Book Marketing is Dead: Book Promotion Secrets You MUST Know BEFORE You Publish Paperback – December 31, 2013

Nothing about writing or promoting a book is easy. If you meet someone who suggests it is, be polite but run the other direction. Success as an author is 99.5% content and commitment. I'll let others argue how that splits out, but authors need plenty of both.For the past several months I've been immersing myself in book marketing concepts, programs, video training, webinars, and courses (some paid, some free.) Why? As a non-fiction Christian author I believe in my message and want more people to benefit from it. I want to help folks become more effective leaders and enjoy amazing relationships with God, horses, and one another. The only way to accomplish my goal is increasing readership. That takes content, commitment, and marketing savvy. Having one or two isn't enough. It takes all three.Whether you're an aspiring or published author, you're probably reading this review because you want to sell more books. That means something needs improvement.Is it your book cover? Website? Amazon sales page? Description? Keywords? Lack of reviews? Poor content, editing, or formatting?Derek's book is filled with great advice. Here are the biggies:1. Don't market a product that isn't ready for prime time.2. Get independent opinions.3. Scads of specific dos, don'ts and tips - about the inside and outside of your book, showing social grace on social media, and a BUNCH of links to resources. And more.My to-do list is already packed with specific improvements or projects mentioned in the book. My email inbox teems with offers and insights from author and book marketing gurus - yet I still discovered NEW resource links and ideas in this book. I've increased my book sales by 300-500% in the past few months and I've still got 85% of my current plans yet to complete.If you want to publish a book or sell one you've already written, this is a great tool. And it's free. If you aren't already producing great content to GIVE AWAY you probably won't be a successful author. The stand-out authorities in book marketing - like Derek - give away awesome information and suggestions. That's a specific point for this review (the content is fabulous) as well as a head's up for what you'll experience as you dive deeper into the process yourself.Again, content and commitment determine 99.5% of your book's success. No tips, tricks, insights, or war stories will help authors who aren't committed enough to act on them. You will benefit from this book if you're willing to do the work. Do it well and you WILL sell more copies.

Pros:1. There's a lot of really good, and also some tough-to-hear but necessary information in this book: stuff that newbies will really benefit from hearing once, twice, or you know, three or four times. (He admits that there's a bit of repetition in this book, and makes a point of saying that he hasn't self-edited it out because he partially feels like if it's important, he needs to repeat it to make a point sometimes)2. Lots of great links to useful blogs and/or websites, guides and services. He's clearly a fan of certain editors, editing services, user guides, sites like fiverr.com and he's made everything he's a fan of easily accessible and kind of right-there, so that if he's mentioning something you're interested in, and sounds like a good fit, it's just a short click away.3. It's a nice crash course -- he's clearly read a lot of other books, blogs, etc about self-publishing and self-marketing and it's nice in that it's a great crash-course of this author says this, this author said that.4. It's a super, super, quick read. Between the quotes, the different fonts, the occasional checklists, this is a easy read that you can refer back to if you like...Cons:1. While I agree with even some of the harsher hard-facts he touts, some of it comes across as -- if you're failing, it's your own damn fault (you choose a genre/topic that just won't sell, you're unwilling to x, y, z). I think that's going to be tough for people who are say, committed to whatever area/topic they're writing in (though I get and respect his point of: either you WANT to be a starving artist, or you WANT to be marketable, and if you're going to make a living, you HAVE to learn to market, and to listen to what the market wants)2. A lot of it is self-referential as well as referencing a specific set of services/vendors. So this isn't a book you pick up thinking: I'm going to get a fair and balanced view of blah vs. blah. He has a set of practices and also vendors/sites, etc he believes in... and it's also a little about marketing himself as well. So you have to know that going in. It's like reading a self-help book by a politician in that way, even though they're offering advice, there is a little bit of... well, this is my view, and I'm successful, and you should also realize how great I am.I'm currently trying several of the things he's mentioned (though in the case of my first two books, I've already picked the topic/genre without thinking about market, so there is a little bit of it's-already-too-late-for-me syndrome), but it hasn't been long enough for me to know if there's any benefit. At $0.99, I think it was a good buy: even if the things he suggests end up having little impact on my current book, he's introduced me to a variety of options, blogs, etc. Even if I eventually don't use all of them, or replace them with other editors/services etc, it was good all-around think through all the options reading material.

I have read a few guides on how to market a book, only this one really gives me a feeling that I can and should try my luck with Self Publishing. I can't thank the author enough!

Derek is always generous with his information and he pretty much tells it how it is. There’s lots of things you can do to improve your chances of success in the indie book world. But he makes it sound like it’s work that’s worth doing

Smettetela di girare come delle anime in pena chiedendo alla gente di comprare il vostro libro. Piuttosto, concentratevi sul lettore. Date valore aggiunto. Fate sentire bene la gente.Questo, in tre parole e mezzo, il messaggio del libro per un marketing editoriale 2.0. Sconosciuto, a quanto pare, ai markettari italiani che vanno consigliando di disturbare la gente tre volte al giorno su Twitter.Un piccolo libro imbottito di consigli pratici che io, se fossi stata Derek, avrei fatto pagare ben di più!

Being an active writer, I'm always looking for information related to story, the craft of writing, and the business. Now that I'm a publisher also, this need has expanded. Book Marketing is Dead has given me a valuable source for that information.I hired Derek to create a cover for my book, "Purified." Not only did he do a great job, but he established a trust I feel I can rely on when reading his advice on Marketing. Derek sets a foundation of what is required for your book before you start marketing then he tells you how to set up your social network to present yourself as a trusted author. Finally, he dives into marketing by suggesting proven techniques that sell books.Throughout Book Marketing is Dead, sources of information are everywhere. We all need these contacts, and I have trust in the author which allows me to immediately trust who he recommends.Book Marketing is Dead may not be as long as you expected or cover everything you're looking for; but if you follow Derek's advice, you'll certainly be miles ahead of where you were before you cracked the cover.

I downloaded a sample of this book and was immediately hooked by its refreshing, no-nonsense style and bought it. I was a few minutes into the book before I realised that I knew the author. I was, in fact, one of the ten authors who Derek mentions in his book. He did a make-over of one of my covers, giving me many different options to choose from and, as he said, my sales more than doubled immediately.I have read many books on this subject and found this a refreshing and thought-provoking one. Derek is a real creative thinker and this book is filled with ideas. Not every one of them appeals to me but that is not the point; he offers choices and solutions and it is up to you to choose that which work for you.Derek Murphy is one of those rare people, a generous man with an innovative mind and he offers a rich menu of ideas for you to select and choose from. If you want to look at an example of his covers take a look at my The Lost King series and you'll see what he can do. (In fact he not only did one cover but decided to do all three for me.)