The following is an excerpt from Success, Your Path to a Successful Book” by Maralyn D. Hill & Brenda C. Hill.

“Publicity is to books what oxygen is to lungs. Without it, sales suffocate and die.”-Kent Carroll

It is worthwhile to spend time and money to promote your book. As much as we believe in traditional advertising, we are convinced that promotional advertising is the more cost-effective for selling your book. Tied with FREE publicity, the combination is what can create the BUZZ, then the demand. You pay for advertising but publicity is free. Obviously, the more publicity, the better.

If you are published by a traditional publisher, they will have a marketing budget. However, you still need to be creative and work with the publisher to promote and publicize your book. We suggest viewing the movie, Isn’t She Great, the story of Jaclyn Suzanne. It is based on her first novel, Valley of the Dolls, which came out in the 60s. Jaclyn recognized the importance of self-promotion and publicity.

In addition to lining up radio and television interviews and public speaking engagements, be sure to generate an online campaign (platform). Online marketing is new to many over 50, and old to many under 50. However, learning and capitalizing on what makes a saleable product are the goals to keep in mind.