Every part of your book can be a sales tool. When you include the below tips, you will have a roadmap to follow to keep your writing organized and compelling, and you'll sell more books than you ever dreamed of!

1. Write for your one preferred audience. Not everyone wants your book. Find out what audience wants/needs your book? What problems does your book solve for them? Create an audience profile and keep your audience's picture in front of you as you write. Ask yourself, is my topic narrow enough? The Chicken Soup For The Teenager, For The Prisoner, and other specific groups sold far more copies than the original Chicken Soup.

2. Write a sizzling book title and front cover. You have 4-10 seconds to hook your potential buyer. The cover itself sells more books than any other part. Bookstore buyers buy mainly by cover designs.Your title must compel your audience to buy. If you want an agent or publisher your title and subtitle are vital.

3. Write a thirty-second "tell and sell." You only have a few seconds to impress the media, the agent, the bookseller, the individual buyer. Include your title, a few benefits, and the audience. Include a few sound bites that grab attention. You may also want to compare your book to a successful one. "Passion at Any Age" is the "Artist's Way" for seniors.

4. Write your back cover before you write your book. This is the second most important sales tool your book has to offer. Here you put compelling ad copy, benefits, testimonials, and a small blurb about you, the author. If your potential buyer likes it, they will buy on the spot. If they want more information, they will look inside at the introduction and table of contents.

If you write an electronic book (eBook) you can apply this information to your Web site sales letter.

5. Write your book introduction. Include the problem your audience has, why you wrote the book, and its purpose. In a few paragraphs include more specific benefits, and how you will present it (format). Keep it under a page.

6. Create a table of contents. Each chapter should have a name, preferably a catchy one. If your reader can't understand the chapter title, then annotate it. Add some benefits or a sub title. In Passion at Any Age, the author put the word "passion" in each title. Which attracts you more? "Open Your Mind?" or "Attracting Passion?"

7. Reach out to opinion molders. After an initial contact of asking for feedback, resend them the same chapter and the table of contents of your book. Ask for a testimonial then. These influential contacts' testimonials will make your back cover an important sales tool.

Designing every part of your book to be a sales tool and a beacon to writing a focused, compelling, understandable, and enjoyable book is a must, before you write a single word.

This article was posted on December 29, 2003