My Two Favorite Marketing Books

I have two books to recommend to you if you need to develop or update your marketing plan for your book.

The first is "1001 Ways To Market Your Book" by John Kramer (ISBN 0 - 912411 - 49 x published by Open Horizons). I have the sixth edition and have used the information in this book extensively to develop my marketing plan. I used page 228 as my guide. Now, I came into the idea of marketing my book WAY too late in the game but even so, this page was priceless. It gives you a recommended book promotional timeline. Because I self-published my book, marketing is all on me. Even if you don't self-publish, marketing is all on you. It's our responsibility not to allow our "baby" to die for lack of care. What I don't like about this book is that there is so much! 700 pages of information, it can seem daunting. Fortunately he has a "How To Get The Most Out of This Book" section so you won't get too overwhelmed. Since this book is for author's and publisher's I appreciated that he added boxes with author's tips.

As a new author I really appreciated Chapter 2 "Planning: The Basics of Succesful Marketing". After that it's easy, okay, less difficult, to choose the methods that best work for you and your book. Seriously, if there is anything not covered in this book, directly or indirectly, I can't imagine what it would be.

The second book I love on this topic is "The Frugal Book Promoter" by Carolyn Howard-Johnson (ISBN 1 - 932993 - 10 - X paperback published by Star Publish). I use this book a lot, at least once a week. I copied off page 25 to keep in front of me. It's a PR Primer. The material in "The Frugal Book Promoter" is easy to understand and put into practice. I like the step-by-step way she lays the areas out (see pages 37-42).

My favorite chapters in this book are Chapter 3 "Build Your Media Kit Before You Need It" (media kit, I need a media kit?, who knew?), and Chapter 15 "Plan Your Free Ink Attack.

Now like I said, I came into the marketing game way too late, but both books helped me realize there is much I can do. You must be committed to marketing your book for three years. John Kramer says, "Every book deserves a 3 - year commitment" page 20.

So, read the books, develop your plan, work your plan, evaluate and do it all over again.

The other day, a friend of mine, also a writer, asked me which book I preferred. It's a tough call because I wouldn't be without either one and am indebted to them both. "The Frugal Book Promoter" is easier for me to use because it has fewer pages. I can open it up and leave it open to the page I want, I can't do that with the other. But without "1001 Ways To Market Your Books" I'd have missed some information I use all the time. Get both, or at least read both and take extensive notes.

How's my plan working? Well, my first agenda was to get my name out there and recognized. It's starting to happen. When I first googled my name it didn't even come up. Now it does. Type Marilyn Parmelee into your favorite search engine and see for yourself. My book was listed in Amazon's Hot New Releases twice (gotta get it on there again), once as number 92 and once at 81. Not bad for a self-published author that no one but my family and friends know. I have a book signing coming up July 24 from 5-7 p.m. at Best Sellers Books & Coffee 360 Jefferson Street in Mason, Michigan. If you're in the area, stop in. I'd love to meet you!

By the way, both books are on www.amazon.com you can order them there. You can also visit me at,
http://www.myspace.com/marilynparmelee http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1234674664 or visit my still under construction web site at www.hearinggodsite.com

Before You're Ready

I wanted to get this blog started so badly that I jumped the gun. Sorry I haven't added more often. I'm working on giving you some reviews on books that I love. One is 1001 Ways To Market Your Books. The other is The Frugal Book Promoter. I promise I'll get them up next week. Do you have any favorites to share? If so, leave a post.
Thanks,
Marilyn