Your submission requirements ask for a marketing plan. What exactly is that?
These days, book sales are driven directly by an author’s efforts to promote his or her own book, and any author who is serious about getting published should carefully consider what they are personally willing to do to generate awareness and promote sales of their own book.
Your thoughts, ideas and plans for marketing and promoting your book are your marketing plan. For purposes of your manuscript submission, your marketing plan should tell us about the genre(s) of your book and its target readership. How does it compare to (and differ from) what is already available in the marketplace (i.e., Competitive Analysis)? And what specifically are you willing to do to promote your book? Examples of specific actions could include:
- Setting up an author website and/or Amazon author page
- Maintaining a blog or other social networking activities like Facebook, Pinterest, etc.
- Setting up Goodreads promotions
- Arranging for book signings
- Attending conventions (“cons”) that are appropriate for your book’s genre
- Prospecting for radio, internet, blog and/or print interviews
- Setting up a fan email list to send out information about upcoming activities
- Contest ideas
Posted in: Manuscript Submission FAQ
