Mark Leslie, is not only a great writer, author of the Canadian Werewolf series, which we reviewed one fantastic book, Fear and Longing in Los Angeles, which you should check out, but is also a Best-selling author, that, and the fact that he was the Director of Self-Publishing and Author Relations of Kobo AND works with Draft2Digital, tells us that he has lots of experience in the realm of Marketing.

So, today we are not reviewing a book of fiction, BUT, a very practical, simple and straightforward book/guide of marketing that transpires the experience, the know-how, the tricks and the tips of someone that has DECADES of experienced, tried and proven success when it comes to the Traditional Publishing world and the Self-Publishing world, both in terms of writing and marketing.

IF, dear readers, this author didn’t have the sales record, the success and the accolades to back-up his claims on this book, well, then, we wouldn’t be recommending it to you, you can be assured of that. Plus, another reason why we decided to go “outside” our sphere of reviewing fiction, is because we know that many of you are writers, and Scribble’s is here to help you on your success as such.

A side fact here, just you and me, this book has the best Intro in the marketing world, and you should totally check out the books of Erin Wright. Moving on then!

The first cool fact about this book is the narrative. Narrative? Wait, this isn’t fiction, why are we talking about narrative? LOL, because….  the way Mark explains things, in a very friendly, conversational and light manner, makes this book captivating at once. I mean, who would ever think in reading the glossary? YES! You will read the Glossary, because… the way Mark explains the terms, you will not only get the definition, but you will get insights into how things work instantly! It’s super fun and I would never thought that one day I’d do this.

Yes, don’t skip the glossary because it has MANY terms, that are used around the publishing and writing world that newbie writers, and even experienced writers don’t have a proper clue of what they are really about, and that is crucial and a big advantage in the game. Thank you Mark.

Mark’s conversational narrative will keep you, not only informed, but entertained and engaged on reading this book, because, as you will notice, this isn’t fiction, so boredom is a huge problem, yeah. You will LAUGH while learning, which is something really, really cool and rather effective when it comes to marketing, because if I found this book on a store and read a few pages, I’d buy it without second thoughts, mind that. THIS is how you should write a marketing book, proving, once again, that Mark can teach you to get the job done when it comes to increasing your sales. Excellent!

Something that you want to know, right off the batch, is that “WIDE for the win” shouldn’t be seen as a “one-read-and-go” book. No. This is a guide, a manual of a type of mindset and approach when it comes to selling and marketing your books, this is a book that will “follow and guide your journey” on the WIDE spectrum of things.

The main objective of this book, it seems, is to show writers that there is MORE than just Amazon when it comes to publishing, that there are other outlets, many times better than Amazon when it comes to individual tastes, because, let’s face it writers, the competition in there is just too brutal and needless. This, and to also help those who are on Amazon to thrive with their books, which is super nice!

Given that I, personally, read many “teaching” books, I can confirm the veracity of the effectiveness of Mark’s approach due to the objective, detached and quasi-scientific approach of transmitting the knowledge that he has, without closing, or narrowing the scope of possible thoughts of the reader, or, in plain-speak, letting the reader take conclusions for himself while presenting his own views. This is very nice, and respectful from Mark, making this book even more effective in delivering its message.

To point this, Mark talks, in his oh-so-Canadian way about Amazon and his non-hate for it, which we totally understand, and he explains his positions in a very positive, mature light while bringing his points forward with grace and firmness but letting the reader take out their own conclusions on the overall topic. It’s lovely.

Mark approaches things here VERY realistically and bluntly. No beating around the bush, no going round and telling irrelevant stories, no. He tells you what you should know, whether you like it or not. You know you can trust his words, because he shows the worries of writers and how writers themselves can have those worries solved, and the many marketing paths they can take in a given situation, not by showing things in a “do-this-when-that-happens” fashion, but by first and foremost working on the mind-set and approaching the way writers should think about such problems and situations.

One of the points that Mark uses to “mark” his approaches are the games that Amazon pulls towards indie writers when it comes to KDP Select, KU and the whole Amazon “exclusivity” program, to which we fully agree and it’s really an eye-opener to indie-writers. This book will makes waves, big ones…  E. Wright also comes with GREAT points here on the matter, while also showing techniques on how to better achieve the “WIDE” performance that many authors need.

Wide for the win, and I have to stress this fact, is not simply a book about marketing strategies for your book. It’s a guide on a new type of mind-set that will redefine the way you think about your career as a writer, AND as you market your books.

It is a marketing book, but it’s not only a marketing book, because in order for you to understand the marketing strategies that Mark tells you, you HAVE to be on the proper mind-set, so please, do not skip chapters and go to the marketing part, and if you are not willing to change your perspectives on the way you go about your career, are satisfied with the results you are getting, and you don’t want more, well, this probably isn’t the book marketing book for you. BUT! If you want to give it an honest try, and learn how to give more stability to your book revenues, and reach those 4, 5 and 6 figure incomes from your books, then, this is the book for you.

A SUPER eye-opener, and a LIFE-SAVER for experienced writers, be them indie/self-published, and especially for newbie writers, and no matter what your level is, you are still going to learn a LOT from this book and profit even more from the advices and techniques of Mark Leslie. So, before you go and buy a bunch of ads on AMS, do read this book, this is the crash-course that you as a writer need to boost your sales and your career.

Ps: Don’t be daunted by the  400+ pages of this book, it’s just the format. You will read this in a blink of an eye. It’s easy on the eye, entertaining, with practical easy to understand methods, resources and suggestions when it comes to marketing your book. You’ll read this in no-time at all. Trust us.

Pros:

• Excellent approach when it comes to passing the message
• Excellent way of illustrating things and convincing the writer on what he needs to do to get better results
• Clear paths of action with resources inside the book
• No-pressure, open-end approach on things
• Great humour and narrative
• LOTS of tactics to get where you want
• A realistic setting of expectations when it comes to results
• Short, straight to the point chapters
• Easy to read book layout

Cons:

• Although the book is throughout cool, there are a chapter or two in there that could’ve been shortened, due to the personal stories that although made a point, deviated a little from the topic.

Writer Resource Score: 9.7/10

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