4 out of 4 stars
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10 Step Plan to Promote Your Book - Online Marketing for Any Budget by Scott Hughes is a hidden gem in both self-publishing and self-marketing.
Hughes has written a short but dense volume of information that clearly outlines the steps an author needs to follow in order to successfully - and profitably - market a book in the current climate.
In addition to being an author himself, Hughes is the webmaster of OnlineBookClub.org, and his bread-and-butter job is promoting the books of others. In this book, he distills the essence of the activities he sees as essential to the promotion of any book.
Hughes lays the steps out, providing a chapter for each. Each chapter contains a full description and explanation not only of the step itself, but its value and how to implement it. In addition to the separate chapters for each step, Hughes provides an introduction to explain how these steps can be deployed by anyone, regardless of your marketing budget. In a nutshell, he explains how, when marketing your book, you will either be spending time or money. He is genuinely encouraging, when the budget is tight, showing you not only what but how to take a given step on your own, using your own time and efforts, rather than spending cash. At the same time, throughout the book, he gives examples when it simply is more cost efficient to pay someone else to take a particular action.
Throughout his book, many of the ideas he explores really resonated with me. I've spent countless hours in the past seven years reading, studying, and listening to webinars about marketing in a variety of industries. Hughes' advice came across as both sound and solid, and many of his steps could easily be transferred to other business models. Others have an easily recognizable parallel. For example, his Step 1 is to Write a Great Book, and part of that is the editing process. He encourages authors to not rely on their own proofreading, but get friends and family to also proofread, as well as budgeting for a professional editor. In any business, it's not only vital to be critical of your own work (or work product), but to get objective input from those who aren't as close to it as you are.
I have to comment: As an avid book reviewer, I occasionally receive pre-release copies of books, and so, I've become accustomed to seeing errata that still need to be corrected. I find that I have less patience when the book has already been published and I am finding typographical, spelling, and punctuation errors. Mr. Hughes seems to have taken his own advice seriously about having someone other than the author proofread and edit. I find that I can take the content of a book more seriously when the author is following his/her own advice.
Finally, I want to say that I was tickled with how easy a read this book is. Hughes presents his step by step plan in a familiar, conversational tone. The content is readily accessible and digestible. First time through, this book is a quick read. However, it is one that you will return to over and over to glean all of the value.
I give this book 4 out of 4 stars, and would recommend it to anyone in business, author or otherwise, who is looking to promote their work on a limited budget.
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10 Step Plan to Promote Your Book
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