So you wrote a book? Congratulations! It’s probably going to change the world so naturally you want everyone to read it. But how do you get it out there? Or at least that particular group of people: your target market, friends, business associates, etc.?

We suggest you first get it into the hands of influencers; individuals that your potential audience look up to and trust.  Getting these people on your side and having them advocate on your book’s behalf will not only spread awareness to their circles, but also increase your book’s credibility.

Who to look for:

Each industry has leaders that everyone looks up to: Neil Degrasse Tyson in the science world, Warren Buffett in finance and Stephen Colbert in public opinion. These people have a large reach and a strong influence on the opinions for their business circles.

But we understand you probably don’t have these guys on speed dial. That’s okay. You don’t necessarily need to reach these celebrities but you will need to find the opinion leaders for your genre. They could be experts in the field, critics, relevant celebrities or management executives in industry-leading companies.

How to connect:

The key here is having a strong network. Establishing yourself in your genre and making connections to these people is the strongest way to convince people to read and share your book. If you’re new to the field or don’t have a strong network, try to find someone who does. Make as many friends as you can until you find that one person who can help you.

How to use galley copies of your book:

The next step is to make a physical product for these influencers. Authors often make what’s called a galley copy of their book for this purpose.

Galley copies can be a full, completed book, or a single chapter, a rough, unedited version of the book. You can decide what would be best for you as there are really no set rules. Any way you do it, it should be something that gives a good preview of what the book will be about, what it might look like and what they should expect.

How many should you print? That’s up to you. Some authors print as few as 15, and others as many as 1,500. Determine first who your influencers are and how you can connect to them before picking a number.

Example:

We recently helped a client make galley copies of their book. It is set to be released in a few months so they wanted to print it to get feedback from their friends, thought leaders and other contacts, as well as spread awareness. They printed around 800 copies of the book, along with a bio sheet of the authors, a letter addressed to the recipient and a sleeve to hold it all together. We helped in every part of the process, doing the printing, cutting, packaging and shipping.

We can help you with every step of promoting your book, including design, marketing, printing and shipping.