Have you heard the figures as to how many books were published in 2007?
Seriously, take a guess. 180,000? Over 200,000? 250, 000? Think about it: could there really have been a quarter of a million books published in a single year? That seems like a lot.
Nope.
The actual number is more along the lines of 411,422 books released last year.
Mind boggling numbers.
How can a mere mortal, a mere author, hope to stand apart from the crowd and get the attention that drives book sales?
According to Anna Maria Allessi, publisher of HarperMedia, the answer lies in promoting the author more than promoting a single title. “We are author publishers,” she said. “In my opinion, we’re trying to talk about authors as much as we talk about books, and that’s a subtle but important distinction.”
I couldn’t agree more: when it comes to publicity, you’re more likely to get it as someone who is an expert than because you’re someone who happens to have written a book. Focus on building your platform and making yourself the expert in your field and the attention will come from the media and the internet.
