Marketing Your Book: Research Independent Marketing Companies

So you've succeeded in self-publishing your book. Congratulations! Now you want to give your book the best possible chances at selling with a strong but affordable marketing campaign. Many have found such services with independent marketing companies, both online and off. However, a word of caution is in order.

Not all companies that may contact you or that may show up on a search engine are genuine. Many have set up "marketing support services" that amount to nothing more than sophisticated scams. For example, the print-on-demand company Xlibris has recently issued a cautionary email to its authors regarding a "company" by the name of BookWhirl. BookWhirl claims to handle certain marketing services for you via the internet and has been targeting Xlibris authors. At the request of one such author, Xlibris investigated the "company's" claims. In the email that resulted, Xlibris had this to say about the findings of its investigation:

"We found that the address listed on the website does not exist. Using an online research program, we were able to determine that there is no building existing on the site, only a vacant space. Furthermore, our attempt to send a letter communication by Federal Express was returned to us citing the reason "No Address Existing". In a subsequent exchange of e-mails with a BookWhirl representative, we requested for a correct US address, but were given the same address that appears on their website, and that was listed by Federal Express as not existing."

Subsequently, Xlibris determined that BookWhirl is suspect as a company and urged its authors to beware of its solicitations.

This is not to say that all such companies and their claims are fake. There are many marketing services out there that provide valuable help to any author, self-published or not, at reasonable prices. A quick search of the term "marketing services" on the U.S. site of the Better Business Bureau yields at least 200 credible companies. The best way to protect yourself against being scammed is to bookmark (or favorite) the Better Business Bureau site (http://www.bbb.org). Every time you are contacted by such a company or searching for one, you can then visit the Bureau to determine if they are a credible business.

Being a published author is a real sense of accomplishment and exciting. It also is a lot of work if one wishes to make the book a success. Independent marketing companies can lighten the load a little, but be sure to use common sense when choosing a company to work with. By checking with the Better Business Bureau, you can save yourself heartache along the way.