While the article is targeted to "indie" authors, as the headline implies, the advice is practical even for authors under contract with publishers. We're always hearing how the digital revolution is causing the publishing industry to consolidate and shift more of the responsibility for promotion onto authors.
This article lays out four clear, concise steps to follow:
1) Maintain a strong, consistent web presence with an author website, an up-to-date blog with topics and key words readers care about, and profiles on Twitter, Goodreads and Facebook.
2) Build a mailing list. I'm as guilty as anybody on (over)relying on friends, family and acquaintances to try to get buzz going about projects I'm working on. The article gives tips on how to develop mailing list of actual readers who will care about your new blog posts, upcoming book release, etc.
3) Target your audience. Unless you've published a nonfiction book with a very specific, built-in audience, many authors think the entire universe is their potential fan base. The article gives tips on how to target potential readers by reaching out to blogs and publications that reach those who will be interested in what you write about.
4) Keep trying. This is, perhaps, the most important point. As the article points out, so much of building a readership is trial and error. It's easy to get frustrated and give up if the first one or two methods don't work, but it's important to keep trying until you finally figure out how to tailor your efforts to reach the widest number of people.
This Publishers Weekly article is a must-read for all published authors and anyone looking to break into print. Read the full article by clicking this link: http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/authors/pw-select/article/57355-diy-how-to-market-your-self-published-book.html#path/pw/by-topic/authors/pw-select/article/57355-diy-how-to-market-your-self-published-book.html
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