5 Mistakes Christian Authors Make in Marketing Their Books

Are you  a Christian author ready to market your book? Whether it is fiction or nonfiction, here are a few tips! I see these typical errors in specific actions or attitudes when people bring me their books to review or ask for consultations for book marketing.

(1) The whole book is “their story” or testimony.

You can tell your story, but intertwine it throughout a book that has a topic. I receive a lot of books from people sharing their “chronic illness story.” It gets exhausting and depressing to read pages and pages about lab tests, MRIs, doctor errors, etc. Your book should have a topic, such as Linda Newton’s book 12 Ways to Turn Your Pain Into Praise. And then use your story (and other people’s stories) as examples.  Tip: Your story doesn’t need to be told in chronological order.

(2) Scripture is quoted so heavily there is no room for any other content.

Don’t quote scripture over and over and use it as an excuse to not have to write, or to write sloppy. A lot of books are packed full of scripture as the answer for everything. Dig deeper into scripture, put it into your own words sometimes, use different versions of the Bible to explore the meaning beyond just quoting it. And don’t slack off on your own writing.

(3) A cover that looks self-published, is bland, is weird, or basically doesn’t “fit in.”

If you are reviewing a cover you’ve had designed or you are doing your own, print it out, put it over a book of the same thickness and put it on your bookshelf and even see how the spine looks. It should “stand out” among other books and yet, “blend in” at the same time.

You need to have a GOOD cover and a GOOD title. Hire John Kremer to review it! I see many good books with horrible covers and titles. Since I sell books over the internet through our store people often want me to carry their books. But if the cover and title won’t make people buy it, I can’t carry it in our store because it won’t sell, regardless of how wonderful the content is. Sorry.

(4) The belief that marketing one’s book is evil — or at least, not needed because “God will just take care of selling the book for me.”

A lot of Christians believe their gift is in writing the book and if God wants it to sell, He will take care of it. It’s true that the bigger opportunities I have had have often times just seen to come from nothing I did. It was just God’s work! But remember, if God gave you this message that you cared enough to sweat over and actually write, you should care enough to get it into the hands of people who will be blessed or learn by it.

You aren’t out to trick people into buying your book, so don’t feel guilty about marketing it. If God showed you where a need was and you wrote a book to help fulfill that need, you should find joy in getting it into the hands of people who need it.

I remember hearing Paula Dean once say, “I worked like a dog and God blessed everything I did.” You may spend months trying to get your book into a mail order catalog and then God may bless you with an order so large you will actually make money off your book.

(5) Refusal to get involved in online marketing.

Regardless of your age or area of expertise, you need to know some of the basic lingo of online marketing and have a web site. You don’t have to write in Facebook every day. You don’t have to Twitter from your phone, but you should know what people are talking about when they mention these things. Don’t act as if you are “too good” for it.

If you are over 50 years old I know the internet “stuff”  can seem like a foreign language, but you can learn a few “words.” Even my mom has figured out how to log on to Blog Talk Radio to listen to my weekly program. Software like wordpress can make it easy for you to have a web site and update it.

Know what is worth spending your time learning and what is not and stick with what comes naturally. Hire your granddaughter to set up a blog for you and teach you how to post and then let her do the major updates every few months. Or check into local free or low-cost classes in your community.

It’s important for you to have an overview of what online marketing opportunities may be a good fit when you are writing book proposals. When I have coached people on marketing tips for their book proposals, it’s often brainstorming with women over 50, letting them know what to look for online, what to mention in their proposals, etc.

Publishers want authors that at least know what a blog is, what a book trailer is, etc. If they mention giving you a virtual blog tour, you need to know to be excited!

What are some mistakes you’ve made? We can all learn from each other and would love to hear your confessions!