Publicity and Generating Sales

Simply publishing a book—even a good book—does not give any guarantee of success. The book market is incredibly tough and a key determining factor for success is how well the author can drive sales.

And yes, just to be clear, it is you—the author—who will drive sales.

A motivated author who can generate publicity and build their own "brand" will have the ability to sell more books than the author who does not leave their house. If you are an engaging speaker and are happy to publicize your book (in other words hustle for and then subject yourself to radio, magazine, and perhaps even TV interviews) then you stand a chance of having some success with a book, whether the book is self-published or marketed by a publisher.

If you already have a platform from which to market your book, then self-publishing may be a more appealing option, but by equal measure, if you already have some sort of following, then you will be a more appealing prospect to the publishing world.

Unless your aim is to create a souvenir edition for your family and friends, then you may find yourself disenchanted with book publishing if you are not motivated to sell your book and/or you don't already have a public profile you can leverage to drive sales.