Book Review: You Can Market Your Book
By Glenn White

You Can Market Your Book by Carmen Leal is an inspiring breath of fresh air in the crazy and sometimes mystical world of the dirty “M” word for many writers which is called, “Marketing.” In the first chapter Carmen says, “As Christians, the first step in our marketing plan must be prayer. It doesn’t stop with your readers though. Every step of the writing and marketing process should be bathed in prayer.”

Huh? Marketing and prayer? Are we mixing the profane with what is godly? Nope. And throughout this entire book you’ll see example after example of great ideas for promoting your book in a godly fashion.

Carmen also says, “The second step in your preparation is to produce something of excellence.” Again, throughout the book Carmen just doesn’t pay lip service to good ideas she walks through you step-by-step and shows you how to target your audience, choose a title, select a front and back cover, find speaking engagements and book reviews, assemble media kits and press releases and how to present yourself at book signings and interviews. Yeah, it sounds like a lot of stuff but Carmen simplifies all these marketing tools. This is a great introduction to the realities of marketing.  

Did I mention this book is stuffed with useful online information? At the end of almost every chapter are the web sites of the writers and resources discussed in the chapter. This book is a web surfer’s dream comes true when talking about marketing and Christian publishing.

However, the genius of this book is that it’s not just that Carmen offers her own tips and advice. She has gathered some of the sharpest minds in the Christian writing biz and they also provide you with their expertise. For example, Marita Littauer says, “Publishers today would rather publish an author who is marketable than publish a great literary work by someone who is not marketable.”

Yeah, Baby! That means we all have a chance when we do our homework. And this book by Carmen Leal is just the place to start your writing career and your book on the road to success.

Whether you’re a beginning writer, an accomplished writer, a royalty published writer, a self-published writer or just thinking about writing then this book deserves a place on your resource shelf.

You can order You Can Market Your Book from Amazon or an autographed copy directly from Carmen Leal's website. There is also a sample chapter on Carmen's site you can read.

Copyright 2003 Glenn White

Glenn is editor of http://www.WriteToInspire.com and a freelance writer and editor. His work has appeared on http://www.dailywisdom.com , New Life Ministries, Joyfull Noise, Manna Cabana and other online writing sites. Currently, he's writing his first non-fiction book based on his experience as Executive Director of San Francisco Teen Challenge. You can contact him at: editor@writetoinspire.com