Marketing is the final and most important key to the success of every book. In a general sense, publishers do broad marketing to wholesalers and retailers while authors do targeted marketing to readers.

We work with our hybrid authors to create essential marketing programs involving print, electronic, and social media. We help authors communicate with their followers and reach prospective readers. Successful marketing involves both the publisher and the author.

What We Do

Wholesale Distribution

Torchflame print titles have unsurpassed distribution through the Independent Publishers Group (IPG) and Ingram, the world’s largest wholesale book distributor.  Your book will be available through all major internet retailers including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, and Book Depository. It will also be available to more than 39,000 bookstores worldwide.

Torchflame books are included in the Ingram Title Library System, which provides key information including, metadata, cover, description, author information, genre, targeted audiences, reviews, format and price to distribution channels so retailers can create their listings for the titles in their own ways. This is one of the most thorough and globally distributed cataloging systems available to all and is used by most retailers.

Torchflame books are included in both printed and digital catalogs published and distributed by Ingram.

Ebooks are distributed though IPG, which provides not only distribution but also promotion and special marketing opportunities. Your ebook will be available to over 30,000 libraries plus Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks, Kobo, Nook, and all reputable ebook retailers.

Website

Every book is featured with a full page on our website including the cover image, description, sample text, key reviews, purchase links to the major retailers, and other optional information.

Every author is featured on our website along with their titles, including an author bio, photograph, contact information, and social media links.

Author’s Information Packet

The Author’s Information Packet includes materials to help you sell your book and forms to gather information we need to help you sell your book, including:

  • Contact information
  • Book synopsis
  • Social media links
  • Comparable titles and descriptions
  • Amazon Author Page setup
  • Goodreads Author Page setup
  • Pub Light marketing guide
Press Release

As your release date draws near, we will work with you to create a press release for your book and its launch.

Title Sheet

One of the essential marketing pieces for a book is the title sheet, also known as a “one sheet.” This document tells retailers why they should sell a book and how they can get it. The title sheet includes the title, ISBN, brief description of the book and author, important reviews, release date, genre, audience, format, price, and distributor.

Author Copies

When a book is approved for release, a limited number of copies are printed and sent to the author in advance. These copies are intended for use in soliciting endorsements and reviews or entering contests. If these efforts produce strong quotes or reviews from well-known figures, that information may be added to the final edition distributed for sale.

Digital ARCs

We provide a digital “Advance Review Copy,” which includes images of the front and back covers. These are in pdf format and are more easily shared than hardcopies. They are preferred by many reviewers who find themselves running out of space to put physical books.

Ebook Campaigns

We work with retailers such as Amazon, Apple, and Kobo to feature titles as special offers, such as a daily deal or monthly deal. The price of campaign featured titles is lower than the normal retail price but sales volume tends to be higher. We also work with authors to obtain other highly valued promotions from sites such as BookBub and Fussy Librarian. We regularly offer worthy titles for special promotion and many are accepted, though the final decision is up to the retailer.

Author Purchases

Authors may purchase copies of their books at or below wholesale cost. The author’s price for books is determined as printing cost plus 20%. Printing cost decreases with quantity purchased at one time.

Authors are free to sell their books at any price they choose. Because the author does not pay a wholesale discount of 40% to 55% on books sold directly to readers, the profit on those sales is much higher than on copies sold to bookstores. Books purchased by authors do not count towards royalties paid by Torchflame Books.

Marketing Plan

We provide to our hybrid authors a marketing plan that details the steps they should take for their book and helps highlight special opportunities for their titles. We are also always happy to work with authors on questions they have regarding marketing and provide support when appropriate.

 

What the Author Does

Networking

You must be highly motivated to promote your book through an ever-growing network of family, friends, groups, press, bloggers, reviewers, and local retailers. You need to study and practice the marketing information you will receive in the Author Information Packet, including the Pub Light marketing handbook.

Social Media

For most authors, effective use of social media is one of the most cost-effective ways to become known and promote your book. This includes Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, Pinterest, and Twitter. This is covered in more detail in the “Be Social” chapter of our Pub Light marketing handbook.

Website and/or Blog

In addition to promoting your book, a good website helps provide credibility to you and your work. You can sell books yourself through your website or you can direct readers to retailers. It helps even more if you add a blog to your website before the launch of your book. On that blog you can share your thoughts, steps, and milestones of the publishing process.

Personal Appearances

Seek personal appearances and opportunities to speak on radio shows, at special events, and book clubs. To do this properly requires a lot of telephone and leg work and it may take time to see results, but they will come and will increase over time.

Endorsements and Reviews

Torchflame Books authors should solicit endorsements and reviews. An endorsement is a short quote of praise from an authority. A review is a formal synopsis and critique. Neither is of great value unless the person providing it is considered qualified by the reader. If the person is unknown and their title is obscure, then using the endorsement or review could actually work against the book’s success.

Consider experts in the subject of the book, bloggers, well-known authors of similar books, famous people, media personalities, and trade reviewers including BooklistForeword ReviewsKirkus Reviews, and Publishers Weekly.

We do often assist with requests from authors who are told by reviewers that the ARC must come from the publisher rather than the author.

Awards

A number of companies provide competition and awards for books, and authors receive many offers to place their books in those competitions, which include an entry fee. Because many competitions cover a large number of categories, that increases the odds of becoming a finalist or winning an award but does not assure an increase in sales. Such awards can be an encouragement to an author, help create interest in a book, and provide a measure of credibility to readers.

As with reviews, the sales-related value of an award is based on the importance it is given by librarians, bookstore owners, and other professionals. In general, the most important awards for independent publishers are considered to be the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Awards, the Foreword INDIE Awards, and the Eric Hoffer Book Awards.