DIY publishing is now considered trendy as opposed to thirty years ago, when mainstream publishers invited new and unknown authors along to preview prospective works.

Assuming an author has X number of books printed either through a vanity publisher or even a small press, the next step is to get the book out there, to be read. Take time to decide the best strategy.

• Identify the target audience, age, income, career and residential location of prospective readers.


• Look at the competition and evaluate the market demand and prices.


• Devise a statement that spells out why this new book is special (often called the unique selling point or USP).


• Develop a market plan, work out the financial outlay required, and whether sales will recoup the cost of printing, binding etc.


• Advertise the publication in local papers, magazines, newsletters etc. Convince news editors to publish press releases about the new book.


• Get postcards, leaflets or flyers printed (fairly cheap these days) at a copy shop.

Caution, almost no self-published book gives a significant return on an author’s investment in time and effort, so don’t give up the day job.

So where does it all end? Hopefully like the effort of one, now famous author, who initially made little profit from a self-published book but gained loads of publicity. Then one day a copy ended up on the desk of a creative consultant. The result, a well-known 3202 mainstream publisher snapped up the work. By the year 2000, the book sold over 300,000 copies and became a best seller. It can happen. How? Sign up at www.DragonCub.com today for free and sell your book, for free! DragonCub is the new kid on the block – a force to be reckoned with in the area of online books sales. They are offering a special deal where 100% of the sales profit goes to the author / publisher. No gimmicks, no sales spiel, just pure marketing heaven for your new book.

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