If you've written and published a book -- no matter by what method -- you'll soon find the burden of selling it depends to large extent on your own efforts at promotion.

In the past, those authors who went with a mainstream or conventional publisher could expect the publisher to expend a certain amount of advertising money and promotional effort to assure a return on production costs. That situation still prevails to a certain extent, but authors who do not earn back their advances may have a harder time landing a contract for a second book. Most houses now expect the author to put more personal effort into promotion.

Those who self-publish have always had responsibility for promoting their own work. That meant developing a marketing plan, making contacts, scraping up money for advertising and all the other gritty details associated with any start-up business.

Nowadays, no matter by which method a book is published, no author can depend on a few ads and reviews in the right places to gain attention from among all the others published in a given year. The author must make an effort to have his book stand out from all those others.

Steve Weber, a former newspaper reporter, a veteran online book dealer and an author, provides directions on how to achieve that goal in this slim but comprehensive book.

There are numerous books now available on the subject, but Weber's is surely among the best. He doesn't simply offer advice; he offers suggestions based on efforts he has self-tested with his own books. These suggestions may be tailored to suit the needs and personality of the individual writer. And, there are enough to guarantee any writer will benefit by the information.

Though he does not skimp on other opportunities, Weber puts plenty of emphasis on the potential for promotion available in Amazon marketing programs -- and there are probably many more than the average person might imagine. This information alone is worth the price of the book.