Ivory Tower Group

OK, first things first. What exactly do you want to accomplish? In this case, you want to sell your book. Not only do you want to sell your book, you want to make sure it has the absolutely best chance possible, that it will appear in hard-cover first, that it will sell zillions of copies, and that a major motion picture or television series will result because of it. Maybe there will be a line of merchandise associated with it? Maybe kids will even be playing with toys based on it that they get in their Happy Meals!

OK. Now that you know what you want to accomplish, the next step is figuring out who you want to sell it to. The easiest way of figuring this out is to find similar works and find out who the publisher is, who the book's agent is, and maybe even find out some information about the author of the book. Anything you discover might help you figure out who the best person to contact would be. Since you want them to find themselves when they search for their name, don't include any really famous people. Oprah is not going to care if you plaster her name all over your blog. However, Bill Bumgartner of Random Shack Publishing just might. Try to come up with about a dozen names. Take your time and make the list really count.

Now, you've got to decide what you want these people to see when they search their own name. It could be something as catchy as "Hi Bill, I think you're the best bet for representing my new work of fiction. Click here if you would like to take a look at it." You get the idea. Make it as catchy as possible, something they are likely to notice and something they are going to want to click on. Maybe something like "Hi Bill, I really liked 'Creating Hope: The BoxMart Saga' and think you're the right person to represent my new book."

OK, you've put out the bait. Now, they are going to click on the link. What are they going to see? This is where you craft a very nice paragraph or two, or even a really nice letter, explaining who you are, what your book is about, and why you think they should be excited about representing your book. Don't go nuts on it, but make it a very nice, catchy letter. This is where you are going to sell them. Try and talk to them in a way that will make them feel comfortable. Even though you want to sell yourself, try not to be too obvious. Inject a little humor. That always helps. Also consider doing a little research into their past projects and see if you can relate them to your own project.

Now, why should they represent your book? Sell them why. Tell them all the great things that will happen if they do. Not only will they have your undying gratitude, they will join you on that couch on Oprah's show when your book hits the best seller lists. They is much more where that came from. You're so full of ideas, they'd be nuts not to go with you because you'll give them an exclusive for the next five books you come out with. You'll buy them a year's supply of that McDonald's Happy Meal, the one with the toy based on a character from your book.

Why should they contact you? You could say something about being in contact with a few other agents, but you would really rather work with them. Or, you can say that for the past few nights, a bright light has been shining through your window, and you're afraid the aliens might actually vote to take you aboard their spacecraft because your book is of interest on their planet, and they're going to want universal rights to it. Time is of the essence! At least take a look at my synopsis!

If they are interested, they will want to contact you. Make sure you leave them several ways of getting in touch with. You could add a little humor as well, maybe by listing a carrier pigeon company, or how to use smoke signals.

Now that you have everything in front of you. Go and set up a Google Adsense account. Pay the $1 or so to buy the names of the people you want to contact. Then, set up a web site for each person. It could be a simple html page with a letter addressed to them. Once you've done this, sit back and wait. You should see results.