You’ve written it: the book that was missing from the world, the sum of hundreds of hours of research, planning, writing, editing… it’s finally done and ready to dazzle your readers.
Well, not so fast… how can you dazzle someone if they don’t know your book exists? You’re not in the business of pouring your heart and soul into a book just to have nobody read it, are you? No! So, you need an audience – you need readers. But how do you, a lone-wolf, self-published author, go about building one of those when you don’t have the big guns of a publishing house behind you?
Easy. You start small. You start locally.
Sure, it may be tempting to reach out to large networks – CNN, Good Morning America, and the like – in hopes they’ll like you and your book enough to have you on the show. Think of it from their perspective, though: if you’re a producer trying to ensure top ratings to appease your TV network, are you really going to take a chance on an author nobody’s ever heard of before? No!
But locally, you have some better footing. Your local news shows are incredibly more likely to have on an expert (you) from within the community. You can wow your neighbors with your new ideas, and from there, you can gain experience while – you guessed it – gaining an audience.
So don’t skip right over your local media – they could be your ticket to wider readership and a successful book launch.
For tips & tricks on what media outlets are looking for and interview do’s & don’ts, stay tuned… we’ll discuss those in coming posts!
