John Grisham is well known for his legal thrillers, and has sold over 250 million copies of his books worldwide. Additionally, many of his novels have been turned into films.

But this level of fame didn’t come easy for the prolific author. In fact, before his first book, A Time to Kill, was published, it was rejected by 28 publishers. Even then, only 5,000 were printed – 1,000 of which Grisham purchased himself, as he reported in a recent TODAY Show interview. He took these door to door, selling them out of the trunk of his car.

Many authors would have called it quits. But Grisham believed in his book and the story he had to tell, so he took ownership of promoting his book – something we ask you, the Dorrance author, to do as well. We offer support, but your commitment to getting your story in readers’ hands is a critical component- and may make a huge difference in your ultimate success as an author.

So, where do you start? The first step is to realize and accept the fact that success, if it is ever achieved, most likely will not come overnight. Persistence and commitment to staying with it is key.

Next, be prepared to take matters into your own hands. One way to do so is to never leave your house without at least one copy of your book. As the old saying goes, “time is of the essence;” you never know when the opportunity will arise for you to promote or sell your book.  Always being equipped with at least one copy of your work can help you be prepared to promote your book at a moment’s notice during the course of the day.

Third, think outside the proverbial box (or car trunk). For example, if you recently wrote a children’s book, reach out to your local library and offer to give a book reading during story time. If you wrote a self- help book, consider donating a few copies to the local homeless shelter to give back to the community. If yours is a cookbook, offer to teach a local cooking class, and demo some of your favorite recipes. Case in point, there are ample opportunities out there to promote your book, so always keep your eyes and ears open!

Finally, you can always refer back to our previous posts, where we offered tips ranging from using social media to promoting your book at an event. Let these tips serve as useful resources along the way! Remember, you have to believe in yourself before anyone else can believe in you and your book. You’ve believed in your idea so much that you worked with Dorrance Publishing to publish your book.  So don’t stop now, the journey has only just begun!