Site NavigationHow This Stay At Home Mom Became A #1 Bestselling Author! By Sally Shields
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Like most women, I got married and got a mother-in-law. But after a couple of years, I was left scratching my head, thinking, where is the manual for this?!!! I wrote to a relationship author suggesting this as an idea, mentioning since she helped all these women meet and marry the men of their dreams, they she needed to provide some advice on how to get along with the other woman in their man's life-his mom! This author told me it was the best idea she had ever heard. "You should write it," they said. At first I thought they were crazy since the last thing I'd written was a term paper in high school English class! But, the gears started turning in my mind. So I started to jot down all the troublesome incidents that would pop into my head in regards to my mother-in-law, and came up with a rule and a solution to deal with each and every one. When I put a few of these rules into practice (and saw that they actually worked) I thought maybe I could help save other young wives years of needless contention!
But, what about getting published? It didn't seem feasible from all the stories I'd heard about how impossible it was, and I didn't have a clue what I was doing. But, I decided to try anyway. I went the traditional route, and contacted over 100 literary agents. As the process evolved, I realized just how hard it really was. I eventually garnered the interest of a NY literary agent through a well-crafted query letter, and within a few weeks, I was signed. But soon I learned that a proposal was required, which, I found out, was even more difficult than writing a book in the first place! I had to do market research and statistical comparisons. I was jumping through hoops, and it was a process that I never want to repeat! However, I got over that hurdle and finally, after several round of editing said proposal, the agent began to submit my manuscript.
Months went by. 15 rejection letters later, I slowly realized that even if I was lucky enough to get a publishing deal, it would require signing over my rights and editorial control, and allowing the agency and publisher to decide on my book cover, interior layout, formatting, pricing, release dates, all which could take between 1-2 years, maybe more. And the publishing company would retain more than 90 of wholesale royalty rate. She was required to do her own publicity, and spent mucho bucks hiring a PR firm. Ultimately, although the company sold 20,000 copies, 15,000 of them were returned-and destroyed! The book was taken off the publisher's roster, and shelved forever. She then had to hire an expensive attorney to reclaim the rights to her own book, which she was told, could take several years. At that point, I decided to investigate opting out of my contract. I thought I'd rather self-publish than go through all of that!
One day, I walked into a bookstore, and found some information on the subject of self-publishing. Upon further investigation, it seemed that I could not only be in charge of my own pricing, interior, be involved in book design, set my own distribution discount, order authors copies at a deep discount, get a free website, but also be published within 12-16 weeks, all for under $1000. And so, I ended up self-publishing. And what a thrill to hold my book in my hands for the first time!
My book came out looking exactly the way I wanted. The cover designer took my ideas and created something that even exceeded my expectations. It was placed with a wholesaler and distributor, and made available though various online outlets. My mom was so excited, and bought a few copies. So did my aunt in California, as well as my best friend from high school ... and the nice lady next door ordered a copy of my book for her daughter's wedding shower. Very nice. But now what?
I soon found out how difficult it is to get a self-published book accepted by a traditional bookstore without knowing what you're doing. But where else do people go to buy books? I wrote the book so that I could deliver a message to the world, not so that it would sit unnoticed in some computer file in the sky! Through a friend, I heard about a course that taught authors how to get free publicity on their own through zero-low cost strategies. This was a very attractive idea since hiring a PR firm can cost up to $8,000/month! What I learned in this class, is that there is nothing that can help you build credibility and increase sales faster than having the distinction of "Bestseller Status."
So, through an online email blast strategy, I brought my book to the #1 spot in its category on one of the major online retail outlets. And that, I must say, was a fundamental factor that afforded my book an essential credibility boost. Indeed I was elated to add the bestseller distinction to my name-and I was thrilled to sell a few hundred books in one day! However... I soon realized that bestseller day was exactly that-a launch-a jumping off point. Now, how to effectively leverage my new Bestseller Status to its utmost advantage? How to use this distinction to catapult from selling a few hundred books online, to becoming a true, six figure-income author? Back to the drawing board.
I embarked on a journey to learn as much as I could about selling through non-traditional methods that had little to do with bookstore sales, since that wasn't an option anyway. I learned that corporations are often interested in using books as premium incentives to give to their customers or simply as gifts to their employees. I got a reputable flower company to give me a coupon code via a full page add in the back of the book. I contacted several corporations and currently have interest from major players in the bridal industry and home goods. Over many months, I studied the top gurus ranging from authors and publishers, to media trainers, agents, radio hosts, producers, distributers and more.
By this time, I was getting more and more interested in [cough] [obsessed with] book marketing, so I decided to take a leap of faith, and signed up to attend very costly 4-day event in New York City. (My husband was sweating bullets!) However, at this event, I met producers from over 100 national TV and radio shows, and over 50 book marketing agents, distributors and publishers.
Here's what I learned at the conference:
The biggest hurtle is not writing a book-it's what you do after the book that is what is the most significant. See, a book opens doors-it is the biggest and most important calling card you will ever have. ...But having a book doesn't mean people are going to buy it!
I began to understand the reality that aside from the very well known best selling authors, very few people get rich from simply selling their book. Rather, it is the back-end products and services that are created from the book that can make the difference between a struggling writer and a million-dollar author. So, how does a regular person make a living from their book?!%^&? The secret that successful authors know is that they understand how to use their book as a tool to build their business. I learned that the secret to creating a business and selling lots and lots of books, my friends, is none other than knowing how to get massive PUBLICITY!
So, rising to the challenge, I set out to get major (and free) publicity for my book, using the strategies I'd been learning, and put them into practice, full-force. Because I self-published, I have gained media coverage from over 100 sources, ranging from radio and internet, to print and television. My book reached #1 in it's category online, I recently appeared on a nationally syndicated TV talk show, and the #3 nationally syndicated radio therapist in the USA recommended my book as her "pick of the week." It was also chosen as "Hot Book of the Week" in a national celebrity magazine on Mother's Day, and a women's network purchased the foreign rights for distribution in Africa.
So, although I didn't start out having a business, all the publicity I created has intrigued and motivated other authors, who are now asking me to coach them. So, what were some of the other results of all this great publicity? I now have a coaching career. I am a workshop and teleseminar leader, radio host and creator of a potential reality-show. I strive to make corporate sales, fundraise, and speak regularly at bridal shows, as well as writers and publicity events. See, as an author, you are now in the business of marketing. However, you have to have a clear vision and a strong desire to genuinely help people. For example, my vision is to create more harmony among mothers and daughters-in-law world-wide, as well as inspire others to follow their dreams through writing and self-publishing a book.
The moral? You CAN re-invent yourself! The only two things you need to become successful in any endeavor is to have a passion for your topic, and a sincere desire to help people. The rest will fall into place.
About the Author:
For information on Sally's current and upcoming projects, visit www.outskirtspress.com/theDILRules or the author's own Web site at www.TheDILRules.com
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