Getting a notable VIP, industry guru, or media celebrity to write the foreword for your book is a great way to jump-start bigger sales and get positive publicity for your book. If you are an unknown author, getting a notable leader in your field to write your foreword is essential if you want to get readers to take a chance on you and buy your book. Having your name associated with an industry leader will greatly enhance your credibility within your industry and with your readers.
Forewords give the endorser another place to discuss and show-off their skills and knowledge. It also gives them and an opportunity to connect with your reading audience in a deeper, more meaningful way. This is a great selling point to consider when requesting this service from someone. You get a foreword for your book that will help improve your sales, and the foreword author gets additional exposure and credibility for their own name and business. It’s a win-win situation for the book’s author and the foreword’s author.
The process of getting a foreword written is the same as with endorsements. But instead of simply writing a few sentences endorsing your book, the endorser writes what amounts to being a glorified recommendation letter to the reader. It can be as short as several paragraphs or as long as a few pages, and gives, in greater detail, the reasons why the industry guru recommends your book.
One thing you should remember – that when you ask a VIP to write your book’s foreword, that you should not be selling your prospect on your book’s good points. You need to sell them on their own value as a potential endorser of your book. In other words, don’t start off by telling them how great your book is. Start by saying why you admire their opinion and why it’s important for you to have their opinion included in your book. Also, make sure that you share your reasons for writing the book. Discuss the subject of your book in detail. Finally, discuss who the market is that your book is addressing so that the endorser can readily see that you are marketing your book to the same audience that they serve. Doing this allows them to see the advantage in having their name visible to your network of readers. They are looking to connect with their own audience as much as you are.
This article was written by Joseph C. Kunz, Jr. and originally posted on KunzOnPublishing.com