Because they don’t know about it. And why is that so? Simply because your book is one of over 170,000 titles published every year. Fiction, by the way, represents the largest category, yet it accounts for only slightly over 10% of all the titles.

It really does not matter whether your book is a product of a large traditional publisher or is self-published through a print-on-demand (POD) service. It is mostly books of well-known celebrities, promoted heavily on nationwide TV and in leading newspapers that become instant best sellers. In most cases such authors receive a hefty advance from their publishers. As a result the publishers make a special effort to promote such books because they must recover the funds advanced to the author.

The biggest and most common complaint against all publishers is inadequate promotion and marketing of new titles. Except for a few well-known authors, publishers do not spend too much to advertise or promote new books. If you are just another author, the publishers include the new title in their catalogue and online listings. Book distributors and wholesalers also pick it up for their own lists and make you believe that you are on your way. At any one time there are thousands of authors in the same boat.

In the end it is up to the reading public to ask for a book that may have been discussed on a local radio and TV show or was reviewed in printed media. But it is really up to the author to make that happen.

Publishers usually print a small number of books for a new author to test the market. If the response is not immediate and promising, the book is not likely to see a second printing. Promotion and marketing will taper off and the book will be out of print within a year or even sooner. In fact, about 60,000 books go out of print each year. Some have no reason for being on the market at all, others are linked to a specific one-time event, but many should remain available for years to come. At 21st Century Research we have developed a number of producys designed to help individual authors to promote and market their books under their complete control. You can see some of our products and lists at http://book-publicity.blogspot.com.

There is also fierce competition among traditional publishers who know that 30% of all published books remain unsold while 70% end up as unprofitable projects. As a result they try to select books that are most likely to sell and will not create the problem of returning unsold copies to the publisher. Self-publishing authors should keep these facts in mind when they embark upon marketing their books.