It's one thing to write a book, but an entirely different thing to write one that you know how to sell. With careful planning you can market, promote, and get (free) publicity (publicity is always free) on a limited budget; you can take the cheap and easy way. You may have the greatest book in the world, but if no one knows about it, no one will buy it; publicity, promotion, marketing and a focus on selling more books should now be a big part of your daily life.

Send out the same press release to the editor of your local daily newspaper every week until you are called for an interview or are written up. Invest in press release submitting software and set aside time every week to send out a press release online to the press release directories. Press releases can generate thousands of dollars in sales when picked up by national trade or print media.

Mail a press release to all the trade journals in your field over and over again; you can use the same release. Make sure you have at least one good press release, written in AP style that you can send out for the lifetime of your book. Learning to write and use powerful search engine optimized press releases can often drive tons of traffic to your website while providing multiple back links that can lead to increased page rank and numerous top ten search engine rankings for your targeted keywords.

Using press releases can be a very effective marketing tool if used properly. Don't underestimate the value of a good press release for making book sales.

Make sure to promote and market your book each and every day, both online and offline. Women buy more books then men; see how you can fit your book into the women's market. Local radio shows and television appearances are good but are often forgotten within hours of the broadcast; make sure to make or get a copy of any television broadcast for future promotions.

Offer to trade writing a monthly column in a trade publication in your books' genre, in trade for display ads on the same page. Print and online publications provide longevity to your marketing campaign in terms of having something tangible for people to reference ongoing. Find a non-exclusive distributor with a good reputation to carry your book for the book store trade, as well as for other retailers.

Contact any companies, corporations or organizations that might use your book for promotions; offer significant discounts for volume orders or for thousands of copies offer a specified amount above book production costs. Remember to make sure your book is listed in Books-in-Print; don't assume it's already listed. When you get a nice write up or feature about you and/or your book, have it laminated and set it up on an easel at trade shows.

Make sure your sales letter or flier is first class; this is your formal presentation of your title to the prospective buyer. Make sure not to overlook the Internet; get yourself interviewed or profiled for sites both about writing, publishing and about the topics covered in your book. Make five telephone calls a day that relate to marketing your book.

I've not found that book signings sell many books for publishers and are often a waste of time; better to spend it elsewhere. Your sales letter or flier should include an eye-grabbing headline, the benefits to the buyer, the book features, book sales information and testimonials.

If your book fits a specialty market, find a store that fits the genre and offer to leave books on consignment; many publishers have sold thousands of books this way. I've seen publishers lose a lot of money paying for expensive display ads, so beware if you do this; I don't advise it in the beginning - get your feet wet first so you know what you're doing.

You can market and promote your book on a shoestring budget. In any event, be careful about your marketing dollars. Promote, promote, and promote your book some more! Make sure do some serious marketing and promotion every single day, no excuses.