Writing A Book Proposal Step 6 – Marketing Plan

It is important for publishers to know that you can market your book. If you are writing for an established group like the American Cancer Society and you can make a deal before the fact that they are going to advertise your book or sell it on their site that’s the kind of marketing book publishers are looking for. What they are NOT looking for is a statement like “I will go to every radio show you book for me.” They probably won’t book any radio shows for you. One of the most startling things about publishing today is how little publishers do for their authors. Plan to do it all yourself. Plan to schedule your own book signings – if you want to spend the time. Plan to write your own self-promoting blogs. Plan to pay for a bunch of reviewers to review your book and don’t be disappointed when that doesn’t result in sales – you will be able to post the reviews on your website and on the digitals. They do give you credibility. If you are doing a lot of public speaking before large audiences you are the person the publishers are looking for. Do not make statements that are obvious pie in the sky like “I am going to speak on every radio program in America.” Unless you have a really good publicist who can get you on those radio shows. Make your marketing plan doable, grounded in reality, a plan that you can and will carry out. What publishers are really looking for is writers who are connected to legitimate markets where sales can be guaranteed.