Market while you write with the essential seven "hot selling points." These
help you write more focused, compelling copy, make half the edits, have a
guide to write your chapters, and speed up the writing process. When you
write a book with an angle, you'll sell hundreds, even thousands of copies
before you even print your book.
1. Write for your one preferred audience. Not everyone wants your book. Find
out what audience wants/needs your book? What problems does your book solve
for them? Create an audience profile and keep your audience's picture in
front of you as you write. Ask yourself, is my topic narrow enough? The
Chicken Soup For The Teenager, For The Prisoner, and other specific groups
sold far more copies than the original Chicken Soup.
2. Write a sizzling book title and front cover. You have 4 seconds to hook
your potential buyer. The cover itself sells more books than any other part.
Bookstore buyers buy mainly by cover designs. Your title must compel your
audience to buy. If you want an agent or publisher your title and subtitle
are vital.
3. Write a thirty-second "tell and sell." You only have a few seconds to
impress the media, the agent, the bookseller, and the individual buyer.
Include your title, a few benefits, and the audience. Include a few sound
bites that grab attention. You may also want to compare your book to a
successful one. Passion at Any Age: Renew, Recharge and Reinvent Your Life is
the Artist's Way for seniors.
4. Write your back cover before you write your book. This is the second most
important sales tool your book has to offer. Here you put compelling ad copy,
benefits, testimonials, and a small blurb about you, the author. If your
potential buyer likes it, they will buy on the spot. If they want more
information, they will look inside at the introduction and table of contents.
5. Write your book introduction. Include the problem your audience has, why
you wrote the book, and its purpose. In a few paragraphs include more
specific benefits, and how you will present it (format). Keep it under a page.
6. Create a table of contents. Each chapter should have a name, preferably a
catchy one. If your reader can't understand the chapter title, then annotate
it. Add some benefits or a sub title. In Passion at Any Age, the author put
the word "passion" in each title. Which attracts you? "Open Your Mind?" or
"Attracting Passion?"
7. Reach out to opinion molders. After an initial contact of asking for
feedback, resend them the same chapter and the table of contents of your
book. Ask for a testimonial then. These influential contacts' testimonials
will make your back cover an important sales tool.
Every part of your book can be a sales tool. When you include the above tips,
you'll sell more books than you ever dreamed of.
About the Author
Judy Cullins: author, publisher, book coach
Excerpted from: Write Your eBook or Other Short Book-Fast!
http://www.bookcoaching.com/products.shtml
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Email: Judy@bookcoaching.com