Ask The Expert

“A marketing firm wants me to pay them to promote my book BEFORE it’s finished? I thought you said that’s a bad idea?!”

June 14, 2018

“A marketing firm wants me to pay them to promote my book BEFORE it’s finished? I thought you said that’s a bad idea?!”
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Q –

Angela,

I was reading (a popular) writing magazine, and saw an ad from a vanity publisher trying to sell marketing
services to authors through another company. I think they’re related. It said it’s important for authors to
market their books before they’re finished writing. Then, it tries to sell those marketing services to
unpublished authors.

I thought you said we’re NOT supposed to market our books before they’re published?

– G.Y.

A –

Our BookLocker.com competitors HATE it when I share this advice with authors. Why? Because it really cuts into their bottom line. But, authors need to know the truth about these types of marketing ploys.

Pre-marketing of books only works for celebrity authors, and others well-known in their particular
industries. If nobody knows your name yet, they’re not going to remember your book next month, or six
months, or even a year from now when your book is finally released.

Think about it. Fans of celebrity authors get extremely excited about a new book being released by their
favorite author, and are going to remember that a new title is coming out, and when. They’re probably even
going to mark the release date on their calendars.

I was reading the news recently, and saw that a new Diary of a Wimpy Kid book is being released on October
30th. Over 200 million copies of those books have sold. I told Mason (age 11) about it. He has read the
previous 12 books in the series and he got SUPER EXCITED! He asked me to write the date on my calendar and
I did.

If I saw a new kid’s book by an unknown author that looked interesting, and if I told Mason about it, he
might seem interested but he wouldn’t have been ecstatic about it, and he and I both probably wouldn’t
remember the book’s future release date (nor the book at all!) come October.

Last week, I read an interview with an author I’d never heard of about a book that was just released on May
29th. Max (age 16) is a huge history buff, and is particularly interested in North Korea lately because of
the recent headlines. Since See You Again in Pyongyang: A Journey into Kim Jong Un’s North Korea by Travis Jeppesen was already released, I ordered it for him. Had I read that interview a few months ago, it would have been long forgotten by now – both the title and the author’s name. Since the interview was published after the book
was released, the author was able to SELL copies of his book THAT VERY DAY, rather than hoping people would
remember his book weeks or months later.

People who read a published press release about an author they’ve never heard of might be interested. But,
by the time the book is released, they’ll likely have forgotten about it. And, that book by that unknown
author isn’t going to make the headlines so it’s doubtful the person who read about the book months ago on
social media, or in a press release, will hear about it again when it’s released.

Think about it. You could spend an hour a day promoting an unpublished book…which takes an hour a day
away from your writing and editing of that very book. That can delay your release date by weeks, or even
months. And, if you’re an unknown author, all of that marketing time and effort may have been for naught.
Even worse, you could pay someone thousands to promote it for you when it can’t even be purchased yet!

A much better idea would be to continue writing and editing, get that book on the market a soon as
possible, and THEN promote it, which will bring in ACTUAL SALES.

The ad you saw in that writing magazine is simply a marketing ploy to sell marketing services. Don’t fall
for it. I’d be willing to bet that unknown authors using that service are spending far more money on those
expensive marketing services than they’re earning on any resulting book sales. And, that firm is likely far
more interested in their own bottom line than they are in yours. They have little to no incentive to share
the advice I’ve shared with you here because, if they waited until their prospective clients finished their
books, they’re client-base would be far smaller today.

The sad fact is a lot of authors start but never finish their books. Some of them even pay for marketing
services, and still never finish the book. Some unethical marketing services know this, but continue to
market to unpublished authors. Again, they care far more about sucking money out of authors’ wallets than
they do about whether the author actually finishes their book, nor if any copies of that book will actually
sell in the future.

Why waste time (AND MONEY!) on book promotion that nobody is going to remember when your book hits the
market? For new or otherwise unknown authors, your time is far better spent getting that book FINISHED so
you can start actively SELLING COPIES.

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Got questions about Print On Demand and Self-publishing? Ask Angela Hoy.

About The Author

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Angela Hoy is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the author of 19 books, and the co-owner of BookLocker.com (one of the original POD publishers that still gets books to market in less than a month), PubPreppers.com (print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish), and Abuzz Press (the publishing co-op that charges no setup fees).

Angela has lived and traveled across the U.S. with her kids in an RV, settled in a river-side home in Bradenton, FL, and lived on a 52 ft Irwin sailboat. Angela now resides on a mountaintop in Northwest Georgia, where she plans to spend the rest of her days bird watching, gardening, hiking, and taking in all of the amazing sunrises.

WritersWeekly.com - the free marketing ezine for writers, which features new paying markets and freelance job listings every Wednesday.

BookLocker.com - According to attorney Mark Levine, author of The Fine Print, BookLocker is: "As close to perfection as you're going to find in the world of ebook and POD publishing. The ebook royalties are the highest I've ever seen, and the print royalties are better than average. BookLocker understands what new authors experience, and have put together a package that is the best in the business. You can't go wrong here. Plus, they're selective and won't publish any manuscript just because it's accompanied by a check. Also, the web site is well trafficked. If you can find a POD or epublisher with as much integrity and dedication to selling authors' books, but with lower POD publishing fees, please let me know."

Abuzz Press offers FAST and FREE book publication, but only accepts a small percentage of submissions, and only works with U.S. authors.

PubPreppers.com - "We Prep, You Publish!" Print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish. Offers formatting and design services only, and then provides simple instructions for authors on where to sign up to have the print and ebook editions printed/listed/sold. Cut out the middle man. Keep 100% of what bookstores pay for your book!

Angela's POD Secrets Revealed Series can be found HERE.

Have a POD Book with another publisher? See if BookLocker can give you a better deal. (BookLocker offers "disgruntled author discounts" to those who want to move from other POD services.)


See BookLocker's publishing packages HERE.


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