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Every author wants top sales for their book. The day comes when you ask, "Should I put any money into marketing? I asked this question, answered it with a loud "yes," and created a variety of resources to support my anticipatory grief book. You may create these marketing resources, too.BOOKMARKS. Since I had designed the cover of the book, I decided to use it for a bookmark. I asked a graphic designer to change the colored photo to black and white and to design a bookmark around it. She put the sunflower image on the front left of the bookmark and a reverse image on the back. A local printing company printed 250 bookmarks on yellow card stock for about $70.POSTCARDS. After the bookmarks were done I asked the graphic designer to adapt this design to a postcard. She enlarged the sunflower image and put it at the top of the card. Ordering information was printed at the bottom. I had 500 postcards printed on card stock at a local office supply store. If I recall, the postcards cost me about $135, including state and local taxes.VERBAL REVIEWS HANDOUT. The anticipatory grief book has received excellent written reviews. But the verbal reviews - short, emotional comments at the end of a presentation - are the most moving to me. I typed these comments, added a postage-stamp image of the book cover, and had several hundred handouts printed on yellow paper for eight cents each.AUTHOR BIO. Usually there is an author biography at the end of a book, so I keep a one-pager on file. I realized this bio would make a good handout, and added a rubber stamp graphic for visual interest. The same office supply store printed 200 hundred handouts for eight cents each. I may have more printed on holiday letterhead in December.MAGAZINE AD. Because I am a health and wellness writer I try to stay up to date on health publications. When I learned that "Minnesota Medicine" was going to focus an entire issue on grief, I contacted the editor and asked for ad rates. I signed up for a 1/4 page, full-color ad including the cover image and a comment from a reader. The ad was not cheap and, to pay for it, I sold some antiques at auction.CATALOG REQUEST. A national group that specializes in resources for grieving people contacted the publisher and asked if I would be willing to sell the book at a reduced price if they put it in their catalog. I contacted my co-author and we agreed that this would be a good thing to do because we would reach the "right" market.You may not have much money to put into book marketing, but the money you spend should boost sales. If you don't believe in yourself, who will? Take a chance on yourself and put some money into book marketing. Happy sales to you!Copyright 2006 by Harriet Hodgson
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www.harriethodgson.com healthwriter.blogspot.com
Harriet Hodgson has been a freelance nonfiction writer for 28 years. She is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists and the Association for Death Education and Counseling. Her 24th book, "Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief," written with Lois Krahn, MD, is available from www.amazon.com. A five-star review of the book is posted on Amazon. You will find another review on the American Hospice Foundation website under the "School Corner" heading.
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