Part Two
There
is so much to think about when self-publishing a book. The 21st Century
Publishing Update brings you a 10-point checklist of what to do
and what not to do when publishing and promoting your own book. Based on
conversations with self- publishing authors and marketing experts, this
is not an exhaustive list of everything you should be thinking about,
but it is a list of some of the most important.
3.
DO: Get involved in online
discussions, newsgroups etc...
The Internet has provided a way for
people with shared interests to gather and talk about those interests.
There are online groups for everything. Analyze your book and see what
interest groups it caters to. If it features a psychologist, find
newsgroups and online discussions for and about psychologists. If it is
a mystery, find a mystery readers' site (not hard to do).
There are newsgroups and websites
for every imaginable interest and sub-category of that interest. I came
across a newsgroup for disbarred lawyers the other day. Look long enough
and you'll find an online interest group for your topic, no matter how
strange.
DON'T: Post blatant advertisements to
newsgroups and message boards.
There is an etiquette (known as
Netiquette) to participating in online discussions. First and foremost:
do not post blatant ads to the groups. People are there to discuss their
favourite topic, not to be bombarded with commercials. However, it is
usually more than acceptable to mention your product or service after
you have been participating in the group for a while, and have proved
yourself.
Lurk for a while, get a feel for the
group, then start posting helpful comments in response to people's
questions. Once you have been accepted you can start to include
information about your book. Even at this stage, be wary of including
the information in the main message. The best option is to include a
signature file, after your post, that contains the equivalent of a
'classified ad' about your book.
4.
DO: Include a signature file on every
email and newsgroup post...
Signature files are a great way of
repeating advertising about your product without spamming. If you send a
helpful or friendly email answering a correspondent's question, you
should always include a signature file containing information about your
book and where to buy it.
Advertising professionals swear that
repetition is the key to sales. By repetition, they mean that someone
has to see something not three but 18-20 times before they will buy.
Signature files are a great way to remind people of you and your
product. Imagine if, every time you met me, I said, 'Hi, my name is
Julie and I'm a writer'. After a while you would have no trouble
remembering who I was (no more horrible moments at cocktail parties!).
Signature files work this way.
Signature files should contain 4-6
lines of no more than 60 characters. Any more and people will not read
them.
DON'T: Send a bulk email
to everyone in your address book...
Even if you have reason to believe
that they would be interested in your product, sending unsolicited
commercial email is SPAM. Don't do it.
If one person complains to your
Internet Service Provider (ISP), your ISP is within their rights to cut
off your Internet privileges and boot you off their servers. Just like
that. No warning, no excuses.
Yes, I know you get loads of paper
junk mail every day, but junk email is different. In the early days of
the Internet users took a stand against junk email -- mainly because, in
those days, people paid for their Internet access according to how much
data they transferred. Every piece of mail cost users a little. Although
the days of paying per byte are mostly gone, the taboo remains strong
today.
Even if you offer people a chance to
unsubscribe, thereby staying within the law, you will be transgressing
the 'common law' of the Internet. Some people will write you off forever
based on one piece of spam.
Don't do it!
Far better to build an opt-in
mailing list, and invite people to join it (put an invitation in your
signature file).
***
Part
I
Part
III
Part
IV
Part
V
If
you have any questions about getting published, email me at jd@jdwrite.com. If
I don't know the answer, I'll find someone who does!
[back to top]
