Promoting Your Work & Yourself

by Steven Manchester

Being a successful author takes more than being a good writer; one must also be a good salesman. The only obstacles to achieving this success are found within the mind. The trick is to get yourself out there, constantly, and to be tenacious in your pursuit. Below are just a few of the practices that have worked for me over the past 10 years...

1. Promote yourself online.

• Create a website for yourself and promote it shamelessly. (For example - www.StevenManchester.com)
  
• Capitalize on Internet connections where your work has been published. Promote your work on other websites by getting your site linked.
  
• Ensure that your work can be purchased at Amazon.com and B&N.com.; This automatically makes your work national.
  

2. Be a presence on the local literary scene.

• Do as many author interviews as you can, and host as many local events as possible. (As a published author, it's not difficult to become a local celebrity.) Keep a close pulse on current events, and attach yourself.
  
• Volunteer your time (at literacy events, etc.), and read your work at open mic's.
  
• Contact your local media via press releases. From there, build momentum by interviewing on local radio and TV. (A Publicity/Promotions packet usually includes a mass mailing of glossy postcards, and an equally heavy mailing of press releases.)
  
• Try to hook up with an independent filmmaker to have your work filmed. This creates incredible hype on a local level!
  
• Promote your work via speaking engagements at area schools, area book clubs, author's associations, and community organizations (Rotary Clubs, Kiwanis clubs, VFW, AGWVA, DAV, etc.).
  
• Throw a book release party and promote it! Your book is as big as you treat it, and others will follow suit.
  

3. Get other people to talk about your books.

• Get your books listed in the Library Journal (which is distributed to ALL libraries).
  
• Ask magazines and newspapers to review your work. Many will.
  
• Solicit celebrity endorsements - including those from other authors.
  

4. Network with other writers.

• Create a network of readers and fellow writers, and watch the circle grow larger as they help you succeed. It's who you know! The most difficult path is trying to get things done without help.
  
• Attend other writers' book signings and readings. Offer a business card, and then ask for one. Introduce yourself, but don't take too much time. Follow the meeting up with an email within the next few days (filled with compliments and your wishes of sharing contacts and networking). Don't be shy about asking for favors. Be equally willing to be of assistance.
  
• Do the research, and use your competition as your ally. "A rising tide carries all ships." Readers are topical, staying with a specific genre. If they like a certain type of book, they'll read 4 or 5 before exhausting interest. More often than not, your competition is not your enemy but your ally.
  

5. Always be prepared to promote yourself and your books.

• Though it sometimes takes years to become an overnight success, it doesn't pay to be shy. Be confident, but not cocky. This isn't a business for the overly humble.
  
• Use log lines: Write three or four sentences best describing each of your books, and memorize them. When asked what your work is about, recite these polished blurbs.
  
• Write a strong bio, and keep it updated.
  

6. Go on tour; people are loyal to authors they meet in person.

• Embark on a national radio tour. This takes some research, but most radio programs are in constant search of new guests.
  
• While you're on tour, set up book signings, saturating a specific area at a time. The average number of books purchased per signing is 20.
  

7. Most of all, remember:

• If you forget every other word in the English language, hold on to perseverance. When it comes to marketing and promotion, it is the most important trait needed for success (more so than knowledge, talent or chance). Knock on every door you can, and keep knocking. Become a zealous promoter of your published works, go to any lengths to capture success with each book, and be grateful to your loyal readers.
  
• Be AWARE of opportunities all around you - big and small - and capitalize on all of them. Unless you're sitting at the poker table, you can't expect to get dealt a winning hand. Place yourself where you can meet opportunities. Successful marketing is like fishing: The more bobbers you have in the water, the better your chances of catching a string of fish.

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© Steven Manchester

The father of three beautiful children, Steven Manchester is the published author of The Rockin' Chair, The Unexpected Storm, A Father's Love, and Jacob Evans, as well as several books under the pseudonym, Steven Herberts. Three of his screenplays have been produced as films. Visit his website at www.StevenManchester.com.