It Takes a Village to Raise Book Sales
March 29th, 2010
By Guest Blogger, Jill Shure
Ben Franklin Award-Winning Novelist, Screenwriter & the Publisher of Syntax Books
www.JillShure.com
So you want to write a novel or start your own publishing company. Both are worthwhile goals. And given the time and dedication, you can do both. But you may need more than a little help from your friends. You may need the help of a dazzling array of professionals.
I know. I’ve done it all. I’ve written movie scripts, treatments, novels, and I even wrote a drink book called NIGHT CAPS, a slim companion book to my novels, NIGHT JAZZ and NIGHT GLITTER. It’s a drink book which has excerpts from my novels along with yummy drink recipes – a marketing idea I created to increase interest in my novels.
And in addition to penning novels, I opened my own publishing company. In the midst of a crazy book market and a deep economic downturn, Syntax Books was born. It’s been a true learning experience and one which requires a constant flow of creative ideas to sell the books and see what waits around the bend in this new age of publishing. It’s an era that will see a dazzling assortment of electronic book readers from all over the globe.
Whether you go it alone and self-publish or you submit your work to a publisher, you will need help. Help from an editor to work with you on your book’s content. A line editor to make sure your grammar, punctuation and spelling are dead on. Also, a wise advisor to guide you through the steps of submitting your book proposal to publishers. Or you will need someone to help you print the best book possible. A publicist should be included in this group, too. Someone who will target the media to make sure your voice is heard above the crowd.
What’s more, you may find that you need more than one book under your belt before you hit your stride as a writer. It may take several books. Your book is going to compete with a mind-boggling number of distractions from the phone, the TV, the internet, interactive games, as well as the local bar around the corner. In this jet propelled world, your product has to stand out. And nothing but a spectacular book will hold a reader’s attention.
As a free gift to get you started with your book, I’d like to share my Free “Your Book Is Your Hook!” Starter Kit with you.