A Book Marketing Idea

Back in August, Montag Press released my new dystopian novel, Rules of Order. As with any small press (but probably with any press period... and especially with self publishing), much of the book marketing efforts fall on the author. I've read around a little bit, and learned that the average book sells about 500 copies over its lifetime. However, here's another little fact from a Publisher's Weekly blog: "in 2004, 950,000 titles out of the 1.2 million tracked by Nielsen Bookscan sold fewer than 99 copies."

So... 79% of books published sell less than 99 copies. That's super depressing.

Some of those lackluster sales come from a lack of a marketing plan. I want to say upfront that I am by no means a book marketing expert. I've had five novels, three short story collections, and several chapbooks and poetry books published. Believe me, if my bank account is any indication, I know very little about book marketing.

My book marketing may have a fatal flaw. I've often heard the phrase, "You gotta spend money to make money," but my book marketing approach involves zero capital output. 

I'll just say it... I'm cheap. But, there are a multitude of ways to market a book on a zero-dollar budget. And, some of those ways do produce sales.

I want to talk about one way I've tried in the past and tried again with Rules of Order...

...local television news stations.

Yes, local television stations are always looking for local news. And, as much as you hear that cable is dead and streaming is king, there are still a ton of people who watch local morning television news stations. And many of those folks would love the chance to support a local author.

Here's the trick. Yes, after your book comes out, you can email your local television news station with a "news tip" about your book. There's a chance they might have you on.

But... if you can additionally tie your book news email to a unique event around the book? Even better. 

For instance, I didn't contact our local television station about Rules of Order until I had a pretty unique event set up. In my case, I was offered the opportunity to give a reading/book signing at the Theodore Roethke Home Museum over in Saginaw, MI. Not everybody knows, but the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, Theodore Roethke, was born in Saginaw and often returned to Saginaw in his adulthood to write in his childhood home:

I had a connection at the Roethke museum because in the past I'd written a novel entitled American Poet, which centered around a young poet trying to save the Theodore Roethke Home Museum from demolition. The novel won a Michigan Notable Book Award and brought a lot of attention to the actual Theodore Roethke Home.

In any case, because I was able to not only talk about my new book, but also my unique venue for a reading from my new book, our local television station offered me a spot on their morning news program.

I don't know that you have to be reading at a Pulitzer-Prize winning poet's boyhood home, but I think you should at least have a reading or book signing set up before you reach out to your local television station.

If you get on the air, it will do a few things. First, your event gets free, wide-net advertising... so more people likely to show up to your reading/signing. Not only that, but the book gets exposure in general. After my interview, my book sales jumped on Amazon. These were purchases from folks who likely wouldn't come to the reading, but still wanted the book.

So, yes, local television... an all-around great thing when it comes to marketing your book.

Here's my television interview if you care to see it: here

If you'd care to get your own copy of Rules of Order, you can: here