general tips about writing and promoting books 

Practical Advice

Keep writing. Write daily if possible.

Take classes. Teachers have experience to share and will encourage developing writers. 

If you work well with deadlines, set them for yourself or ask someone to set them for you.

Join a writers' critique group. The support of friends, constructive criticism, and cheering for each other, can be a lifeline.

Writing experience, such as stories and articles in magazines, help give an author credentials for selling a book length project.

Promotion and Marketing

These days most authors  are encouraged to be as involved as possible in promoting their own books. Publishers like to take advantage of books with ready markets such as speakers who routinely attract crowds at conferences and workshops throughout the year. The more an author is able to sell the book, the more excited a publisher will be about it. The higher the sales of a book, the higher the advance a publisher can justify for the next book.

independent publicists

It does make sense to hire an independent publicist in some cases. In others it makes less sense, and each author should consult with his or her agent and editor about each book. In general, the more promotion that can be done the better, but keep in mind the kind of book and the readership.

First find out realistically what the book publisher is planning to do for the book. If an independent publicist has specific plans to target a different market than the publisher, perhaps that's worth an author's financial investment.

tours and appearances

Start by arranging some readings in the geographic setting of the book or in your home area. Often it's better to have a smaller bookstore host a reading rather than a huge one if the author can't send out invitations personally to a large group of people. It will feel better for an author and seem better to bookstore patrons if the reading area is a comfortable size for the amount of people likely to show up. If it's too large, it will seem like the bookstore was expecting more people who didn't show up. If it's too small, people won't be able to see and hear.

flyers and other promotional materials

Often publishers will supply promotional materials such as flyers, postcards, posters, or bookmarks. If not, authors might consider creating and distributing them. An Author might also consider setting up a web-site to promote the book.

Please remember that these are generalized guidelines, and each author and book have different circumstances that might be exceptions to the advice on this site.