"Fewer Americans are reading books than a decade ago, according to the National Endowment for the Arts, but almost a third more are listening to them on tapes, CD's and iPods." -- "Loud, Proud, Unabridged: It is Too Reading," New York Times article on the growing trend of listening to books.
Buie on Publishing. Premise Number Three. Given the intense competition for people's attention, if you want to write a book, or have written a book, you'll probably have to work as hard marketing your book as you did writing the book. Most publishers will spend almost nothing on marketing. They probably do not know your market -- your potential readers -- as well as you do, or as well as you should. They certainly have less emotional investment.
You've got to do far more than send hand-written notes to reviewers. You've got to "create buzz" for your work.
Think not of marketing a book first, but of marketing interesting ideas or stories or helpful information in small, digestible, bite-size pieces. Specialists or experts on certain subjects are in more demand than authors are. A storyteller is in more demand than a novel. A lecturer or speaker is in more demand than a non-fiction book. A columnist for a newspaper, magazine, or web site is more widely read than a book author because he asks less of his audience.
Getting people to visit a web site, subscribe to an email newsletter, read a blog, watch a video clip, read an interview, listen to an MP3 file of you reading your book are far easier than getting people to read or buy your book.
Getting people to listen to what you have to say via radio or a downloaded mp3 file onto an I-Pod or laptop, which they can listen to while driving or doing some other mindless task, is far more possible than getting them to sit down and read your book cover to cover.
But if you can get them to do one or all of those things, they are far more likely to buy your book.
One thing leads to another. A blog can lead to a writing assignment for a publication, or an invitation to speak before a group. If you have a book, speaking before groups will lead to book sales.
You will sell more books from public appearances than online or in bookstores, unless the book really takes off.
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