How to Market Books | Reviews

How to market books

'immensely useful for anyone who wants to promote and sell books, especially self-publishers.’ 

'The comprehensive sub-section on planning a direct mail campaign is worth the price of the book for any novice thinking of venturing into direct marketing.'

'The comprehensive sub-section on planning a direct mail campaign is worth the price of the book for any novice thinking of venturing into direct marketing.'

'highly recommended for all self-publishers, authors and marketers in publishing, or anyone who wants to develop their book promotion skills

First the author tackles how books are sold and how marketing departments work in publishing. Then there are very useful specific chapters on techniques for writing successful copy and the design and printing of promotional material. The section on different types of promotional format takes you through the various possibilities. It also gives a blow-by-blow account of a key document, the publishers’ advance information sheet, what goes on it and what it will be used for. There’s useful background on publishers' catalogues and detail on how to put together leaflets and flyers which may be particularly useful for the self-publisher. Advertorials and ads are also dealt with in this chapter.

The increasing importance of direct marketingin reaching the market and the mysteries of lists, list rental, ‘de-duping’ and ‘merge-purge’ are explored. The comprehensive sub-section on planning a direct mail campaign is worth the price of the book for any novice thinking of venturing into direct marketing.

Alison Baverstock then turns her attention to free promotion and shows you how to get the best out of all the many opportunities, including working with the media, writing press releases and getting press coverage of all kinds.

She looks next at paid promotions, but always bearing in mind that book promotion budgets tend to be fairly slender and it is important for all publishers to extract the maximum value out of all paid-for promotional activity. There are excellent guidelines for organising events of all kinds, from sales conferences to launch parties and press conferences.

Finally there is a superb and very thorough chapter on approaching specific interest markets, which is a real boon for anyone trying to publicise a book with a very particular audience. It could be indispensable if you want to sell your own book to a specific market. Useful appendices provide lists of addresses and references for each chapter, a glossary and a list of proof-readers’ marks.

This new edition has additional chapters on the Internet, including how to set up a website and carry out an email promotional campaign, and more on how to attract the attention of literary editors.

How to Market Books gives an excellent overview and a mass of helpful detail. The strongest parts of the book are the authoritative chapters on direct marketing and reaching specific markets, which would be useful for anyone trying to target promotional activity in these areas. But the book as a whole is highly recommended for all self-publishers, authors and marketers in publishing, or anyone who wants to develop their book promotion skills.

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