How To Get Your Book Into Internet, Book and Retail Stores, by Elaine Wilkes

image via kobobooks.com 

If you’re a traditionally published author, or any of the publishing gradations coming into being these days via digital or POD, you could learn a few things about marketing from this book. Its tone is that of inspirational gurus or marketers, but don’t let that dissuade you. 

Ms. Wilkes writes from personal experience in marketing her books, but she draws from the experiences of other gonzo marketers as well. An example?

She tells of one person who had had no success in placing her books in one of the big box stores, so she simply carried a number of her own books into the store and displayed them – in the proper genre location – as if they were there, courtesy of said big box. The books began to sell, so the store began ordering them through the conventional routes.

image via authorsummerschool.com

Ms. Wilkes has learned, apparently by trial and error, how to talk to book store managers, or their buyers, in a way that seems to stand the best chance of getting her books on store shelves. She also has a ton of advice in how to deal with the Internet, to use its resources to market and sell books.

The book isn’t well written – but it’s as utilitarian as the title suggests, something similar to notes you might take at a seminar. Too, because the publishing business is changing almost daily, some of what she writes here is a bit dated. But it’s still a useful book – if you have the moxie to get into her game.

My rating 14 of 20 stars