Tags

, ,

It clearly matters whether or not you have a good marketing consultant. A marketing consultant can either make or break you, especially on self-published books. Though the phone calls can sometimes get continuous, I find that marketing consultants have the techniques in selling your product. My publisher sets authors up with marketing consultants once their books are published. While I was thrown off at first, I find the frequent updates to be beneficial for selling books. I don’t always agree with the processing fees and costs, but I understand that they have to make a living too. I believe I have a good marketing consultant as he says, “Your success is my success.” Some information I found useful after going through this several times is:

  1. You can sometimes negotiate the price, even 50% to what they quoted you originally. (Don’t accept their first offer if you don’t like it).
  2. You can pay in installment plans. (Be careful here, they don’t often tell you that the service(s) will not be issued until the balance is paid in full). This process usually takes about 3 months, unless you pay it off beforehand. An option always open to you. If you are in a hurry, good to ask questions up-front.
  3. Let the marketing consultant know what you want (expecting) initially and what you want corrected. I ask my marketing consultant specific questions and get an answer that day.
  4. Always ask for confirmation through an email, fax, or in writing originally. (If you don’t have it in writing, it doesn’t exist).
  5. Don’t get stressed or feel pressured to accept services. You always have the option to decline. Rather than feel my blood pressure go up when my publisher calls, I just tell him or her that I can not do it. I find some things I simply want to do myself.
  6. Lastly, but the most important point I feel. Just have fun in writing and go with the flow. I enjoy writing and have a lot of fun with it. It should never become a chore. Once it becomes that, than you are in the wrong career. Pick up a hobby instead.

While I don’t want to offend marketing consultants, I feel it important for potential writers and authors to understand the policies in the publishing world. I didn’t find this world – it found me!