According to a recent Publishers Weekly article, commercial publishers released 276,649 new titles in 2007. In addition, on-demand publishers released 134,773 titles, an increase of 39 percent from 2006.
If, like me, you were among the authors of one of those 411,422 books, you face stiff competition in getting your book noticed. All the more reason to launch a solid online book promotion campaign to help you stand out from the crowd.
If you couldn’t make it to BookExpo America this year, take a look at its official podcast site. Several interesting podcasts are already available with more to come over the next few weeks.
Here’s a link to an interesting New York Times article that discusses the enigma that is the publishing industry: The Greatest Mystery: Making a Bestseller.
Several months ago I read an interesting post on Seth Godin’s blog titled Advice for Authors. Some of his 19 tips represent common sense for all authors; others are more alternative. In any event, it’s an interesting read and will definitely get you thinking about your career as an author.
My two cents:
#5 — Absolutely. Focusing on your target audience is the best way to sell your books and online book promotion is the best way to find that micro-niche.
# 7 — I’ve actually had good luck with major publishers (23 out of 24 books), but I do agree there are times when publishing independently is a good business decision (as I did with The Web-Savvy Writer).
#13 — Bookstore signings didn’t work for me, but they may work for others. Personally, I got much more mileage from a virtual book tour.
Are you relying on your publisher’s in-house publicist to do most of your marketing for you? Take a look at this article The Miami Herald published recently: For Authors, Writing’s Just Half the Job. It highlights the importance of actively participating in the marketing and promotion of your book, even if you published with a big-name publisher.
Get a free copy of the special report “The 5 Big Mistakes Most Writers Make When Trying to Get Published…And How YOU Can Completely Avoid Them” by Sophronia Scott when you sign up for The Book Sistah ezine (see sign-up form in the middle of the page; you’ll have to scroll down). I read The Book Sistah ezine each week and enjoy Sophronia’s articles. I particularly relate to mistake #4 on her list as it’s one of the big things I always tell the writers I work with.
If you missed this year’s BookExpo America, don’t worry. You can listen to podcasts from the Expo at BookExpoCast. Here’s another interesting article about the Expo: BookExpo Confronts Changes in Publishing.
By now, you’ve probably read the news reports regarding the current copyright infringement trial against Random House, alleging that The DaVinci Code author Dan Brown modeled his novel too closely on a book published in 1982. This case brings up several important issues for all authors to contemplate:
As a writer, the words you create are your most valuable asset. Unfortunately, any time you post content on a website or blog, there’s a chance a content thief might steal your words without your knowledge. In some cases you might want people to reprint your articles on the web (such as free article distribution for viral marketing). But for the most part, you won’t want someone lifting your content without even a request for permission.
To find out if someone has lifted the content on one of your web pages, check out Copyscape. Copyscape is a website that compares content on one of your web pages with other sites in the Google search engine to seek out matches. I tried this for a popular article that appears on one of my book companion sites and found two matches. One was for a site that had asked for permission to reprint my article and another was a surprise.
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Patrice-Anne Rutledge is a bestselling author of 25 books, technology and lifestyle journalist, and CeM-certified online book promotion expert.
