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BookHitch Interviews John Kremer

For their January Hitch News ezine, BookHitch.com interviewed John Kremer. Here is their interview.

When searching on the Internet for any subject matter about marketing and the book industry you will, undoubtedly, come to find John Kremer’s website. The site is full of useful information, which is why we thought we would ask Mr. Kremer a few questions on behalf of our readers.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

I am the author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books and editor of the Kremer 100 PR newsletter. If you want to know more about me, go see my website at http://www.JohnKremer.com.

How did you work your way into the industry?

I didn't work my way in. I barged in, just as most self-publishers do. I decided to publish a book, did some research, wrote the book, designed it, and had it printed. Then I had to sell it. I learned quickly what to do. Now I share that and a whole lot more that I've learned since that time.

How did you build your career and service offerings?

One step at a time. I started with a Directory of Short-Run Book Printers -- which I needed, so I figured most other self-publishers would need such a directory as well. I was right. From there, people told me about the great savings they had made printing their books. But now they had a problem. How to get rid of all the books under the bed, in the closet, filling the garage,
etc. Well, I knew at least 101 Ways, so I wrote the
book -- which quickly grew into five more editions of 1001 Ways.

If you had to choose a few of the most valuable pieces of advice in your book, 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, which ones would you emphasize?

1. Do something every day to market every book you have written -- and still love.

2. Do the work. Make the phone calls. Publicity requires follow-up if you want anyone to notice. That means making phone calls. Lots of them.

3. The toughest challenge for an unknown author is getting people to sample their writing and ideas. Now, with the Internet, you can give people a free way to sample your book. Give it away as an ebook. If you do not feel comfortable giving away the entire book, give away sample chapters.

4. Take time to learn how websites work, how to do podcasts, how to create book trailers and, most important, how to network via the Internet. For many self-publishers, 80 to 90% of their sales come from the work they do via the Internet.

How do you think new marketing trends within the publishing industry affect book marketing, for publishers and for authors?

The Internet has opened up the possibilities for authors and publishers to reach out to the entire world in a way that is cost-effective, highly targetable, and very productive. It has changed the way authors can and should publish and promote their books.

If you (as the author, or publisher) had a book manuscript in your hand, what would you do first?

Give it away. Share it with everyone I could. Get them excited about the book. Create word of mouth. Then publish the physical book and sell it like crazy.

How would you tell if your manuscript has best-seller potential?

First, I can tell by the title. Is the title a knock-out? A boring title rarely becomes a bestseller, but a memorable title often does. Then I'd test the title via the Internet (by offering a free report with the title as the only sales copy, giving people a choice of one to four titles where they could pick only one).

I could go on and on, but I've said much of this before and in far more detail in my book. Please read it. You can go to your library to read it, borrow it from a friend (but only if you eventually return it), or buy from Amazon.com. Any of those acts will benefit me as well as you.

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