The book world is seeing an explosion in books coming out each year as self-publishing has changed the book world forever. No longer do a few publishing houses control who gets published and who doesn’t. More and more people are achieving their dream of being an author and yet the challenge for authors whether self-published or published with a traditional publisher to stand out is even greater than ever. There is a greater need for book publicity than ever before but promoting the book can be even a harder and longer job than writing the book itself.
A publicity campaign takes time. Authors spend months and even years in writing their book and pour their heart and soul into it. A successful book publicity campaign doesn’t happen overnight, it takes time and dedication. A book PR campaign is a way to penetrate the public’s consciousness with your book. A comprehensive campaign allows an author to reach a target audience and stand out from other authors in your genre, it brands the author and the book. A typical book publicity campaign takes between 6 months to 18 months to be successful. Yet despite all of this hard work and time, a public relations campaign cannot guarantee that readers will purchase the book.
Before beginning on the book publicity campaign, authors should have certain items ready as they begin their promotions. The key items authors should have in place as they begin their PR campaigns are:
1. An author website. The website should include an author bio, information about the book, a sampling of media coverage, a list of events, contact information, and a way to purchase the book.
2. A professional headshot. Authors should have professional headshots made some with a business look and some in a more casual setting.
3. Business cards. Just as a person business needs a business card to give in networking meetings, so does the author as they are in the business of building a brand and selling their book.
