There have been a lot of blog posts from new or indie authors begging for the “inside scoop” on how to market their books. For a while, I was searching for it too – that one magic key that would unlock the glaring spotlight of publicity for the release of my debut novel “Harvest of the Heart”. Within the first hour of combing the web, I discovered that there is no such thing as a magic key. After that failure, I kept searching for the easiest, most efficient and guaranteed reliable book marketing method. It has taken me many more hours to find out that doesn’t exist either. None of the marketing methods out there are magic; none are easy; none are guaranteed. If you have a lot of money to burn, there are certainly a boatload of marketing gurus and websites more than happy to take it. I haven’t found one that will guarantee your book’s success. or any level of success at all.
It isn’t that some aren’t good. It is just that they are in the business of making money regardless of whether you make any or not. I’d love to see a marketer that was willing to go out on a limb and say, “I love your book. I’m certain it will be a success. Instead of charging you upfront, I’ll take 10% of the royalties up to my fee.” I’d be willing to pay a marketer/publicist like that double their usual fee, just to see them tied to the success of my book.
Since- A) such a marketer doesn’t exist, and B) I don’t have the money to pay a marketer, I am wading through this marketing morass on my own. Valuable nuggets have been gleaned from discussion forums and OPBs (other people’s blogs). Carefully studying the information available from Amazon, CreateSpace and various marketers has yielded a lot of useful advice.
Blogging, Facebooking, Tweeting, Networking, Goodreads, BookBuzzr the list goes on and on. They all take time away from my writing, but it seems I don’t have much choice if I want people to buy my book when it comes out in December. Time to pull on my boots and keep on wading.
