You have spent time and money publishing your self-published book, but how do you go about marketing your book if you do not have a big publishing house backing you?

Many authors have no interest in marketing their books - they are writers not publicists - but the sad fact is that if you have self-published your book you need to market it so that people will buy it. You will not sell any copies of your book if people are not made aware of its existence.

So, as an author who has self-published, you need to carefully consider how you will market your book and ideally this process needs to start before you even begin to write your book.

Here are some ideas:

Book Reviews: Reviews sell books, this is a fact. So if you possibly can, try to get professional reviewers to review your book. Amazon Top Reviewers is a good place to start. Also contact your local paper and any specialist magazines who may be interested in reviewing your book. Just make sure that you write a compelling press release to accompany your request.

If professional reviews are not an option, then do the next best thing and ask friends to review your book and place a review on Amazon for you. Goodreads is also a good site for fellow authors and friends alike to add a review of your book. You can also give away an advanced copy of your book for pre-release reviews which will put you ahead when your book is finally published.

Book Readings are an excellent way to gain support and widen your readership. Simply ask your local bookstore or library if you can do a book reading, Q & A session, or book signing. Many will be supportive as they can sell your book during the event and will therefore attract more customers. While at the book reading event, you can also leave flyers

Author website: If you do an internet search you will most probably find that the majority of authors now have an author website and you should too. This is a place where you can list your books with links to where to buy them. You can also talk about any upcoming books and host online Q & A sessions as well as book giveaways.

Blogging is also an excellent marketing strategy for the self-published author, especially if they write about non-fiction. It is a way to gather interest without ‘plugging' your book, so it is a much subtler form of marketing.

Finally, know your target audience as this will help you to market your book more effectively. Contact similar authors and see if they would review your book or post details of your book on their website. You then can return the favour. Self-published authors are usually very supportive of each other.

So, market that book if you want to sell more copies and get your book known.