Selling a Self-Published Book

by Laurel Stouffer
(Fernley, NV)

As more people enter the field of self publishing, it has become increasingly more difficult to sell books. For instance, most mainstream magazines do not review self published books. Even Oprah has a bias against self-published authors and will not interview them on her show. What's a burgeoning self-publisher to do?

Tips for Selling Your Self Published Book

• Know your audience and market to them.
  
• Non-fiction books with a local market that are featured in the local author sections of regional bookstores can do quite well.
  
• Get your book listed on Amazon and ask readers who enjoyed your book to post positive reviews.
  
• Create a web site to market your book. Use a system that teaches you how to build a web site that places high in the search engines, so you can attract targeted traffic to your site that will be interested in buying your book.
  
• Try creative ways of marketing. For instance, learn how to promote your book by doing radio show interviews or making an infomercial and posting it on video sites.
  
• Periodically submit a press release and tie it to a current event, so it will have a better chance of being picked up by the media.