How to Make a Brilliant Sell Sheet for Your Book
Hey, congratulations on that new book!
If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve realized a couple things:
All that hard work you put into your book… that was just the beginning.
There’s a WHOLE lot of marketing terminology that you need to understand.
First off, take a deep breath…:)
At Evergreen Authors, we are convinced that in this world of SO many marketing options for your book, the best approach is to focus on just a few specific things and get really good at doing them. There is no need to be anywhere and everywhere!
That’s the good news.
That said, there are a few book marketing tools we think all authors should take advantage of. One of those tools is a sell sheet.
A sell sheet is, essentially, a one-page description of your book, including a bunch of pertinent information that a bookseller, gift shop, or other business might want to know about your book before purchasing.
The Benefits of Having a Sell Sheet for Your Book
Why do you want a one-sheet like this? Because you can use it as a free and simple way of letting the masses know about your book without having to send them a physical copy of it.
Instead of mailing out a ton of copies of your book, spending time, money, and energy at the post office, you can simply attach your sell sheet in an email, or provide a stack of them at events.
Sell sheets are also excellent to have live on your website, so when people visit they get a clear sense of who you are and what your book is all about.
Book Sell Sheet Examples
So how do you make a book sell sheet? The best way is for you to see examples of what they look like. Here are two examples of sell sheets from my own books.
1) The first sell sheet is an example for my book The Tireless Teacher Toolkit:
2) The second is an example of a more in-depth sell sheet for my YA book Edge The Bare Garden:
3 Simple Rules for Creating a Sell Sheet for Your Book:
The only “rules” you need to follow are these:
You must include a high-resolution cover of your book.
You must include an excellent, succinct description of the book.
You must include relevant purchasing information.
Other additional items you can add to your book sell sheet include:
Any key endorsements you’ve received.
A succinct “tagline” that sums up your book in one sentence.
Your author photo and bio (especially if your book is non-fiction, and you are a speaker).
Color imagery or extra illustrations.
Comparisons to other titles like yours.
Links to additional resources, such as a reader’s guide or teacher’s guide.
Unlike a press release, which is written for journalists and is often quite formal, you have much more creative license with your sell sheet.
However, and we can’t stress this enough…
If design isn’t your jam, you should hire out this work to a professional!
Your sell sheet is essentially a business card for you and your book. You want it to look professional.
Our favorite tool for creating sell sheets is Canva. If you don’t know about Canva, we are here to tell you that it’s life-changing for authors! We use it all the time for graphics and documents.
READ MORE: Getting Started With Canva
But before you get too overwhelmed with all the beautiful design options on Canva, keep in mind that the actual template for a sell sheet is fairly simple. Here’s the outline we use:
Sample Book Sell Sheet Template:
Want more helpful book marketing templates like this?
One of our most frequently asked questions is for templates authors can use to market and sell their work. We totally understand, you’re a writer—you just want to write instead of spending all your time marketing (us too!)
That’s why we created this super handy PDF guide with our favorite book marketing templates for authors:
The “little black book” authors are raving about!
Introducing our “little black book” of marketing advice for authors that includes:
Book press release templates
Speaker sheet templates
Sample email pitches to libraries, book stores & gift shops
Kickstarter scripts for crowdfunding a book
Sample emails to request reviews & endorsements for your book
…and so much more!
We’ve heard from so many authors that this template guide has been a “life saver” when it comes to marketing books. Click here to get your copy now!
