Among my favorite resources to both use and recommend to others who want to market their books is John Kremer’s 1001 Ways to Market Your Books. My colleague Dan Janal posted about this book to his blog today, and I invite you to read all about it.
My 6th edition of this book is well used, and among the pages that are marked in yellow highlighting are pages 695 and 696, where Kremer offers a rant that I think is well worth repeating.
“Well, I’m tired of authors, print-on-demand published authors, and self-publishers who continually spend money trying to get other people to do what they should be doing. I am sick and tired of that. I hate the griping that no one wants to listen to you. I hate the whining when another service provider takes you by the nose and wrings out all your money without providing much. I hate the statement so many make that ‘I’m giving up because no one cares.’ Everyone cares. Dang it. Everyone cares. Except you. If you fall into one of the three whining patterns I’ve outlined above, I know exactly what is going on. You don’t care. Because if you really had any true passion for your book, nothing would stop you. You wouldn’t wait for someone else to champion your book. You would do it. You would climb the highest mountain if need be, so people would know about your book. or, you would parachute into Windsor Palace. Or you would stand in front of a speeding truck. You would die for your book. If none of this makes sense to you, you are not an author. You are a dilettante. My apologies if this rant offends you, but some days I really get tired of authors who expect other people to do the work they should be doing.”
He goes on to say, “I know the above is some tough talk, but it really frustrates me when people have written a good book but won’t take the time to do the promotion necessary to get people to read their book. What a shame. Yes, there is a time when you can hire someone else to do some of the work, or pay someone to help you make your plans, or employ a service for a specific need. But you should still be intimately involved in whatever someone else is doing. Learn from them. Help them. Incorporate their service into the other steps you are taking to marketing your book.”
So, if you have created a book, you owe it to yourself to read Kremer’s comprehensive book and act on the golden nuggets within, while heeding his tough talk.
At the end of the day, it comes down to what Success Coach Sue Clement calls “the vacuum cleaner paradigm.” If the carpet is dirty, you have to buy a vacuum, plug it in, and push it around to scoop up the dirt.
In like fashion, if you want to sell more books, you have to choose the right tools and resources and use them consistently and tenaciously over time to scoop up all the opportunities you seek. Otherwise, nothing happens. And that would be a darn shame.
