A list of FREE ebooks about book marketing

Promoting books takes time, creativity, and tenacity. Even when paved with good intentions, the best route to results is unpredictable, and the trip can be difficult and frustrating. Most people are happily unaware of the painstaking behind-the-scenes efforts of book publicists. I tell writers that their publishers will expect them to devote a substantial amount of time and effort, and sometimes the writers’ money, to promoting their titles. If authors wait until their books are launched before learning how to generate publicity, they’ll be overwhelmed. If they expect a publisher’s marketing team to be at their beck and call, I know they’ll be disappointed.

Some publishers establish speakers’ bureaus and create websites and blogs for their authors. Book authors form collectives to assist each other with publicity. Freelance publicists, when a writer can afford one, are available to help. For the most part, book authors should expect to be left to their own clever devices when their publishers’ marketing budgets are depleted. Forewarned is forearmed.

I’ve been recommending these free ebooks to writers who want to learn what they can do to market themselves and their books. I’ll try to keep this list updated as time goes by. Feel free to let me know if I’ve overlooked other good ebooks on the topics of book marketing and publicity.

Plug Your Book! Online Book Marketing for Authors
by Steve Weber

The Newbie’s Guide to Publishing Book
by J.A. Konrath

Smashwords Book Marketing Guide
by Mark Coker
[Added on June 25, 2010]

Penguin Authors Guide to Online Marketing
from Penguin Group USA

The Word of Mouth Manual: Vol. II
by Dave Balter

The New Rules of Viral Marketing:
How Word-of-Mouse Spreads Your Ideas for Free
by David Meerman Scott

©ontent
by Cory Doctorow
[Added on February 17, 2009]

The Book Trailer® Revolution
Book Marketing and Promotion through Digital Video
by Sheila Clover English
[Added on March 6, 2009]

The Seth Godin ebookshelf is loaded with freebies, which is a good indication that Seth’s Blog should be in every writer’s RSS feed. He offers additional free ebooks through his blog.

Who’s There?
Seth Godin’s Incomplete Guide to Blogs and the New Web
by Seth Godin

The Tribes Casebook
by Seth Godin

Flipping the Funnel
by Seth Godin

Unleashing the Ideavirus
by Seth Godin

This list includes only ebook downloads. Excellent blogs on the subject of book marketing—like my friend Christina Katz’s—can be found in my blogroll.

[Updated on February 4, 2009] Yen Cheong, Assistant Director of Publicity at Viking and Penguin, explains how to avoid duplication of efforts in “In-house vs. freelance book publicists” on the Book Publicity Blog.