Any publisher will tell you that the best person to promote a book is YOU!

L&R Hartley are not literary agents or book promoters/distributors. We have only a small marketing arm as we concentrate our resources in other areas.

So how do my books sell? How can I make a profit or income from my writing?

Here are a couple of actual scenarios.

François is a university professor in France. His university has published a number of books for him in his specialist field. However, François loves writing poetry and submitted a collection for beta publishing in Australia. These were accepted and published in both French and English. Because François was totally unknown as a poet, but now had a published book, he sent copies of his poems to various magazines proudly citing his book as the source. In time, people began asking him for copies of his book. He explained that although he didn't keep supplies, he would order a copy for them from the beta publisher who could mail these directly to the customer. The customers paid François and he paid a portion of that to the publisher, keeping the profit for himself. Realising that he was on to a good thing, he persuaded the university bookstore to promote his book and order a quantity of copies. At the same time, the publisher had set up a free website for his book and he was able to direct his students and other enquirers to the website to order books by mail order. Now his regular orders are sufficient for him to provide part-time employment to a student just to handle the orders. So far François has not spent a cent of his own money. And compared with the paltry 2% royalty he receives from the sales of his academic books, François receives a 30% profit from each and every one of his poetry books sold!

For years Ron has been writing letters of comfort to his friends. Now those same friends are buying copies of his compilation of letters of encouragement.

Alan wrote a small book on Better Business and it was beta-published. He had the satisfaction of knowing that someone other than his mother appreciated his writing. After the book launch and a few initial sales, Alan soon forgot about his book and involved himself in other pursuits. However, because his publisher had provided a free website for his book, while Alan was busy with other things, word about his book was getting out. One day he received an email inviting him (as "a published author"), to give a talk to a group of businessmen on the topic of his book. He took with him a pad of order forms that his publisher had supplied and used the opportunity to promote his book. His success that day has prompted him to actively pursue speaking engagements and use the book sales to more than cover his expenses.

Annie was terribly shy, according to her own admission. Her book of local-area short stories was beta-published and she received a free copy. Her publisher provided her with a letter of introduction and she donated this copy to the local library. (The book had an extra page pasted in the back inviting the reader to purchase a copy). The publisher also organised a press release and this was given to the local newspaper along with a photo of Annie donating the book. The paper later followed this up with a story on Annie's book. And all this free publicity has brought Annie out of her shyness and made her a local celebrity. (I can't tell you that she is rich because of it, but the steady trickle of orders for her book gives her an accumulating income and on-going satisfaction.)

Promotion is not about selling books. Promotion is selling yourself as a published writer. When people see that you have something to offer they will want a piece of the action. I find that the best way to get to know an author is to read his book! And I remind people of that fact. "If you REALLY want to know about me, read my book! It's only $x from www.whatever.com/mybook"

Because your publisher already has the design and layout of your book on computer they will be able to economically provide for you a selection of resources to help you to promote your book. As well as free advice and information, they will be able to supply promotional aids such as posters, promotional buttons, flyers, handbills, name badges, 'fridge magnets, business cards, bookmarks, book-signing stationery, letterhead paper, etc. and extra book covers. Although these are professionally produced, because they are done in small print runs (using electronic printing equipment) the cost is often dramatically less than conventional printing houses.

Your publisher will also (upon request) set up (and fully host) a free international website for the promotion of your book.

Your publisher will also include your book on their internationally circulated inventory.

So you can be rewarded pocket money from the sale of your book by doing nothing after publication or a generous income through publisher-supported pro-activity.

And for the REALLY lazy, your publisher can put your book in the hands of a marketing company.

©1996, Revised ©2003 Lionel Hartley, PhD, for L&R Hartley.