We all know that these days it’s up to authors to get involved in marketing their books and here’s an extreme example that it can work. Robert Dorr is the co-author of the book, “Hell Hawks! The Untold Story of the American Fliers Who Savaged Hitler’s Wehrmacht.” He has made more than 330 visits to a small bookstore affiliated with the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum in Washington D.C., with signings lasting between 3 and 8 hours.
Of course if we figure out what Dorr’s hourly wage for this activity, it might not be that impressive, but I’m guessing maybe he’s retired.
As reported in Publisher’s Weekly, he greets customers, tells them who he is and about his book. If they don’t show interest, he moves on quickly.
The result: over the course of less than two years, that shop near Washington Dulles airport has sold 13,200 copies of the book. That’s more than half the copies that have been sold in total.Of course if we figure out what Dorr’s hourly wage for this activity, it might not be that impressive, but I’m guessing maybe he’s retired.
(If you want ideas for how you'll market your writing, I suggest reading three of mine: "Your Writing Coach" published by Nicholas Brealey, and "Marketing for Entrepreneurs," published by Pearson, as well as "Do Something Different," published by Virgin Books. You'll have a treasure trove of traditional and guerrilla marketing ideas to help you turn your book into a best-seller--without having to do 330 signings).
