Book Not Out? Avoid This Critical Timing Mistake

After working with more than 12,000 non-fiction authors, I can tell you that most make a big mistake.

They say to themselves, “Right now, I’m just going to focus on writing my book, I can’t even think about getting publicity. I’ll worry about that later.”

On the surface, it makes perfect sense, right?

But it’s one of the biggest mistakes you can make if you want to sell a lot of books.

I’ve found that 98% of authors think this way.

But it’s probably one of the reasons why 98% of all authors sell less than 500 books.

I’m convinced this “Wait-till-my-book-is-done” mistake ultimately causes you to miss out on being interviewed on national TV, getting featured in major magazines or having influential bloggers writing about you and your book.

Here are four specific reasons you really need to start your publicity engines long before your book comes out.

“I wish you had contacted me earlier” is a familiar refrain from journalists and producers. Unless you have a breaking news story, the media need advance notice from you.

Book reviewers want review copies well in advance of your publication date.

Major magazine writers and editors work 3-6 months ahead.

Even radio/TV producers who work with much shorter lead times are looking for guests they can use many months from now.

Let me ask you something. Suppose you were a producer of a radio talk show. You have people contacting you every day.

Who are you more likely to invite on your show ….the stranger you’ve known about for one day or the nice sweet guy who first introduced himself to you six months ago?

You can never start building relationships early enough with influential media.

That’s one of the major advantages of coming to my National Publicity Summit where you’ll be able to meet producers and journalists from many of today’s most influential media. It’s become a breakthrough way for authors and experts to land valuable publicity for themselves…..get all the info here.

One author came to my Summit while his book was just in the concept stage.

It wasn’t a coincidence that 18 months later he had landed a two-page feature. in the O the Oprah Magazine.

He had built the relationship early rather than late.

This IS a relationship game.

The question is….are you going to play it?

Or are you going to sit on the sidelines?

Only you can decide.

When a producer or journalist holds your book in their hands will they INSTANTLY see the story or segment they could do around you?

Will they see the hook they could use to get their audience interested or will they simply see a book by yet another author sharing yet another story and dispensing yet more advice?

The answer lies in making your book “media-genic.”

An often overlooked secret to making your book a media sensation is to get feedback from the media before it’s written and published.

John Jamison, a financial adviser who is a friend and client of mine was recently telling me about all the doors that were already opening up to him even though his book is practically hot off the press.

John says it’s because he has a KILLER title: Wealth Without Stocks or Mutual Funds.

But John says the title wouldn’t have even occurred to him had he not come to my National Publicity Summit and met a writer from Investor’s Business Daily.

That’s what happens when you start pitching at least some media BEFORE you write your book.

You’ll get invaluable feedback and suggestions which allow you to adjust your approach and thus, dramatically increase your odds of getting coverage.

But what do you do if you start getting interviews and you don’t have anything to sell because your book isn’t out?

Glad you asked.

Whether your book has yet to be published or has been out for two years, my advice is the same: offer some great free information so people will get on your email list.

That way, you can stay in touch with them and build a relationship with them.

Building your list, your following, and previous media appearances are all part of building your platform.

If you have them, you’re more likely to get your book published by a major publisher.

These are just some of the many advantages to starting NOW rather than later.