Five Year of the Dragon-Inspired Tips for How to Sell Your Book in 2012

The year 2012 is the Chinese horoscope’s Year of the Dragon. One New Year’s resolution high on almost every author’s list is to “sell more books this year.” The AuthorHouse Marketing Team thought it would be interesting to see which of the Chinese dragon’s attributes AuthorHouse authors can use to achieve this goal.

The Western Dragon
In Western cultures, the mythical dragon is considered a beast, a fearsome, fire-breathing fiend that terrorized lands, accumulating and hoarding mountainous treasure troves. Possibly the most famous dragon tale is that of the child-eating fiend St. George slew on his adventures during the Crusades.

The Chinese Dragon
In Chinese culture, however, the dragon is revered as a divine creature, a symbol of good fortune and great power. These are attributes you can adopt in the Year of the Dragon to help you sell more books.

Here are five dragon-inspired bookselling tips to sink your teeth into.

  1. The dragon is a beast of beauty.
    With so many titles available to readers on the market today, you need a truly awe-inspiring beast of a book cover to grab readers’ attentions. There are various times quoted as to how long a reader spends looking at a book’s cover, but rest assured, it is not long. Just a few brief seconds is all a reader needs to make their buying decision. A professional, attractive cover is essential for marketing your book to realize its full sales potential.

  2. Some Chinese dragons breathe fire.
    Be one of the fire-breathers and make people hear your dragon’s roar. We help you get your readers talking about your book by introducing innovative, creative new ideas on how to market your book in 2012. Here are a few suggestions:

    • Add humor to your promotions. If you can make people laugh, they are more likely to remember you and like you. After all, people buy from who they like. And when they like you, they will become your readers.
    • Establish yourself as an authority in your field. Writing a book is a great step toward this, but offering added value will help you break the ice as well. Creating a blog or a website where you offer more detailed backstories to your book’s characters or additional facts to support your theories will help your book marketing campaign by engaging your audience.
    • Create a video to market your book. This only needs to be short (one to two minutes), but it will create a personal touch for potential readers you are never likely to meet. A longer trailer is also great if you want to pitch your book as a movie.
  3. The dragon is brave.
    Bravery entails overcoming your fears. Dragons are creatures of power and fear very little. Many authors are indeed slaying their fears by writing and publishing a book. Adopt this same dragon’s mind-set when marketing a book as well as writing it. Do not let your fears stop you from talking about your book. A common fear for many people is public speaking. If this is yours, it is going to be tough to interact with you readers and sell your books at book signing events or book fairs. Address these fears in 2012.

  4. Dragons are passionate.
    Your book is a work of passion. You have invested time and effort to create a work of art. Many authors think of their books as their children. Share your passion with everyone you can. Talk to your friends, relatives, or even strangers; stage book signing events; go to book fairs; talk on the radio; or appear on TV. Talk about your book with passion as you would one of your children every chance you get. Passion is contagious, and a contagious story turns into a best-selling book.

  5. The dragon is an artist.
    Many Chinese horoscopes depict dragons as eschewing conformity and defying routine. Dragons gravitate to jobs where they can be self-reliant. Sounds like an author, doesn’t it? A dragon is a writer, and a successful one at that. Adopt the dragon’s philosophy in your bookselling and marketing campaigns in 2012 to experience similar fortunes.