Get out there and "Plug Your Book!!!"
If there was any one written guide I might recommend as a valuable source to help independent authors and publishers with their book promotion, it would have to be Steve Weber's "Plug Your Book--Online Book Marketing for Authors."
I purchased a copy of this book over a year ago, just about the time I "went live" with "Proud Souls" and after all these months and countless reads and re-reads of the same material, there isn't a moment that goes by that I don't say--"I am sure glad I bought this book!"
Steve Weber has been working as an online book dealer since 2000 and has become one of the most successful and highly rated book sellers on eBay and Amazon.com. And in 2007 he released "Plug Your Book" as a means to help authors--both independent & self-published writers as well as those published the traditional route--with effective, planned and Internet-based marketing concepts and strategies all outlined in one bound guide.
Remember, marketing, like writing doesn't have structured written rules that apply to every type of artist in their artistic niche. There are however effective proven guidelines that must be applied in order to be successful, the same as a writer might consider story structure or an artist might consider perception and depth with relation to color. What Mr. Weber has done for us lowly writers out there trying to make a name for ourselves is this: He has provided a baseline for effective book promotion, with a table of content that can be utilized as a "to do" list to help us achieve our goals.
Some of the material covered in this book are effective social networking with sites like Facebook and MySpace, obtaining and gathering book reviews, beginning and maintaining a blog and more importantly, how to get the most from the largest online bookstore in the world: Amazon.com.
Some of the steps may not apply to your particular genre, but 90% of the content within the pages of this book will apply to anyone trying to market their book, regardless of whether its fiction or non-fiction. Like our writing we have to "think outside the box" with relation to our marketing campaigns and often that makes the road towards success an uphill battle. But regardless, that is the path we have chosen as writers. Like Robert Frost said: The Road Less Traveled. But regardless of whether we choose the path of lease resistance or the road less traveled, it is imperative that you have a solid and thorough understanding of what the vast majority of artists like yourselves are doing to market their work. "Plug Your Book" is a definite source of material that will help you understand where you are missing the mark with some steps you may already be applying and introduce you to other concepts you may not have considered.
So, whether you are in the infancy stage of self-publication or have already been racking your brain to market your finished work, I believe "Plug Your Book" can help (at the very least) provide an effective baseline to help you prepare, apply and follow-through with your marketing campaign. I have been working to promote "Proud Souls" for 13-months and I contribute a vast majority of my success to the content within the pages of this book. Had I learned a majority of this information on my own, I would not have come as far as I have with relation to my own novel this quickly.
And as an FYI..."Plug Your Book" is the ONLY book marketing guide I own thus far and for me, it has been just enough to get me where I am and I highly recommend you grab a copy and go!!!
Best of luck to you...and remember...I believe...because you believe!
~Bobby Ozuna
"Drawing Stories...With Words"
www.BobbyOzunaOnline.com
If there was any one written guide I might recommend as a valuable source to help independent authors and publishers with their book promotion, it would have to be Steve Weber's "Plug Your Book--Online Book Marketing for Authors."I purchased a copy of this book over a year ago, just about the time I "went live" with "Proud Souls" and after all these months and countless reads and re-reads of the same material, there isn't a moment that goes by that I don't say--"I am sure glad I bought this book!"
Steve Weber has been working as an online book dealer since 2000 and has become one of the most successful and highly rated book sellers on eBay and Amazon.com. And in 2007 he released "Plug Your Book" as a means to help authors--both independent & self-published writers as well as those published the traditional route--with effective, planned and Internet-based marketing concepts and strategies all outlined in one bound guide.
Remember, marketing, like writing doesn't have structured written rules that apply to every type of artist in their artistic niche. There are however effective proven guidelines that must be applied in order to be successful, the same as a writer might consider story structure or an artist might consider perception and depth with relation to color. What Mr. Weber has done for us lowly writers out there trying to make a name for ourselves is this: He has provided a baseline for effective book promotion, with a table of content that can be utilized as a "to do" list to help us achieve our goals.
Some of the material covered in this book are effective social networking with sites like Facebook and MySpace, obtaining and gathering book reviews, beginning and maintaining a blog and more importantly, how to get the most from the largest online bookstore in the world: Amazon.com.
Some of the steps may not apply to your particular genre, but 90% of the content within the pages of this book will apply to anyone trying to market their book, regardless of whether its fiction or non-fiction. Like our writing we have to "think outside the box" with relation to our marketing campaigns and often that makes the road towards success an uphill battle. But regardless, that is the path we have chosen as writers. Like Robert Frost said: The Road Less Traveled. But regardless of whether we choose the path of lease resistance or the road less traveled, it is imperative that you have a solid and thorough understanding of what the vast majority of artists like yourselves are doing to market their work. "Plug Your Book" is a definite source of material that will help you understand where you are missing the mark with some steps you may already be applying and introduce you to other concepts you may not have considered.
So, whether you are in the infancy stage of self-publication or have already been racking your brain to market your finished work, I believe "Plug Your Book" can help (at the very least) provide an effective baseline to help you prepare, apply and follow-through with your marketing campaign. I have been working to promote "Proud Souls" for 13-months and I contribute a vast majority of my success to the content within the pages of this book. Had I learned a majority of this information on my own, I would not have come as far as I have with relation to my own novel this quickly.
And as an FYI..."Plug Your Book" is the ONLY book marketing guide I own thus far and for me, it has been just enough to get me where I am and I highly recommend you grab a copy and go!!!
Best of luck to you...and remember...I believe...because you believe!
~Bobby Ozuna
"Drawing Stories...With Words"
www.BobbyOzunaOnline.com
6 comments:
Thanks for sharing. Important to have good reference materials and tools to make one feel like they are on the right track. Sounds like you've found an excellent source.
Nancy:
I have always prided myself on being a writer who 1.) never took a writing course and 2.) never took a class or studied any material on marketing. BUT after a while that becomes a childish attitude and you can't (honestly) be successful unless you overcome your pride and ask for help or emulate others in their success.
"Plug Your Book" happened to be the first marketing book I purchased and luckily for me, it was full of helpful information.
I do suggest it as a first read to anyone in the initial stages of online book promotion.
Sounds like good info.
The best consistent source of writing/publishing info I've found online are author Victoria Strauss's sites - her Writer Beware site and a blog she does with an A. Krispen. She's easily googleable.
Paul:
Thanks for the info. I am familiar with that particular website...and that is a good reference for other readers of my site.
Thanks and nice to meet you!!!
Bobby,
It's good to see that the self published author community is willing to share information.
Was ther eany 1 particular peice of advice in "Plug Your Book" that helped you significantly?
Jeff:
I would say the MOST significant thing I learned from Plug Your Book would HAVE TO BE the way Amazon works with relation to publishers and authors.
I thought books were just "listed" and that was that...but I was totally off! I could write another blog posting explaining or rephrasing Mr. Weber's material (hey, great idea!!!) but essentially, there was information pertinent to selling successfully on Amazon that I may not have learned on my own.
Great question!
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