Selling Books is Hard Work!

An entire generation of authors have dreamed of one day sitting on Oprah's couch and talking about their book. Well forgetaboutit! Oprah's pulling up stakes, moving to LA and starting her OWN network. The couch will soon be gathering dust at the Smithsonian or in a warehouse somewhere.

Authors have long thought that bookstores are where their books will sell. Nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, certain books sell in bookstores (or in the book department of a megastore like Walmart or Target). But the books that sell in the conventional bookstore (or book department) are mostly bestsellers by well-known authors. These are not venues where lesser-known books sell.

Why?

Because for a book to sell people have to know about it. They are not going to find it in a bookstore if they are not looking for it. And the bookseller is not going to place a stack of your books on the front display unless your book is well-known.

So how ARE most books sold?

The most successful authors are themselves visible to the public in one way or another.

Successful authors appear at events, give talks, hold signings and are active on the Internet.

By doing so, an author begins to establish their public identity or platform. They also begin to attract a following.

What might an author's platform look like?

Let's say you have written a book about cycling in out of the way places (my obsession) and have titled your book, The Long and Winding Road (with apologies to The Beatles).

To establish your platform to support your book you might do the following:

• write a daily blog about your biking experiences
• talk to a local bike shop about giving a talk to riding clubs
• locate events where bike enthusiast's gather and contact the organizers about speaking opportunities
• submit articles to cycling publications
• make sure the content of your book is easily searchable on search engines
• contribute articles to cycling websites

Key to your success will be getting in front of people who are as excited about the topic of your book as you are. It makes sense when you think about it. 

What books do you buy? 

I'm sure you only purchase books that are of interest to you. If your book is about knitting find venues where those interested in knitting go. Since I have no interest in knitting, myself, any efforts spent on me are wasted. To sell a book on knitting one might better spend their time and energy on those who are feverishly excited about the topic. 

As your public profile grows in your topic area, so will your book sales. 

While it may seem like hard work, if it is time spent with people who are interested in the same things as you—then it is more joy than work.