Increasing Your Book Sales
By far, the biggest concern of any writer (published or unpublished) is being able to increase book sales. Yes we all love writing and yearn for the thrill and fulfillment that comes with actually having our books on the shelves of Barnes and Noble and the likes, but let’s be honest, we want our books to sell, sell and sell some more; as do our agents, our editors and our publishers. After all, why did they take us on as clients if it weren’t in hopes of being able to sell our titles? Are they not in the publishing industry as business professionals? Yes they are. This is a concept all authors need to grasp and accept.
Writing, publishing and selling books is a business, a serious business. If you want to be successful, you need to understand that it is your business and no one will care about your book sales as much as you do. So let’s focus on the ever challenging task of increasing book sales. Here are three questions you need to ask yourself before creating an effective book marketing plan:
Do I have a targeted audience?
Who is my targeted audience?
How will I reach my targeted audience?
Once you have answered these questions, you should create two lists. One list for online and another for offline book marketing techniques. An important part of book marketing is to know which techniques work for you and to multiply those efforts. Here are two suggestions for each list to get you started.
Online Book Marketing
Create a Fan Page on Facebook (this is a great online viral marketing tool). It’s popular because it works.
Create a Flickr.com profile and add pictures that would attract your targeted audience. Be sure to include your author website URL in your profile so viewers can find you.
Offline Book Marketing
P.O.S – Point of Sales is both a checkout counter in a store and the location where a transaction occurs. Consider selling your book in a local Mom & Pop store and have them place it near the register.
Library Press Release – Are you a member of your local library?
Once your book has been published, meet with the branch manager and ask her to issue a press release in the library system’s newsletter.
Remember when working to increase your book sales, it is important to implement a variety of strategies. Common and uncommon book marketing strategies can increase you readership drastically. Be sure to track the results of each campaign so you know in which areas to increase your efforts. When you find a technique that doesn’t work, don’t be afraid to cease your efforts for that particular method. Don’t be discouraged if you find what works for other writers does not work for you. Simply move on to the next book marketing strategy.
A final point to keep in mind is to be organized in all your book marketing efforts. Disorganization will only hinder your progress and success.
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Unless you are looking to publish your book traditionally, then you will have to pay to get your book out. While there are still many authors out there believe that you should get paid to have your book published and not the other way around, the benefits of self-publishing can work well to your advantage especially if you are really determined to get your book published.
The cost to publish can go from as low as $399 to as high as $12,000 depending on the inclusions of the publishing service you are availing of. I recommend you look around for self-publishing companies and compare their services so you can better decide which publisher best suits your publishing needs and budget. You might want to go for a publishing company that can help you all the way not just in terms of publishing your book, but also in its marketing and distribution as well.
Meanwhile, you might want to check out this site on how to get a book published:
http://selfpublishingjourney.wordpress.com/
Hope I’ve helped!
How much does it cost to edit,publish, distribute and sell a book? roughly?
I am looking to publish a book in about a year, poetry, and only short, about 60 pages, does anyone have an idea about: where to go to first, how much money am I looking to invest, where to sell it, how do you work out the number of copies you need, marketing techniques and investments, etc.
I really want this book published, but don’t know anything about the whole process of sending a book from the publisher up to store shelves. any advice will do great.
Here’s the thing: A publisher will “vet” your book to make sure that it does not violate any laws regarding libel/slander, which I think is what you are basically asking about.
If information is generally known or is a matter of public record (e.g. “XYZ company holds the patent on this product.”) vs. something that is opinion (“XYZ company stole the idea for this product from the inventor who had not patented his invention.”)
A company would not need to give permission for you to say “XYZ Company is a leader in the manufacturing of disposable diapers.” They would probably be unhappy if you were to say “XYZ Company, a leader in the manufacturing of disposable diapers, pollutes the earth.”
In other words, a company would be pleased to have positive print. They would not be pleased to have negative things said, although they do not need to give permission either way. The issue is that you must be able to support/prove what you claim, in the event it is challenged. And just because something is true, doesn’t mean you can publish ig. Again, it’s complicated.
You cannot use “methods” like restaurant secret recipes (because you worked in the restaurant and had access to the recipes) even if you give “full credit.”
It’s complicated.
As I said: a publisher will have the manuscript reviewed (vetted) for potential issues with that sort of thing.
If you self-publish, you would do well to have an attorney (who specializes in publishing) vet the book first.
So get the book written first, then cross that bridge when you come to it.
Giving credit in your book to individuals, companies or corporations; should they be informed first?
I’m a first time author asking the following.
If you use a recognized individual(s), group(s), companies or corporation(s) materials or recognized processes do you have to inform them first that you are wanting to do it.
Or, do you even have to contact them and give them a heads up on this so they can respond to it or not?
Do you need to get their permission first if the facts have been proven to be true (positive or negative facts I mean).
If the above type groups are known for using certain methods, procedures or techniques do you have to inform them that those processes will be mentioned in your book even if within the book’s story line their Name “is not” or “will not” be mentioned because their name could/would be mentioned on a separated credit page just for that purpose.
If you give them full credit about their methods as a matter of public record and they are not informed “first” or they “do not” give me permission first to use their methods in my book’s story line, is this okay for me to go ahead and publish it?
And; is this a question that my future agent and publisher will ask me as a matter of doing business with me to get my book published?
I think this would be important for me to know as I do wish to give them their full due credit.
i need these books(give a download link)?
The definitive reference guide to VoiceXML by Adam Hocek and David Cuddihy.
Adam Hocek, David Cuddihy
Format: Paperback, 480pp.
Publisher: Prentice Hall Professional Published: January 2003
VoiceXML 2.0 Developer’s Guide
Engineer your way to excellence! This professional resource explains in full detail how to build VoiceXML-based applications using real-world programs you can adapt for your own projects. The book includes three full-scale, enterprise-level applications complete with all source code.
The Staff of DreamTech Inc
Format: Paperback, 358pp.
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
Published: June 2002
VoiceXML: Introduction to Developing Speech Applications
VoiceXML excels at introducing the process of developing speech-enabled applications. With advice including how to phrase a prompt, how to specify grammar for recognizing the caller’s response to a prompt, and what to do if the caller does not respond appropriately, this text answers fundamental speech user-interface questions. Jim Larson’s book is well suited as a college textbook for students and a trade book for professionals developing speech applications.
James A. Larson
Format: Paperback, 336pp.
Publisher: Prentice Hall Professional Technical Reference
Published: June 2002
VoiceXML: 10 Projects to Voice Enable Your Web Site
VoiceXML is rapidly becoming the de facto language standard for handling the transition from visual Web browsing to synthesized text-to-speech information access. This book provides Web designers, database managers, and systems designers with all the tools and templates they need to accomplish this transition in the least amount of time and at the lowest possible cost. Mark Miller walks readers step-by-step through ten real world applications-from statement of the problem through code examination, error checking, and deployment-to clearly demonstrate how to use currently available tools, techniques, and strategies for building Internet voice applications. Accompanying each applications project is a telephone number that allows readers to listen to, and interact with, an actual working example of the application.
Mark Miller
Format: Paperback, 400pp.
Publisher: Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated
Published: March 2002
VoiceXML: Strategies and Techniques for Effective Voice Application Development with Voicexml 2.0 with CD-ROM
Providing insights that will help your company improve customer service quality and reduce costs, this informative reference manual introduces you to VoiceXML and serves as a practical programming resource for professional VoiceXML developers. You’ll learn how to create a VoiceXML development environment, and receive tutorials on topics such as VoiceXML 2.0 vendor-independent grammars and deployment options for successful voice applications. Two appendices contain the source code for field service case studies and various VoiceXML tips and tricks.
Chetan Sharma, Jeff Kunins
Format: Paperback, 496pp.
Publisher: Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated
Published: December 2001
Edition Desc: Book & CD-ROM
Voice Enabling Web Applications: VoiceXML and Beyond
Ken Abbott’s Voice Enabling Web Applications: VoiceXML and Beyond is a comprehensive introduction to the syntax, concepts and strategies underlying the development of voice-based Internet applications. You’ll learn how VoiceXML (VXML) is the perfect candidate for creating voice-enabled applications, accomplished through a summary and comparative analysis of the roles both markup languages and user interfaces play in creating today’s Web architectures. You’ll be introduced to VXML syntax and programming concepts, quickly learning how to develop dynamic voice applications by following along with the creation of a voice-enabled personal information manager. You’ll also learn about Voice User Interface (VUI) design principles, gaining valuable insight into the techniques used to create efficient, user-friendly voice applications.
Ken Abbott
Format: Paperback, 256pp.
Publisher: APress L. P.
Published: November 2001
Edition Desc: Book & CD-ROM
The VoiceXML Handbook
Not a telephony expert? Not a Web expert? No problem, Bob covers all the background you’ll need: how the Web works, how telecom and computer telephony work, XML, voice browsers and more. Once you’ve understood the background, Bob starts with a “Hello, World” application–a VoiceXML page which answers the phone and speaks to you–then leads you step by step through all the features of VoiceXML, including VoiceXML 2.0.
Bob C. Edgar
Format: Paperback, 1st ed., 481pp.
Publisher: C M P Books
Published: March 2001
Are safety-critical system developers immune from prosecution ?
The paper A Maturity Model for Automated Software Testing, by Mitchel H. Krause,
was originally published in 1994.
Here is an except:->
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Would “Level 4 automated testing” automatically
occur unless it was sabotaged by office politics ?
Would it be criminally irresponsible not to do “Level 4 automated testing” ?
Authors write books to make money. Textbook companies expect to make money too.
Anyone that copies books without the author’s permission is STEALING! The thief responsible can earn jail time and fines of $150,000 per book.
no, criminally negligent developers should not be immune
I’m sure there was.
Was there “tortious interference” on any software projects in 1994-1995 ?
Something stopped the following from happening in some projects in 1994-1995.
What might that have been ?
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(for author’s references – see author’s original paper)