The best book marketing and book publishing how-to guides

Whether you decide to self-publish, hybrid publish, independently publish, or traditionally publish, reading this book is a must.

Mr. Poynter covers the details of book creation and the publishing process in order, in a gentle and easy-to-understand way. Even the font of the text is large and easy on the eyes.  Poynter describes the details of self-publishing (and traditional publishing) and incudes resources and actual industry contacts so that the reader can literally create their own self-publishing company and publish, distribute and sell their book. As you know, the publishing industry changes rapidly and some of topics covered, like book distribution, has changed a bit but the overall description of publishing, the publishing timeline, and creating a book publishing company holds true. 

This bright, red book holds a special place in my heart. When I was trying to find an agent/publisher for my first book, with no luck, this is the book that I purchased and read cover to cover, quite a feat with three school-aged children underfoot.  Through the encouragement and instruction in the book, I decided to create my own publishing company and publish my book under the imprint that I created or said another way, I traditionally published my book through my own company. I followed Mr. Poynter’s advice to the letter and successfully published my first book.

Even if you decide NOT to self-publish your book, reading this guide is the quickest way for you understand the whole publishing process which is vitally important to your success as an author. I refer back to the book again and again in my book marketing practice.  It is a treasured resource.

This book is the next must-have resource!

Two literary agents had the brilliant idea to share examples of book proposals of authors that actually sold! In the margins of the book proposals, the authors point out different parts of the book proposal, what was great, and why it was great. The comments included in the margins can aid aspiring authors in coming up with creative ideas for their own book proposals and help them avoid pitfalls that turn agents off.

The book starts with brief chapters on the tools used to pitch to literary agents and publishers. The lessons are short but powerful and give aspiring authors a glimpse into what agents and publishers are really looking for in a query or proposal. The agents also share what NOT to do, i.e., don’t be boring, don’t save the good stuff for the end. Their tone is funny, light, and encouraging.

This is another book that I refer to again and again and the first place I send aspiring authors who ask about pitching their book and how to create a book proposal.

Once you decide how you are going to publish your book, you will have to promote it, whether self-publishing or traditional publishing, in order to sell it. Dr. Jan Yager’s book is your next step to learn book promotion and offers the details behind the next steps on your book marketing journey.

Yager has written over 50 books, both traditionally published and self-published. She has pretty much seen it all and recognized that authors needed a detailed guide for how and where to market their books. She decided to write a book dedicated to book promotion by presenting material in a logical fashion, in the order of any book launch promotion timeline.

The sections of her book make sense and are easy to follow for authors: The first section is about what to do before your book is published. The second section is about what to do after your book is published. Finally, she includes specific websites and resource ideas, lots of resources, to help the author to sell their book. She also has a complete section on social media and its place in book promotion on launch day and beyond. 

Yager’s suggestions on how to use the book promotion resources and where to spend precious time and energy are invaluable. The topic of book promotion is overwhelming but knowing in advance the entirety of what is possible to do to promote your book and picking and choosing what will work best for you is the perfect place to start. I published a book this year and used Yager’s book again and again. She kept my book promotion on track and reminded me of additional ways to promote my book. 

This book is Adair Lara’s love letter to writers. Her writing is divine and will keep you motivated to write and promote your book. It reminds you as a writer that even though you may be knee-deep in book marketing and book publishing at this moment, take heart; first and foremost, you are a writer!

I also love this book because Adair teaches by example. For one thing, the use of the word “Naked” in the title. Adair reveals in the book that she decided to include the word “Naked” in the title because she read that books sell better when they have the word “naked” in the title. She has already proven that she is interested in book marketing, in selling her book!

Lara dives into lessons in essay writing with examples. It’s important for every author to remember that essay writing is a great way to promote your book. Throughout the book, she includes her advice and experience with publishing and promotion using examples from her own experience and the experiences of colleagues and students. She also teaches how to hone your writing. The importance of constantly editing and remembering your audience as you write. My copy of this book is dog-eared with lessons on writing and ideas for book promotion, plus it is simply fun to read.

Any writer who wants to sell their book needs some book industry information details. This book is a compendium of writing, publishing, book marketing, and publicist resources.

The book is separated into sections that include all the information you would need to reach out to publishers, literary agencies, publishing trade organizations, and book industry folks for hire–their names, addresses, websites, and the types of books they publish. The price is crazy reasonable, and the time it will save is invaluable. 

For the new author, the list of literary agents is perfect to start a list of who to send your first query letters for possible representation. The book industry resource guide is a fabulous way to find the specific help that you may need on your marketing and publishing journey. There are editors, book cover designers, interior book graphic designers, and publicists listed for hire as well. I used this book to find publishers and literary agencies to pitch my book for special sales this year.

They also have advice on many of the topics covered in the books I included already–how to query, what to include in a book proposal, book promotion ideas, etc. It is a trusted starting point to find industry professionals to guide you in publishing your book.