The Author Publisher Team

There's a common misconception among new authors and writers that says, if you can just get your book picked up by a Big Publishing house, they'll take care of the promotion. Furthermore, they'll pop for a glamerous national book tour with bright lights and huge sales, and possibly local TV coverage.

Sorry to break it to you, but that's just wrong. Unless you're a former or future president or a movie star, it doesn't happen. What you will get is a specific paragraph in your authhor's contract whereby you swear to actively promote and market your book(s) to the buying public. They should have it in their book catalog, but don't look for a swarm of eager salepeople to fan out across the U.S. to hype your printed and bound baby. Of course, if you self-publish, you'd be rowing that marketing boat yourself anyway.

So what can a scribe do to move book sales? Bookstore appearances are a start.

Bookstore Marketing

#1 Schedule a short workshop, discussion or presentation based on your book, and autograph copies of your book at the end of it.

Do not simply plan a book signing! Your signature alone isn't that tempting to the public. You need to offer something of value. For a new book, you can describe how you came to write the book and give an overview of the whole process of writing, getting published or self-publishing it.
For a book that's been out for a few months, present a topical workshop to give visitors a reason to sit down and will spark their interest in the topics. I've given various journaling workshops to promote my journaling books.

#2 Create your event promotion signs for the bookstore to put on their counters. Include the time, date and topic of your presentation, a photo of you and of your book's cover. Include a sentence or two from a positive book review, and take the signs to the store manager. (Check back after a few days to see if the sign is up or if it's gotten buried in the store room.)

#3 Send out News Release announcements to the calendar sections of your local newspapers. It's fine if the bookstore does it, too.

#4 Arrive at the bookstore at least 30 minutes ahead of time, set up whatever props you have and amble around the store inviting shoppers to come to your presentation.

Be professional from the first visit or phone call until after the presentation. (You did remember to send a thank You note to the store's managers, right?)

Send out email announcements to all of your friends and family, post notices on bulletin boards around town, and cross your fingers.

Happy writing and marketing

Linda