Best Author, or Best-Selling Author?

February 10, 2008

You consider yourself a writer, not a salesman. You know a few marketing skills could help you sell that book, but salesmen are those sweaty men in bad suits dumping bad cars on the unsuspecting, right?

Have you ever thought about the phrase “best-selling author”? As Robert T. Kiyosaki points out in “Rich Dad, Poor Dad“, it doesn’t say “best-writing”. You might have an M.F.A. in creative writing, won awards for your poetry or prose, and generally be thought of as an excellent writer, but to become a best-selling author you have to sell.

Some writers would rather die. They say, “I write what I feel and don’t worry about being commercial” or “If I write well, my story will find its audience” or even “[Insert famous author here] just wrote from [his/her] soul and the world came running”. Most of the writers who say these things will get their wishes; they, or at least their writing, will indeed die.

Publishers mean business. If they believed any of the excuses writers give for not learning to sell, publishers would be out of business. If editors didn’t select manuscripts with an eye for the market, they would lose their jobs. If they didn’t lose their jobs, the company they worked for would likely fold in the long run.

You might get someone to publish your book, but wouldn’t you like someone to read it too? Or how about that book proposal, couldn’t it benefit by following a few ad copywriting basics? Maybe it’s time to learn a little about the art of selling.

You can learn much of what you’ll need through a media you are already comfortable with, books. Even better, some of the classics on the subject are available for free or you can find them in a good used bookstore. That is because the principles behind ad copywriting have not changed since they were first put in print a century ago. While tactics change with the weather, the principles of selling remain timeless.

The timeless classic books in advertising are a great place to start learning how to sell your books, articles, and queries. Some are available as free downloads online, while others might take some searching in used bookstores (take your dark sunglasses if you still can’t bare being thought of as a salesman).

Dale Carnegie’s “How to Win Friends and Influence People” is readily available. The fact it’s been in print most of the last 70+ years should tell you something. I hate the title since it sounds manipulative, but I couldn’t recommend this book more strongly. It’s about more than selling, it’s also about getting along with others.

Claude Hopkin’s “Scientific Advertising” is another classic you should be able to find as an inexpensive ebook download, or possibly free if you look hard. His book My Life in Advertising is free on Google Books.

Aside from these two authors, also look for books by:

John Caples

Robert Collier

Rosser Reeves

Clyde Bedell

David Ogilvy

John E. Kennedy

E. Haldeman-Julius

Some people write for themselves, others want an audience. But from the business perspective (the rules publishers live under) it’s about sales. From getting a publisher to buy your manuscript to promoting it once it’s in print, selling is part of the process.

To purposely remain ignorant about the details of selling what you write means you’re leaving it to chance. Ultimately your success is up to you.

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