Choices is pleased to host Claudine Wolk and Julie Murkette on their WOW! Women on Writing virtual book tour. They have written the essential book marketing and publishing guide called: Get Your Book Seen and Sold. Also, Claudine has honored us with a guest post titled:
You Can’t Do Everything To Promote Your Book. The Good News Is That You Don’t Have To!
Here’s Claudine:
The breadth of what is possible to market and promote your book is endless. Keep reading this
post, though. There is hope for you to do right by your book.
No author can do everything to promote their book. But the good news is that you don’t have
to do everything.
You MUST promote your book, though. If you don’t promote your book, it won’t sell, plain and
simple.
So, what is an author to do to get their book seen and sold?
First, get comfortable with book marketing as a discipline. Like any other discipline it is a bit
of a new language… take some time to learn the new language. How does book marketing
work? How can book marketing sell books?
Second, now that you are convinced that book marketing is important and you know how it
works in general, take some time to research YOUR book. Identify your book’s message,
audience, and hook.
Third, now that you know they ways that you COULD market your book and you know the
specifics about your book, pick book marketing options that will CONNECT you with your
identified audience and your message.
You have just learned the key to book marketing. It’s CONNECTING the right book marketing
efforts with your book-buying audience. A good book marketing plan is not everything you
can possibly do, it’s what specifically can you do that will reach your audience.
One more consideration for where you should focus your book marketing efforts involves
you! Specifically, of all the things that you could do via book marketing to connect with your
audience, which of those things do also already enjoy doing?
For example, do you like to write? Include things in your book marketing plan that
include YOUR writing. (write articles, write a substack newsletter, submit writing to
online outlets, etc.)
Do you like to speak? Include things in your book marketing plan that include
speaking engagements either online or in person.
Are you good at recording audio and video? (Create a podcast or a YouTube) Are you
picture taker? (Create and grow your Instagram account). Do you have a Facebook
following? Do you love to record your life?
Remember that no matter what social media / writing / podcast you decide to do:
1. Pick one or two and create a consistent stream of content
2. Make sure that the social media channel or outlet is read by your target audience!
Claudine Wolk is co-author, Get Your Book Seen and Sold: The Essential Book Marketing and
Publishing Guide. Find her writing/podcasts at ClaudineWolk.Substack.Com.
***
Book Summary
It is easier than ever to publish a book, but many authors find out too late about the actual work-the book marketing-that needs to be done to achieve sizable book sales. Instead of embracing the opportunities to promote their books, authors are intimidated and shut down. Those days are over. This is the book authors MUST HAVE to give their books the best chance to be seen and sold.
In this essential, easy-to-read, and easy-to-understand guide, the author will work through the graphs, examples, and exercises in the book and learn:
- The fundamentals of book marketing: Message, Audience, and Hook
- How the book marketing fundamentals effortlessly feed into every aspect of book marketing
- The breadth of book marketing options and how book marketing works, with examples
- How book distribution IS a crucial part of book marketing
- To develop an elevator pitch and a formal pitch to media contacts
- To develop with a doable book marketing plan
- To develop media kit items for their book publicity efforts: Press Release, Author Bio, etc.
- The types of book reviews and how to get them
- To create a list of media contacts and how to use them
- To organize their new entrepreneurial business as book marketer/author
- Ideas to “shake their tree” to develop unique book marketing opportunities
- To examine the best social media channels to promote their books
- Where to put their book promotion dollars
- Most importantly, authors will learn something priceless…the correct starting point!
Authors, You CAN do right by your book! Go on and reach the book buyers that you had in mind when wrote your treasured manuscript and Get Your Book Seen and Sold today.
Publisher: Lost Valley Press (September 2023)
ISBN-10: 1935874446
ISBN-13: 978-1935874446
Print length: 122 pages
Purchase your copy on Amazon, Bookshop.org, or Barnes and Noble. Make sure you add it to your GoodReads list too.
About the Authors
Claudine Wolk and Julie Murkette are experienced in sharing their knowledge of the publishing industry to give books the BEST chance to be sold. Julie is the long-time owner of Satya House Publications, which published and marketed the award-winning I See the Sun series of books, among others. Claudine Wolk is a published author, journalist, podcast host and book marketing consultant. You can find her writing in her weekly newsletter on Substack: Get Your Book Seen and Sold. Her book, It Gets Easier and Other Lies We Tell New Mothers, (Harper Collins) is translated into three languages and was released as an audiobook (Nov. 2022).
Find Claudine online at:
Substack: https://ClaudineWolk.Substack.com
Website: ClaudineWolk.com
Instagram: @ClaudineWolk
Facebook: Facebook.com/ClaudineWolk
Twitter: @help4newmoms
Excellent guest post!