Promote Like a Pro: Small Budget, Big Show

Getting a book published is no easy task, but promoting it may be even harder. Promote Like a Pro: Small Budget, Big Show helps self-publishers (and other entrepreneurs with projects to promote) reach the audiences that want their books. Promotion and marketing are the keys, but many self-publishers don't have the finances to hire professionals to make the pitch, and that's where Promote Like a Pro steps in. "Promoting and marketing an unknown author is about as challenging as it gets," says publisher and book producer Linda F. Radke, and Promote Like a Pro sets out to help self-publishers to meet that challenge. "Self-publishers definitely need this kind of help because the competition is so intense." More than 50,000 books are published and more than 7,000 new presses come into existence each year. "With this kind of competition, you just can't expect your book to make it by word of mouth," she says. Radke, president of Five Star Publications, Inc., has spent 15 years advising authors on how to produce and market books. In Promote Like a Pro she shares what she's learned, providing a roadmap to successful marketing with clear, step-by-step advice. In addition, Radke has assembled experts-including Mary Westheimer, president of BookZone.com; Alf Nucifora, who syndicates his Shoestring Marketing column to 40 business papers nationwide; Jeff Todtfeld, an associate producer at Fox News Channel 24-hour cable network; and Charlene Costanzo, who has sold more than 250,000 copies of her own self-published book-to give readers an inside look at how to get publicity in print and broadcast media and how to create an effective marketing campaign. Promote Like a Pro lets self-publishers "join the club" and learn the secrets of successful promotion. Although aimed primarily at self-publishers, Promote Like a Pro contains valuable advice for anyone who's new to mounting publicity and marketing campaigns.