You wrote a book now what? Did you write it because you wanted to keep a private journal of your activities or because you wanted something that would sale? It’s one thing to write a book, it’s an entirely different thing to write one that’s saleable. Ensuring the success of a book is something even the biggest publishers have not been able to guarantee. If you want to write a book that sales here are some recommendations. 1. Know your readers. We’re not just talking about whether your readers are male or female. You’ll want to know how old your readers are? If they are married, single or divorced? Where do they live? What they do for a living? What other books do they read? What do they do for a living?
It seems like a lot but when you are on the internet your actions are being monitored, why? Because those in control want to know all about your habits so they know how to market to you.
Knowing these elements will help you incorporate those aspects into your book *and* help you unearth salient marketing opportunities (i.e., publications and stores). 2. Know your market. What’s the market like for your book? If you are writing about bottles and nobody cares about bottles you are wasting your time. Do you have something of particular interest to you and your readers based on the profile you developed in recommendation 1. Are you reading all the publications related to the topic you want to write about? Are there any “holes” out there your book could fill? What’s the future for this market/topic? For example, let’s say you’re a fiction writer looking to publish a book about making money. Go to any bookstore or library and find out as much information about making money that you can find.
3. Similar books. What else has been published on your topic? Have you read all ten books in your category? If you haven’t, you should. You’ll want to know everything you can about what’s out there and how it’s being perceived in the marketplace. It’s never a problem having a similar topic. All you have to do is angle your book differently.4. Getting and staying current. What are some hot buttons? What are people looking for? What’s next on the horizon for this topic/audience? If you can’t seem to gather this information through traditional channels, why not survey your target audience? There are a number of places to run free surveys, Survey Monkey is one of them: http://www.surveymonkey.com
5. Follow the media. Keep track of what the media is talking about. Look into what they are writing about. Is there something that you are planning on writing about that is getting a lot of coverage?
6. Timing is everything. When do you plan to release your book? Are you releasing around a holiday or anniversary? That can make a big difference in your book sales.