Too many new authors consider that once their book is written the sales will just come pouring in and they will make money. Sadly, this illusion is shattered after they obtain a royalty check. The reality of the matter is that the writer's work is barely started when the book is released. Even the big author names started by peddling their books out of their car. Many big authors initially started by self publishing as nobody acknowledged their talent. They did not start off their profession with a huge bang. They didn't have the money to afford advertisers and large marketing companies but they are very successful now.

Too many new authors consider that once their book is written the sales will just come pouring in and they will make money. Sadly, this illusion is shattered after they obtain a royalty check. The reality of the matter is that the writer's work is barely started when the book is released. Even the big author names started by peddling their books out of their car. Many big authors initially started by self publishing as nobody acknowledged their talent. They did not start off their profession with a huge bang. They didn't have the money to afford advertisers and large marketing companies but they are very successful now.

Many new authors feel their only strategy to success is thru book signings and bookstores stocking their book. They are wrong. While in bigger setups with good promotion a book signing event or book reading occasion may result in as much as a couple of hundred one time sales, most smaller venues can solely give you lower than 10 sales.

Is this worth the two hours or more that you just spend at the event? Not counting all the preperation, advertising and marketing the event, promotion, time taken from work and any displays that you have designed and possibly paid for in advance. These events do not pay authors to host an occasion so any gross sales they do have may not even pay the touring prices, resort cost, meals, parking etc. Nor do they often result in long term sales.

So develop a long term advertising plan and keep it up for the complete time period of your contract with the publisher. The marketing plan will develop and expand as time goes on. And keep good records so you'll be able to decide how you will go about marketing the next book.

Newsletters can be small but effective markets for your work. On average, they can range in size from 1000-17,000 readers or more. E-zines typically reach an audience larger than 5000. Get a few of them in one month and you are reaching a wide audience! You don't need to be rich or famous if you are determined and able to committ effort every single day.