“The Power of the PR Agent and Your Book! --An Expert's How to Write a Book Step-by-Step Guide”
If you think public relations will be a big part of your book marketing, you're right! So let me introduce you to the person who can really make things happen for you!
by Steve Manning
The biggest complaint authors have about the whole publishing environment is that publishers don't promote the author's book nearly as aggressively as they should. In the publishing world, things are constructed somewhat backwards. Publishers will aggressively promote a book only when it begins to sell well.
Until that time, the book and the author are pretty much on their own. Yes, the publisher does have a promotion budget for your book. But it's very small. Only when the publisher recognizes that your book is gaining popularity and is selling well will they devote time and effort and resources to promoting your book.
Just about every author believes he or she can do a great job promoting their book. And it stands to reason that they could. No one knows your book better than the you. And no one really knows why someone should buy that book more than the you do.
If you enjoy marketing, if you enjoy talking to people, if you enjoy selling, then you'll probably enjoy promoting your book as well. But promoting your book effectively can be a fulltime job and usually is a fulltime job. You may have better things to do with your time than calling editors and producers.
You can hire a public relations specialist to do this for you. Now before you start saying you don't have the budget for this sort of thing you might want to look upon it as a self liquidating process. At least for your first book.
Some new authors go so far as to use their entire advance to pay for a public relations specialist. In fact, that can be used as a selling feature for your book, when you send it to a publisher. Not only is it a great book, not only will a publisher make money, but you'll take all of your advance and you'll be spending it on public relations.
Time for a little unabashed, self promotion: If you haven’t asked for my Free CD, “How to Write a Book On Anything in 14 Days Guaranteed!” then you’re just plain nuts! It’s free, no charge, but you can bet this $100 CD will be carrying that price tag very shortly. How do you get it? Just email me at Free CD, Please, or CD_please@writeabooknow.com and make sure you include your name, your mailing address and your telephone number in the email. Now, back to the article…
They're quite a few reasons for hiring a PR specialist yourself. To begin with you may not like doing PR work, not every author does. It involves a lot of mailing, a lot of telephone work, and an endless supply of persistence.
When a PR specialist is speaking with the journalists, there's a cache involving an element of credibility. If the writer is publicizing his own work, it isn't as impressive to the journalist as a book being promoted by a PR specialist.
Also a PR specialist has the very important Rolodex. They know the names and phone numbers. It can save you a huge amount of time. No need to hunt for the right names, or the right shows, or the right numbers. The PR person already has that and hits the ground running. Yet even with all the preparation promoting a book is a fulltime job. It just may not be the kind of job for you.
What does a PR agent do? They contact media about your book. They intrigue and interest media people about your book. And they schedule interviews with journalists and media. In short, they do everything possible to bring the author and of the journalist together. They can, but they rarely write feature articles for the journalist. They are there simply to facilitate the meeting of the two parties. They don't find literary agents for you. They don't find publishers for you, or editors. They don't line up speaking engagements for you. Their job is simply to make the connections and make it easy for you.
One what kind of advantage can you get with the PR agent? The payback can be enormous. And really should be enormous. If you've been working with a public relations agent for some time and you're not getting the visibility you want, there's something wrong. Perhaps the agent is going after the wrong market or the wrong people. Maybe they don't understand the audience for your book. And maybe they don't understand your limitations. But they should be providing you with an avalanche of opportunities to get your book in front of the eyes of the book buying public.
It's a symbiotic relationship. They provide the opportunities and you take advantage of the opportunities. When it works, there are worth every penny they charge and sometimes much, much more.
While we're on the topic of strategies, and if you haven't already done so, feel free to
subscribe to my FREE on-line course, "How To Write A Book On
Anything in 14 Days... or Less" it's packed with tips, techniques
and tactics for writing your book faster than you ever thought possible! But
ONLY if you're SERIOUS about writing a book NOW!
Wait a minute! You mean you still don't have your writing program, "How to Write A Book On Anything in 14 Days Or Less... Guaranteed!"? Well click How to Write A Book!
Time for a little unabashed, self promotion: If you haven’t asked for my Free CD, “How to Write a Book On Anything in 14 Days Guaranteed!” then you’re just plain nuts! It’s free, no charge, but you can bet this $100 CD will be carrying that price tag very shortly. How do you get it? Just email me at Free CD, Please, or CD_please@writeabooknow.com and make sure you include your name, your mailing address and your telephone number in the email.
Like this article? Link to it from your web site or blog -- just copy/paste this HTML:
Just about everyone has asked me, what's the cheapest, fastest, most cost effective way to turn your manuscript into a real,
book-store book. Cheap as in 50 cents per copy. Fast as in can
I have it by this afternoon. Cost effective as in, what if I only
want to produce one or two copies. Take a look at this information for all the answers you'll ever need.