The holidays are coming, and people are looking for great gift ideas for friends, family members and professional colleagues. Why not promote your book as a gift?

Here are some ways you can make your book a hot gift idea for the holidays:

Hold a sale. Everyone loves a bargain, especially around the holidays. Discount your book for a limited period (e.g., a day or a week) to create excitement and a sense of urgency.

Build a gift basket. Are there other products that are a good match for your book? For example, a cookbook could be packaged with food and cooking supplies. Other how-to books could be bundled with materials and supplies readers will need to do what you teach them about. But be a little creative and you can probably come up with gift basket ideas for any type of book. Package your romance novel with a selection of teas, chocolates and other treats, or with bath products and candles.

Offer autographed books. An autographed book makes a special gift, particularly when it is personally signed to the recipient.

Combine the previous two suggestions by offering a set of autographed books. If you have a series you might offer all of your books, personally autographed of course, for one price. Even better, get a group of authors to create a package and market it to all of your fans. Not only will it help each of you to sell more books this holiday season, new fans will discover you and buy past and future titles.

Use your annual Christmas letter to remind friends and family that your books are available as gifts. Offer a special “friends and family” discount.

Think outside the bookstore. This is a good suggestion all through the year, but it can be especially effective when everyone is actively shopping in the stores. Where will the people who should be buying your books be shopping? Can you get your books in front of them there?

Are there businesses that could purchase your book as a gift for their employees or clients? Contact them to suggest your book as the answer to their gift-giving dilemma.

Set up events where shoppers will be. That means bookstores, craft shows, the mall and elsewhere.

Plan for after the holidays. Many people will be getting ebook readers as gifts, and they will be looking for ebooks to buy. Plan some book and ebook promotions for late December and January to catch these new e-readers.