Whether you pursue traditional royalty publishing or publish independently, a marketing plan is essential for your book to be a success. Gone are the days of “getting published” and relying solely on your publisher to market your book (if they ever really existed). Literary Agent Chip MagGregor just posted a 10 step guide to creating a marketing plan on his blog:

I [Chip] had a chance to sit down with a marketing specialist at last week’s ACFW conference. This wasn’t just a publicist who knows a bit about the industry, but a marketing consultant who works with some top companies (Apple, Disney, HP, etc) to design their marketing plans. His name is Jim, and he’s got a proven track record of success. I told him, “I have the privilege of working with some great authors, who create wonderful books, but it often feels like the publishers seem to do the least they can when it comes to marketing a book.” Then I went on to explain the frustrations for an author trying to create a marketing plan when he or she is not actually trained in doing marketing. Jim’s response: “I think every entrepreneurial writer can learn to do more effective marketing.” While he admitted that some will come to it more naturally than others, he also noted that there were certain steps everyone should think through in order to create a full-blown marketing plan. When I asked him what those steps would be, here’s what he said (and he gave me permission to share this with you)…

Head over to Chip’s blog to read the 10 steps to creating a marketing plan for your book.