Marketing & Publicity
The decision on whether you sell your work or not, how you sell it and whether you get involved in the marketing of it to create sales, is entirely
yours.
An effective marketing project includes appropriate publicity seeking. To boost your opportunities we are happy to send to members who print with
PublishMe Print, a comprehensive database of information for a wide range of newspapers, magazines, radio and television media . . . with
out
compliments!
Some self-publishers are born promoters and can confidently promote themselves and their work. For others their self-published work complements their
business or their area of expertise so they have an obvious and easy way to present and sell their work. For many self-publishers the content of the
work
is their passion or relates to a particular cause, so going out and actively promoting it is something they are motivated to do because they want
to share the content with others. Other self-publishers are not confident and need some assistance.
As a powerful tool to help your realise your goals, the PublishMe team has created a personal marketing package — a marketing planning guide
with invaluable suggestions for making the market aware that they must have your book . . .
and it's completely free when you print your
book with PublishMe Print! It offers a wide range of guidelines and solutions — from the simple added value of signing a copy of your book, right through
to achieving television exposure and significant reviews. It will tell you why and how to organise a launch, and help you to define a successful
marketing path.
Market appraisal and recommendation
What is it?
The PublishMe market appraisal will primarily assess the market suitability and potential of a work, to recommend the markets it will be appropriate for, or give an indication of its suitability for the target market the author had in mind.
The appraiser will read through the work briefly, and though it is not necessarily a full read, especially for longer books, the reading is enough to offer a publisher's assessment of the work. In the next step they will look at the work and its overall design. If the work is a book, the quality of the text is considered. Different criteria will apply to different genres. The layout of the inside pages and the design of the cover are all factors that will be taken into account. If the work is a picture book for young children the quality of the illustrations and the way they reflect the text is critical. The blurb on the back of the cover is also considered.
In effect, this process is the appraisal that a publisher would apply to a submitted manuscript ie: to assess the general marketability of a book, which market opportunities best fit it and suggested techniques and approaches the author can make to maximise the publication's chances of success.
Depending on genre, your goals and the format submitted for appraisal, you could therefore expect the report to include comments on:
- general presentation/layout/cover
- spelling /grammar and whether further proofreading or even additional editing may be required
- length
- comments on the blurb and how to make the best use of the back cover
- attracting a key figure to write a foreword or testimonials for the back cover
- the selling options and market potential nationally or overseas
- suggestions of which sections of the media might suit your goals for the publication
- whether it might be appropriate to offer yourself as a guest speaker to groups
A brief review is included in the report which you are welcome to use on the back cover or to include as part of media releases etc.
If your work has already been polished as a result of contracting a manuscript assessor from our service provider list then it will improve your chances of a positive report.
It is entirely over to you whether you choose to act upon the marketing suggestions and recommendations in the report. There are no guarantees that following the guidance in the report will turn you into an overnight publishing sensation; the appraiser is simply offering the range of recommendations that a publisher would consider when establishing the most likely avenues for a marketing and publicity plan.
You can resubmit your work to be reappraised one more time at no additional charge if you decide to make changes. If you would like feedback on your proposed press release you are invited to send that through for comment.
Trish Gray: Role Reversal
"Hi, thank you very much for the market appraisal. I am very pleased to receive the helpful comments."
Lynne Strode-Penny: Colours of the Mediterranean
"Thanks very much for sending me the market appraisal. It was very pertinent in the comments."
Angela Smith: I Love Myself
"Always good to get feedback from those with great experience in the book industry.
On a good note, two PaperPlus stores are taking the book this week, and sales have started in Australia via my sister who is a teacher and a librarian - they're loving it over there as well and overall sales are picking up."
Why have a market appraisal done?
- Personal satisfaction
- You may wish to have a market appraisal done purely for your own interest – as an independent evaluation of your work and to have someone critique and point out areas of improvement. It is important to state exactly what your intentions are for your work so the appraiser can evaluate the work with your objective in mind. A market appraisal is not the same as a manuscript assessment which instead offers detailed professional feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of aspects such as structure, plot, style, language etc and includes recommendations for improvement to ensure that your work is of good publishable quality.
- to provide you with ideas about how you can market/sell your work through avenues other than book shops.
- International market
PublishMe members whose goal is to be published internationally can submit their work for a market appraisal to see whether it is suitable to be represented to overseas markets. If it is suitable, a simple contract, with Zenith as your author agent, can then be arranged. Zenith Publishing Group Ltd, the parent company of PublishMe, continues to establish links with literary agents and international publishing houses and has longstanding relationships with publishers to whom we make recommendations. Those publishers are being constantly deluged with high quality publications and in these tougher economic times are more cautious about how they spend their money. Your chances of success are enhanced by having a polished trade quality product that we can present for you with confidence and pride. Another outcome of having an appraisal done is that, even if you hadn't considered overseas markets, our appraiser may see the potential for your publication to be of interest to our international contacts. See Selling with PublishMe>PublishMe Selling Options>International Publishing Rights tab for a more detailed explanation of international possibilities.
When should I complete this process?
If your book is completed, then submit the final product.
You may also have a market appraisal once the manuscript has been edited but before it is laid up and a cover design done. If it's partially completed, you can submit it for a provisional appraisal, but remember to tell us what stage it's at. The content can be assessed for marketing options subject to us checking that layout, design and cover are up to standard when they are ready.
What does the market appraisal cost?
The market appraisal fee is payable when submitting your book for appraisal. The fee is $200 for a work of fiction and $250 for non-fiction work. The charge for the latter category reflects the more extensive work required; checking bibliographies, contents, indexes etc to determine the quality of the research. These prices exclude GST.
How do I submit my book for assessment?
Contact your client manager to discuss the format you are sending. If you are printing with Zenith Print, you can authorise us to print a copy for appraisal purposes. It is important that appropriate background notes are prepared for the appraiser, including key questions that you might have, for example on book length, presentation or marketing possibilities. Download your
Market Appraisal form from
MyPublishMe > Free Downloads so that you can note those comments. If you would like your manuscript or book returned to you please include a self-addressed envelope with your submission.
How long should my appraisal take?
You should allow at least three weeks from the time we receive your books for our appraisers to complete their assessments and recommendations.
Join our service provider team
Offer your services as an appraiser – if you would like to be accredited as a freelance PublishMe appraiser in your own right, please contact a PublishMe client manager to discuss this opportunity.