Book Review: Promote Your Book - Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author by Patricia L. Fry

Patricia Fry is a prolific author with dozens of titles under her belt, so one can most certainly consider her an expert on the topic of book promotion. Sadly, Promote Your Book provides only rudimentary and dated information, most of which is geared toward self-published books, and is guaranteed to turn you into the type of author that everyone avoids in social settings.

The most beneficial section of Promote Your Book is the chapter about what to do before your book is a book. In my experience, I have found that a majority of writers seeking publication have very little idea how to make their book "sales-worthy", the number one thing that agents and publishing houses seek from new material. Fry offers valuable advice on how to adapt your book's focus to make it attractive to the market, advice that is meaningful to both first-time authors and those who have been in the industry for years.

Promote Your Book quickly falls short on real-world tips beyond chapter two. Fry's recommendation to "talk about your book with everyone" and to bring up your book in every conversation or internet post or comment is antiquated at best. I'm sure you've met the type of author who takes that advice to heart and then ends up sounding like a pushy salesperson. (If you're like me, you do your best to go far, far away from them as quickly as you can.) Yes, talking about your book is great - when it is not socially awkward. Save it for business mixers, "meet the author" events, appropriate forums, and related activities.

Fry writes a great deal about selling your book yourself. Her tips in that area are most applicable for the self-published, but do not go beyond the common-sense ideas of selling on your own website, selling at in-person events, and promoting through social media. Selling door-to-door? What year is this? Fry recommends it, but I think you need to develop a pretty thick skin before you embark on such a scheme. If you are that adventurous, be sure to check your local laws as many areas prohibit the activity.

Overall, I give this book two thumbs down because of its dated advice and condescending tone. The book is written for adults, presumably adults who have or at least expect to pen their own book. Why then does it read as though the author is talking to a child? Did I mention how much the she talks about cats? Weird.

I fretted for days about writing this review because, as an author myself, I know bad reviews can sting. That said, I will end on a positive note:

Fry did accomplish one thing well in Promote Your Book, and that is promoting all of her other books. Well played.

Promote Your Book: Over 250 Proven, Low-Cost Tips and Techniques for the Enterprising Author by Patricia L. Fry will be available from Allworth Press on July 26, 2011.