If you are one of those independent authors to whom selling does not come easily, you might want to consider a publicist. Local publicist Phillip Anderson offers reasonably priced six week campaigns. Such campaigns typically feature the following:
- Author interviews and reviews in relevant newspapers
- Author interviews with key online news sources
- Book reviews across national and regional newspapers and online publications
- National and local author radio interviews (where possible)
Phillip can be contacted via email: phillip@phillipandersonpublicity.com.au. Before engaging in such campaigns, authors will need to get their ducks in a row:
- Make sure their books are easily available in the areas reached by the publicity
- Ensure that they have spare stock in case sales go well (though this does not apply to print on demand and ebook sales online)
- Rehearse the points they want to get across in interviews, the key selling strengths of their book, the so-called 'elevator pitch'. And have some kind of idea of potential customers and what kind of angles might appeal to them
These might seem obvious points, but we have seen a remarkable number of authors who weren't really across any of them before initiating publicity efforts. Remember: bookstores will be much better disposed to independent authors who are making a clear and sustained effort to promote their work.