Gone are the days when an author would write a book, submit it to a traditional publisher, then sit back and wait for the pennies to roll in. Times are definitely a'changin'!
With so many authors now able to self-publish, as well as hundreds of book publishers easily available around the world, the book industry has definitely changed. Millions of books are published every year, and to make yourself seen and heard is becoming more challenging - you now need to shout LOUD to be noticed.
The most important aspect of a successful book is to ensure that it is presented at its optimum potential. There are many ways in which to achieve this goal - a good editor, creative book cover, excellent and effective back cover blurb, a sound interesting story whether is be fiction or non-fiction, professional book publisher or sound knowledge of self publishing, and the will to get yourself 'out there' and promote yourself and your book.
Promoting yourself and your book is probably THE most important part of achieving book sales and becoming a well-known author. The days when the book publisher alone took on the advertising, promotion, and selling of the book is in the past, the author now has to become active and do their part with book signing, radio interviews, writers festivals, and other book events, or create their own events. Its a challenging road, one with some failures but also many successes if you keep going and do not give up!
With the internet so freely available, promoting yourself has never been easier. If you are not internet savvy - learn! If you don't, someone else will so give yourself a flying chance by just getting out there and doing it.
Next post: More ideas on how to promote yourself and your book!
