Pitching Your Book

The Wall of Jericho - Mainstream Romance - Available @ www.devinedestinies.com

Most of you reading this know what it takes to promote and sell books. For those that are just starting out with an idea to write a novel, some of the pointers listed below might help you.
At some time or another, every author has received the dreaded rejection letter. You’re wondering where you went wrong in pitching your book. You’re also wondering what gets the attention of the people who move your book up the chain of command. Could it be the cover letter or the synopsis?
Bowker states that there were 480,000 books published in the US in 2008. That’s a lot of books, but think how many didn’t make it to that stage. The number is approximately tripled. The tripled number is how many manuscripts you are competing with. Getting involved in your work is very important. This will show that you are willing to do your part to raise awareness of your book and in turn impress a publisher.
Send in a partial manuscript of 2-4 chapters because editors are busy. They just don’t have the time to read an entire manuscript. If they find they’re interested, they will ask for more. Once they ask for more, give them a marketing plan on how you plan to promote your work. This could make a good impression.
Once a publisher accepts your book, getting "out there" and promoting your work as much as possible is the way to sell. Always tend your email list, snail mail lists, association updates, etc. Don't rely on your publisher to do this. Distribution is really their major role and one that's hard to get on your own. Using all the technology available to you would include social networking and your own personal circle of friends and colleagues.
A low cost way to build as an author is developing websites, blogs and if possible, sending out press releases. These are no cost ways without leaving home.
We make another mistake thinking that a website is the advertisement. The website is a destination….you have to sell the site in order to sell the work. You want people to engage with it so they will engage with your work.
Believing reviews will sell work isn’t a very good theory. This is just another point in a platform and another way to name recognition. Reviews don’t sell books. The hard work of an author does.
I usually try to make it a point to attend a chat. When there aren’t chat days, I post to the sites that allow posting for that day. Every little bit helps in selling. It’s not easy, but you may see the results in the royalty check you receive from your publisher.
Mary Suzanne

http://www.Mary-Suzanne.blogspot.com
http://www.webspawner.com/users/romancewriter/index.html