Continuing Our Conversation about Traditional vs Self-Published Book Promotion

 Our current conversation began on June 27th…

You may want to take that link to see what was said…

And, I’ll break my usual pattern of posting to share the questions I asked at the end of that post:

> Have you had a book traditionally published?   Was the marketing for that book sufficient?

> Have you self-published a book?   What promotional strategies are you using?

Or, do you have a book nearly through the revision and editing stages and you’re considering which form of publishing will help your book end up in the hands of a “sufficient” number of readers?

Just before I share the reader comment that let this conversation continue, I’ll share my own basic views of traditional and self-published book promotion:

Traditional — Some promotion — at first — usually quickly withdrawn (especially for a first book…)

Self-Published — Completely up to you — only stops when you stop it — certainly can be wildly creative…

The first part of this conversation was responded to by an author in the UK:

“My first self published book sold over 200 copies and, although I was new to promoting I did all the usual things, local radio, local press, a website, offering talks etc. Any approaches to national papers or celebrities came to nothing. I built up a local following of about 50 people who then bought every book I wrote ( now seven) and poetry books I edited. They supported me, rather than the books. This may be the secret to marketing – self promotion. I don’t know. I’m still waiting to be discovered by the public at large.You know me, I write for fun, not money.”

Do take note what was “usual” for her—local promotion tasks…

And while she said nothing came of national efforts, many folks consider the normal first approach to be International, via blogging and social media—quite often with scant response, at First, since it seems to take awhile for any promotion to take hold…

And, I can’t find a thing wrong with going local first—having 50 local fans is something most writers never attain…

I find one statement from this seasoned author utterly critical:

“They supported me, rather than the books.”

All the promotional methods I’ve checked out that make rational sense and come from folks who know exactly what they’re talking about bring up the idea that you need a promotional strategy that embraces people, first and foremost — if folks like You, there’s a great likelihood they’ll like your books…

In traditional publishing, when the writer relies completely on the publisher to promote their book, the factor of human connection is invariably lacking; and, many traditionally published authors only got real promotion going when they took the reins into their own hands…

In case you didn’t read the first post in this conversation, here’s one book every self-publishing author needs to read:

Be the Gateway: A Practical Guide to Sharing Your Creative Work and Engaging an Audience

To further encourage you to check out that book, here’s some of the blurb:

“As writers and artists, we feel the drive to do meaningful work, but we get overwhelmed by the process of connecting with an audience. We follow best practices in marketing that never seem to pan out, don’t produce results, and make us feel lost and frustrated. But creating doesn’t have to feel this way. Be the Gateway offers practical, insightful ways to build real relationships with your audience.”

And, while reminding you that it takes only one reader’s comment to continue this conversation, I’ll pose the same questions I started this post with:

> Have you had a book traditionally published?   Was the marketing for that book sufficient?

> Have you self-published a book?   What promotional strategies are you using?

Or, do you have a book nearly through the revision and editing stages and you’re considering which form of publishing will help your book end up in the hands of a “sufficient” number of readers?

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If you don’t see a way to comment, try the link at the upper right of this post…
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For Private Comments or Questions, Email: amzolt {at} gmail {dot} com