Marketing is a must in book publishing. Competition is fierce, and after years of working on a manuscript, and then a few more getting it published, no one will be aware a book exists if we don’t inform them. One of the first ways of doing this is through a piece called a sell sheet.
Sell sheets contain the who, what, when, where, whys, and how of the book. When well-worded, the advertisement draws interest through its compelling call to perspective readers. As shown in the sell sheet below for my new book, Tranquility. Transformation. Transcendence. The Enchanting Promises of Public Gardens, readers see the new cover, learn the book title, ISBN number, number of pages in the book, its price, and when and where it will be available, as well as how to pre-order. There also is a summary of the book, two or three early reviews, and a few sentences about the author.
Sell sheets are then sent to target organizations, communities, and local media. Friends, and family may also receive this piece in hopes that they will help spread the word. Please comment if you’d like to know more about sell sheets or my new book. I’d love to hear from you.
On February 23, 2022, I posted about a new position I have with my publisher as a marketing advisor. I’m enjoying coaching authors in ways they can promote their new books. Every author and book are unique in its opportunities to reach their readers. I brainstorm with these authors on how they may take advantage of those avenues, such as reaching potential readers in their particular lane, as well as with press releases, blog posts, and maintaining an informative website.
If I was grading the authors I’ve worked with so far, I’d give them all A+s for their efforts. They fully understand their responsibility to promote their book along with the publisher and are striving to do so to the best of their abilities. Perhaps one or more of their books are exactly what you’re looking for. Following is a bit about each of them and links for ordering.
Steven Denny, author of The Merton Prayer: An Exercise in Authenticity illustrates how words are powerful, both the ones we say out loud and those that ramble in our heads. Author Steven Denny claims that a group of words written by Thomas Merton that begin with “My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going” changed his life. And he isn’t the only one. Denny offers fourteen reflections on this prayer with color photographs, scriptural passages, personal stories, and questions designed to stimulate serious and deep reflection on the profound words of the Merton Prayer.
Leaps of Faith: Playful Poems and Fanciful Photosby Marva Hoeckelman, OSB is a quirky, faith-filled book of playful poems and photos depicting contemporary monastic life in America. Sister Marva shakes up some of the stereotypes of vowed religious held by many in secular society with her imagination and personal experiences in this fun, yet thoughtful, book.
Sometimes David Wins is a remarkable book of true stories by community organizer Frank Pierson who spent a career encouraging and training people to organize enough power to take on the Goliaths that sought to do them wrong. Starting with his own family’s checkered history of involvement in the infamous Ludlow Massacre in Colorado in 1914 and continuing through the founding of community organizations in Illinois, New York, Arizona, Nevada, and Colorado, Pierson weaves his considerable storytelling skills to create a picture of “the world as it could be.”
Bending Granite: 30+ True Stories of Leading Changecompiled by Tom Mosgaller, Maury Cotter, and Kathleen Paris is an inspiring and informative book for leaders from committee chairs and supervisors to educators and students. Readers are gifted with more than 30 stories from people who share how they brought about positive change under circumstances that were as challenging as bending granite.
These books are available from both the publisher, ACTA Publications, and Amazon.
I’m excited to share with you that I have a new position as an Author Marketing Advisor with ACTA Publications. I’ll be working with authors inspiring them and informing them of the competition they face, the responsibilities of the publisher, the need for authors to self-promote, and especially, ways in which they can bring their book to the attention of readers. In addition to several of my books being published by ACTA, I’ve also worked for them as a trade rep and wrote a blog reviewing their books as they were released.
After researching, writing, and rewriting for several years, authors balk at the thought of having to market their book, as well. However, the fact is, publishers package books, align the books with distributors, print and warehouse copies, and fulfill orders. Their marketing consists of listing them on Amazon, in catalogues, and on their website; sending out review copies; and producing sell sheets. They may also nominate books for awards.
Authors must do the rest to alert the public of their new book. Considering the millions of books released each year (more than 4 million books were published in the U.S. in 2019) in addition to those previously published and still available (perhaps as many as 20 million worldwide), an author’s new title is just one in a stadium-sized library stacked floor to ceiling.
After all the time and passion an author invests in a book, it is of little value if no one knows it exists. Authors who actively get the word out about their books do sell copies. The rest see their books collecting dust on their own shelves.
Publisher Greg Pierce at ACTA Publications made an ingenious move in hiring an Author Marketing Advisor. By doing so, he’s investing more money in the title, but also, and more importantly, in its success. In the end, publisher and author should benefit much more than they would without this guidance.
As authors, we don’t just write books. We start a business of book selling that may even include public speaking, one of the most lucrative ways to sell that book. The challenge for most of us is that, although we may be powerful storytellers in print, we are not particularly business minded. The marketing, selling, payment collection, bookkeeping, and tax filing make us uncomfortable. We find we must push ourselves to complete these other tasks.
It’s all very time-consuming. We must decide how much time and money we are comfortable investing in our book’s success and where we want to focus. Does our budget and time allow for building and maintaining a website and/or blog? Are we active on social media and want to post about the topic of our new book? Are we socially active and able to talk up our book or make cold calls to organizations that will find our book of interest?
Publishing our books is like giving birth to children. Our responsibility is to send them out into the world, especially if they serve a public need. Creative marketing offers countless opportunities to do just that.
Many decades ago in a journalism class, I learned about media gatekeepers. Gatekeepers are the controllers of what and how the public thinks.Every level of the media participates in gatekeeping to some degree.From reporter to publisher, each person determines not only what information is to be promoted, but also the content and spin.The higher up on the gatekeeper ladder, the more that step controls.
Gatekeeping may be subtle or overt. Even the most unbiased reporter can’t help but be partial to a degree. Turn to any media source, and we note a more distinct angle. We recognize what side of the fence they sit on. Their view of how the world should be is injected into every story.
So much of our news coverage is speculation about what might happen. The emotional spin on possible outcomes creates public stress, anxiety, and anger rather than peace, unity, and positive action.
Know that when one story or clip is shown repeatedly, someone is manipulating our emotions. It is a form of propaganda. Think about the motive behind repeatedly projecting that piece into our minds. Why would someone want you to see that taken out of context?
It is all of our responsibility to seek the whole truth, to dig deeper. We must find more than the handful of stories we repeatedly are shown. To understand a complete story or situation we need to check multiple sources. Check out “facts” (rumors) on credible sources such as Snopes.com. At the very least, if you can’t or won’t verify your information, don’t pass it on.
Businesses of all sizes today must have a website. If you don’t have an online presence, your existence is limited to those you can reach out and touch, which might be the best option in limited circumstances.
I’ve had a website for nearly as long as most of us have been online. It’s hard for us to remember not being media present but relatively speaking, it isn’t all that long, about 15-20 years.
Thank you to web designer, Brittany Gauss, my site has a fresh new look and enhanced optimization. There were countless hours invested in content and design. I’m happy with it. Take a look for yourself, and please, let me know what you think. marykdoyle.com
Midwest Mary 