By Lee Emory
Remember when you were a brand new writer? Remember the stars in your eyes and the dollar signs floating through your imaginations? I do. If you're a new writer, look in the mirror and what do you see? If you're wearing rose colored glasses or your eyes are shining like laser beams from the enthusiasm you have for the manuscript you just completed, then listen up.
If you're an author who has been writing for a long time, then you have already experienced the many roadblocks thrown up in our paths. Most especially the last few years. Large publishing houses and large organizations such as Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Sisters in Crime (the list goes on) have now passed clearly discriminatory bylaws prohibiting the acknowledgement of writers and their books unless their publishing houses print a thousand to however many thousand books of each title. Your publisher is no longer "approved." Despite how many awards they've won. This of course was done to eliminate small presses and POD (Print on Demand) publishers from their lists. Amazon has removed all their POD titles from their sales site unless the authors agree to have their POD books printed through them.
Add to this unpalatable stew, the large chain bookstores will rarely if ever allow small press, POD or self published authors to display their titles in their stores nowadays. It's much harder for small press authors to get book signings in one of them. They refuse to order directly from the small publishers unless they can order through Baker & Taylor or Ingram. Many of us small presses have our titles registered with those distributors, but the distributors do not warehouse small press books. So, when you go to a large chain store and want to do a signing, the clerk looks up in their database to see if your title is available at B&T or Ingram. When they don't find it in their database, it's because the books are not in the warehouse and therefore the store has no visibility as to the availability of the book. They tell the author the book is not available at B&T or Ingram. This is a brutal whirlwind that I, as a small press publisher, fight on a daily basis and have suffered through for years.
My less than assertive authors become deeply disturbed and discouraged by all this and consequently don't even try to market their books or try other ways and means to get their books and their names out there to the buying public. My more assertive, determined authors are selling well despite all these negatives. It takes guts and determination to make it work along with an unwavering belief in your ability as a writer to have something to say a customer will want to read. Sometimes marketing even takes an investment of money on the author's part. Of course no one has any money to spend on their own writing careers, so that's an absurd way to way to risk their precious dollars. What? Spend money on my own writing? There's no money to spare for that. If you haven't got the confidence in your own ability to risk spending what it takes to get your name out there, who else is going to do it for you? What guarantee do I have? None. There are no guarantees in this business. But nobody wins if they don't try. That truth IS set in concrete. Make no mistake.
Turning Dark into Light
People in the artistic fields will be the first to tell you there can be no light if there is no dark. In other words, your background must be dark before you can make light shine through. Painting light on light backgrounds will not work. Okay, so where is this going?
If you really are a writer, then you must write no matter what. Writing fills a deep emotional need inside us. Naturally we want to share our stories with others, and a little praise for a job well done now and then doesn't hurt either. As writers we all covet this.
So how can we combat all the negatives slamming us in the face in the current writing industry's negative, glutted atmosphere? In this atmosphere, writing a good book is the easy part. It's the marketing that's the largest challenge. You're the only one who can create a demand for your book, so how do you go about it? Let me count the ways.
Your book is of most interest to what genre(s)? If there is more than one, state which is your main focus; it's important to know all of your potential audience. Use other genre audiences in parallel with your main focus audience.
Prepublication Marketing:
Three to four months prior to publication, schedule presentations and talks about your book to various groups and organizations who might be interested in your genre.
A web-based marketing effort is also a must. If you don't have a web site, get one and start blogging. If you can, start a newsletter either monthly or bi-monthly.
Post Book Release Marketing:
If you can afford it, hire a highly referred publicist and start a campaign to create interest in your title, your genre; write articles for display on your web site to get your name out there often, again and again.
Submit your book to as many reviewers who review your genre as you can. Post any positive reviews on your web page and/or newsletter or blog.
Enter as many prestigious writing contests as your budget will allow. Be careful to enter it only in the right category and follow their rules for submission to the letter to avoid disqualification.
Transmit news of your book's release to every independent bookstore you can look up in the library lists or on the internet. Attractive postcards with your cover and brief synopsis or flyers work well for this. Yes, I know. It costs money for postage. Do it. It's a must.
Produce a web site blog or podcast and/or interviews where you will discuss your book and answer questions about it to those who show interest. This is called a Blog Tour. Participate in Q&A sessions on already established blog sites.
If you have no-cost air miles coming, use them to visit other cities where you can arrange several speaking engagements and book signing events at libraries, independent bookstores and the like. Be sure the events are advertised in their local newspapers prior to the event. Don't limit yourself to local places only.
Turning dark into light isn't impossible. It just takes hard work, determination to beat back the negatives of a glutted industry until they are bloody pulp. Today, at this moment, the greatest tool we small press authors have is the internet. There is no more vast audience. Learn all you can about utilizing its tools, ways and means. Be willing to spend a bit of money. Save for it if you must, and most of have to; make it a budget priority. This is your writing career. You must be willing and able to expend the energy and dogged belief in your work to make this work. Monetary rewards if any will be come slow and build with time as long as you don't give up.
If you're a smart author and have spent a great deal of time learning your craft before submitting, then you're ahead of the game at least that much. But, if you've been lazy or lax in learning the craft, then you can spend years slogging through piles of form rejections and disappointments even before you can paint a dark background so your light will shine through. Writing a good book is only the beginning of the journey. You, the author, must possess the passion and gutsy determination to become known as an excellent writer despite all the negatives others can throw at us. Write away those diminishing hopes. Market away the naysayers.
In closing one of the best pieces of advice I can give you, whether you're published in a large house or small, or still aspiring to be published, is to acquire a copy of RED HOT INTERNET PUBLICITY by Penny Sansevieri. If you don't have the book, get it. Study it from cover to cover. It will open your eyes to methods you never dreamed possible for marketing your work in today's environment.
Lee Emory is an author of ten novels, numerous short stories and articles, who is also a professional editor for 40 years. She is the owner of/Senior Editor for Treble Heart Books Publishing. Lee teaches writing workshops and speaks at numerous writers’ conferences. Visit Treble Heart Books or email leeemory@earthlink.net to learn more.
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