Anyone who does any research in the field of self-publishing will quickly learn that there are three keys to selling books. 1. Marketing, 2. Marketing, 3. Marketing

For anyone feeling uncertain about how to approach the vast world of marketing possibilities (and I’m pretty sure that includes just about every author-turned-self-publisher!), just pick up this arsenal of “100 No-Cost Low-Cost Weapons to Help You Sell Your Work” – Guerrilla Marketing for Writers by Jay Conrad Levinson, Rick Frishman & Michael Larsen. One can’t help but feel as they read this book that the authors are really serious about wanting to help writers achieve success in their marketing efforts. Although it’s written with the assumption that the author’s goal is to be picked up by one of the big publishing houses, it is equally useful for the self-publisher. Perhaps even more so, because every time I read, “Your publisher should…” or “Ask your publisher if…” I made a mental note that I am my publisher and those are responsibilities that I too must shoulder.

The book is divided into four parts as follows:

Part I – Guerrilla Marketing: The Right Idea at the Right Time

Part II – Weapons that Make You a Guerrilla

Part III – Weapons Galore to Help You Sell More

Part IV – Weapons that are All About You

Each of these is subdivided into smaller categories into which are placed each of the individual “weapons” – specific marketing ideas. The Table of Contents lists each of these individually and serves as the perfect place to mark the strategies you want to use first. If I wasn’t borrowing this book from the library, that’s exactly what I would have done. In fact, the book would have been very well-marked by the time I finished it if it was mine.

In addition to all the practical strategies, the authors share numerous additional “guerrilla tactics” – ideas submitted by other authors, and “war stories” – real life examples of the guerrilla tactics and weapons in action. I can’t wait to get my own copy of this book and start marking it up! I’ve also just begun perusing the wealth of information and resources contained on the Guerrilla Marketing website. Between the book and the website, it’s almost as good as having an experienced mentor guiding you through the steps to effectively market your book!