When Granny Sue wrote and published, there was a lot of cutting, pasting and whiting out for mistakes. Then she had to call up a publisher who could get it printed and go out to various books stores and malls to convince them the book would sell. With technology, it’s a much simpler world. Now, we can sell books ourselves without having to shell out dollars and cents to get a book published – or we can review publishers and pick which we’d prefer. With the internet came choices. And here are some steps toward helping make a choice on selling your book and some tips to make sure you have a sound idea of what to look for when selling:

• Stay Active on Social Media: Social media is a major influencer in the lives of people today. Advertising is booming online with social media outlets because that’s the country’s primary source of communication and news. That’s why businesses pay the big bucks for advertising on social media, so don’t let your profile go to waste.
• Use advertising when self-publishing: It’s nice to do this when a publisher is selling your book to stores, but needed when you are the only one getting your name and book out to the public. Advertising is harder than it looks, but it does work over time with the number of eyeballs looking at your book title. It may take longer for your book to sell, but you get to keep all the proceeds that come your way for every book that sells.
• Use multiple venues for Advertising: There are all kinds of local and nationwide advertising opportunities out there. It’s effective, but it’s not cheap. If you’re looking for cheap, it may be time to seek something else. Call local magazines in your area, advertise on various author-type websites, hand out flyers, talk to libraries about your new book, join author groups – there are tons of ways to get the word out there! Don’t limit yourself to just one place.
• Make Sure You’re Advertising in the Right Field: Advertising a children’s book in a vogue magazine wouldn’t make much sense. Make sure your book is in a magazine, website or other venue that relates to the topic of your book.
  

• If Needed, Let Professional Advertisers Help: Some people don’t want to take the time or effort in advertising. They have people for that, too! If advertising is not your forte and you need help or don’t know where to start, research hire local advertiser to help. 

Works Cited:

Jarvis, Paul. “How to Market a Self-Published Book.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 18 Sept. 2014.

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