Remember the line from the movie, Field of Dreams: “If you build it, they will come?” Many first-time authors think their first book will sell in much the same manner—the moment the publisher releases it, readers will fall over themselves to buy a copy.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.
If you’re a new author, the sad truth of the matter is that no one knows who you are. That doesn’t mean your book won’t sell—it just means you have a bit more work to do promoting it than, say, Stephen King.
Another common misconception new authors have is that the publisher does all the promotion. Again, it doesn’t work that way. I used to think so myself; when I was self-published, I wanted to get contracted by a traditional publisher because I was sure all authors received a healthy marketing b
