Repeat after me: know me, like me, trust me. This is the key to selling anything, including books. If you have this, you don’t need to promote your book, you just wave it in front of their faces, flash your pearly whites and they will want it. If they don’t know you, like you and trust you yet then you need to start making that impression.
It’s all about me me me. Don’t wait for your book to be published to self-promote. Start standing out from the crowd now and you will get noticed more quickly later. But remember: be self-promoting, not self-centered. Being generous, even in the littlest ways, makes a more memorable me.
Think big. Publishers will want you to focus on your book, because their biggest concern is all those stacks of books they just printed. You plan to write more than one book though, don’t you? Your books will come and go. The only constant will be you! Do promote your book, but not at the expense of promoting yourself.
Don’t wait for fame, make it happen. If you give people reasons to know, like and trust you then they will tell their friends (people who know, like and trust them) and soon your name will buzz about on tongues and in ears. Your know, like and trustability will circle the globe like a giant tsunami. Fame can be created by one huge fluke of greatness or built upon many small relationships.
The choice is up to you: sit around and wait to win the fame jackpot or start making your own fame.