Many authors take their feet off the gas pedal when they have finally published their book. Many of them think that once they get a book out, it will sell well from the get-go without the author's contribution. However, there is a lot of legwork required to turn a book into a great seller. Authors, especially non-fiction ones, must have solid author platforms for their books to have any chance of surviving. They have to speak to potential readers several times a month in order to create a good relationship with them. This is what keeps people buying their books and increases the size of their audience.

Authors who have had tough beginnings know about the dreaded term ‘Out Of Print.’ This term basically means that your book has not been doing so well and the ‘doctor’ (publisher) has officially announced its time of death. When a publisher gives up on a book, the author should avoid playing the blame game with agents, editors, and publishers. Instead, he should figure out why it happened and make sure that none of his other books go down the same path. There are several ways that an author can help to revive a struggling book.

Write a book to be a companion to your ailing one and distribute it as an eBook

Sometimes an author has written a good book that performed well for a while after it was launched. This book might have become less popular and therefore its sales went down. One great way to reignite peoples’ interest in the ‘old’ book is to write another one to build on what the first one started. This companion book should preferably be sold as an eBook to keep costs low and to avoid competing with the original book for shelf space at bookstores. People who read the new book are compelled to find the first book and this will eventually improve its sales.

Better yet, give eBooks away for free

One of the best things about eBooks is that they have no printing or postage fees and they don’t cost you a dime if you give them away. When you give away free copies of eBooks, you will unknowingly be creating a group of people who will market the book for you free of charge. Readers like to talk about amazing books that they recently read. When people recommend your books, they are more likely to buy more, hence your free giveaway will not be in vain.

Use the popularity of current books to push older ones

When you feel that a ‘dead’ book did not do as well as you expected, you can pair it with current books you sell to give people better deals. For instance, you can give buyers free copies of your ‘dead’ book if they buy two or more of your current books.

Team up with an excellent author

In the publishing industry, you are likely to need some help selling your books. You should talk with another great author and ask him/her to sell your books alongside his/hers. You should also offer to do the same for them. This is a win-win situation because both of you will sell more and get introduced to each other’s audiences.