Marketing – that indefinable route to success. There are three things the writer needs to decide.
- Are you trying to do it for a living?
- Are you doing it for family and friends or to satisfy an urge to see your work in print? Nothing wrong with this, many do.
- Could you successfully market your book without much outside assistance?
There are no right or wrong answers to these and it will determine the level of help you need. Ultimately, it will dictate the level of involvement you will require from ShieldCrest.
Let’s clear up one thing right away and it is something, regrettably, that publishers are reticent to tell you or make misleading statements. If you think that retailers up and down the country will wish to place your book on their shelves once they learn it is available, that will not happen. Obviously, shelf space (and cost) is at a premium and reserved for books they know are in demand and will sell quickly. However, book shops local to the author might well do so and be prepared to host book signings.
Similarly, if you think by simply having your book available on Amazon or any of the other major retailer web sites, it will automatically sell thousands, then forget it. If no-one knows the book exist how are they going to find it among the millions of other titles available?
Marketing is key to getting your book known and our most successful authors have taken the lead in opening up their market with our support. But they don’t stop there. As already stated, even if your book manages to get onto a retailers bookshelf, it doesn’t automatically guarantee someone is going to buy it. You certainly can’t make anyone purchase your book.