(Contributed by Kevin Snyder; Write Way Publishing Senior Publicist)   

A few years ago, I was featured as the keynote speaker for an association’s annual conference. This conference included a traveling bookstore offering books written by many of its industry leaders and speakers at the event. Authors received 50% of all book sales during the conference.

It was 6-months before the conference. I contacted the bookstore manager to let him know I would be a keynote speaker at the conference. I offered him to include my newly released book in the conference bookstore. I included an image of the book cover, a one-page “Executive Summary” outlining the book’s features, and an additional offer to provide a book signing in the bookstore directly after my keynote speech.

The bookstore manager loved the idea and ordered 450 copies of my book at full price. I had a $5,000+ check in my hand within 30 days.

My book wasn’t even written yet.

Talk about motivation and a deadline! I invested weekends and a few weeknights to ensure my book would be completed at least a month before of the conference. Printing and shipping would take three weeks, so I left myself ample time to get a proof copy of the book to ensure everything was perfect.

Long “story” short, the book was written, edited, and proofed just on time. Every book was purchased in the bookstore, and my book signing had one of the longest lines during the conference. I leveraged the book during my speech and mentioned I would be hosting a book signing in the bookstore immediately following.

I share this true story with you because it is an example of how you can sell books even before your book is written.

All you need is focus on who your intended reader is, be an expert on the subject matter that provides value for them, and have a publishing company who can help you write a book in as little as 3 months!

Think of the groups and associations where you are involved. Regardless of whether or not you are a professional speaker, do the groups and associations in your industry have a traveling bookstore at their conferences? Look into their conferences. Who are the large groups in your ideal target industry where you can leverage massive book sales and host a special signing event?

These are opportunities to sell your book, build your credibility, and claim your expert status! You will most likely have to reach out to these groups to see about book selling opportunities, as it is unlikely they will come to you.

None of my books have ever magically sold themselves. Rather, they are sold by implementing a variety of strategic promotion approaches – some soft and some direct.

We’ve outlined many of these extraordinary promotion ideas in the Write Way Book Promotion Guide and Book Promotion Marketing Guide. Send us an email and we’ll share more information with you.

We’re passionate about helping you get your book noticed. The only way people will buy your book is if they know about it.

~  Kevin Snyder, Ed.D.

Kevin@WriteWayPublishingCompany.com