Set Your Book Up to Succeed With a Marketing Plan, p1

Have you developed your book's marketing plan yet? You know now really is better than later. There are 2 facts to realize in developing your promotion plan. Realize it begins the day you conceive your book idea and never ends.

The other is the more you write the better you become at it. You need to begin building name recognition in your field. In other words, you want to begin developing your public image related to your book.

No I'm not suggesting you become a politician but I am saying you must get involved in your book's promotion. After all, you are the one that cares the most for your project. Many authors and especially small business owners/authors dread book promotion like a plague. They say, "With all that I already do, I jumped the hurdle of writing and completing my book, now I have to promote it as well "arggh."

Look at it this way; you have more to gain than anyone in the success of your book. Therefore, when developing your book marketing plan you should:

Set Realistic Expectations

I hate to be the one to break the news to you. But I felt I must be honest. Many writers set themselves up for failure by having wrong expectations. The reason successful authors and writers embrace a plan (program) is because they know it is highly unlikely they will get rich from sales of their book.

They know writing and publishing a book will change their life. But they realize that most of the rewards will come from sources other than their publisher.
You must realize your book is a product and as a product it has to be marketed. Your plan provides a map for everything you do afterwards.

Know the Difference from your plan and proposal

Your book marketing plan is what I describe as your map. It describes your book, what you will do after the book is completed and published. It also describes who you hope to sell your book to -- target audience.
So in short you can say your book marketing plan is your roadmap to success and profits.

Your book proposal is a sales (direct-marketing) document with a sole purpose. It's single purpose is to convince a publisher that your book will earn a profit, if published.

The proposal should focus on the size and buying power of the targeted market you will attract, the problem your book solves, how your book plans to solve the problem, how different your book is from others already published on the subject and how you plan to promote your book.

If you have selected a traditional method of publishing, you can and should develop your proposal before you even write your book. It will help solidify and crystallize some of your ideas. In fact, how well you develop your proposal including a detailed table of contents or chapter outline in your proposal, the easier and faster you can get started mining your ideas, creating a structure and writing your book.

The publishing world and our society have changed. Writing and publishing your book can still change your life. But now a book is not the be-all and end-all, it is simply a tool that allows you to become a more successful business person, taking the profitable road to success and destiny.