You've Written Your Book. Now What?

Here at Self Published Author.com, we offer tools, advice, and resources to help you through the publishing process. Bowker is the official ISBN agency in the US and Australia. We're excited about authors taking the publishing process into their own hands, and we're here to help however you need it.

At Self Published Author.com, we

offer industry advice and perspective, giving you an inside scoop on the business
explore marketing tools
refer you to partners who can help
list events specifically for self-published authors

Welcome! Let's get started!

The 5 Best Book Marketing Questions to Ask a Publicity Company

by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue May 10, 2022

I can tell you very honestly that the best book marketing campaigns are created and executed when the author, and the marketing team, are all on the same page about goals and expectations.

Of course, your book has to be amazing, and the readers have to resonate with it – but finding those readers and making those connections is critical, and a good book marketing plan is the first step in getting to the next level with your brand.

So I wanted to compile a list of 5 questions you should be asking any book publicity team you’re considering working with.

1. What are realistic goals for my campaign based on my current platform?
Goals will always be unique to you, but I think it’s safe to say we’re all looking to sell more books – selling more books means more readers, and it means your platform is growing.

Inside Publishing

Marketing & Publicity

Read more about The 5 Best Book Marketing Questions to Ask a Publicity Company

Promoting a Book on Amazon Just Got Easier with the New Advertising Updates

by Penny C. Sansevieri
Bowker | Tue Apr 26, 2022

In the last couple of weeks, Amazon changed its advertising dashboard, opening it up to any author – regardless of how they’re published – making the whole goal of promoting a book on Amazon even easier. You can now access the Amazon ads dashboard from our Author Central account – which every author has access to! But what does it mean for the industry and for authors seeking to plug some money into Amazon ads to gain more exposure for their book? Let’s dig in.

Anyone Can Get Their Book onto Amazon, But Not Everyone Can Get Found: How and Why This Matters

Inside Publishing

Marketing & Publicity

Read more about Promoting a Book on Amazon Just Got Easier with the New Advertising Updates

The Point of No Returns

by Brian Jud
Bowker | Tue Mar 22, 2022

Industry statistics reveal that book returns can be 30% or more of sales. If you reduce or eliminate returns, then you could increase your net sales and revenue by that same amount and your profits by even more.

But, you say, you have no control over returns since Ingram and the bookstores return them at will without selling them. On the contrary, there are many things that we as authors and publishers can do to eliminate returns.

The first thing to realize is that bookstores do not sell books — they display them. Any marketing they do involves promoting major titles or special events to entice people into their stores. It is up to the authors to create awareness of their specific titles. Similarly, most distributors utilize commissioned sales representatives whose income depends on selling books that are not returned, i.e., those promoted more heavily. They understandably spend their time selling those titles.

Inside Publishing

Marketing & Publicity

Read more about The Point of No Returns

Click here if you are from Australia

Open Video