[TIPS OF THE TRADE]: Hate book promotion? Three ways to make it work for you
How many times have you heard a writer say something like this? “I love writing, but I hate book promotion. It’s just not who I am.”
All she wants, she says, is to sit blissfully in her garret where she belongs.
I sympathize -- to a point. But I don’t agree -- not at all. Here’s why.
Promoting a book means expressing in words who you are, what you think, how you feel, what you imagine -- and sharing all that with other people?
Isn’t that exactly what writing a book is all about, too?
Think about it. Writing a book and promoting a book are both about speaking up. Proudly having your say. Joining in the conversation. Being heard.
So if writing a book is what you like to do, promoting a book is surely something you can not only tolerate but actively enjoy. Here are three ways I’ve found to take joy in book promotion:
Start before you publish. Long before I found a publisher, I sought out opportunities to be heard about my journey into Jewish Lithuania, past, present, and future. I gave talks at synagogues, libraries, and Jewish cultural centers. I wrote articles for newspapers and magazines. These opportunities were energizing and inspiring. They gave me a chance to test out the best ways to communicate what I had to say – which helped me write a better book.
Target your “super fans.” In the run-up to publication, I made a list of the people I most wanted to read the book. My list included not only people I knew (family, friends, mentors, people who’d read drafts) but also people I didn’t know -- writers and thinkers I admired; scholars in the fields of Holocaust studies, European and Jewish history; tolerance leaders and public officials. The first book promotion task I gave myself was to inform these people about the book. Reaching out in this way felt as important as writing the book in the first place.
Embrace the challenge. My book promotion plan requires me to communicate my “message” in lots of different ways. I have to -- or as I see it, I get to -- write articles, op-ed pieces, guest blogs, website copy, press releases, e-mail blasts, Facebook messages, and tweets. I have to -- that is, I get to -- craft book talks and conference presentations, give interviews, and succinctly describe the book to people I run into. All of which involves solving problems, finding the right words, expressing myself to the best of my ability.
Just like…writing a book.
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Join the conversation. What makes book promotion enjoyable -- or anything but -- for you?
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Ellen Cassedy’s book is We Are Here: Memories of the Lithuanian Holocaust (University of Nebraska Press, 2012). Her first post for SheWrites was “Who Cares about Your Family Story? Ten Tips to Ensure Readers Will ...” Her [TIPS OF THE TRADE]series appears monthly. See all of Ellen's Tips for Writers.
Comment
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Comment by Ellen Cassedy on October 31, 2012 at 1:07pm -
Thanks for these great suggestions, Dana. I've found your website, The Savvy Book Marketer, very useful.
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Comment by Dana Lynn Smith on October 31, 2012 at 12:41pm -
Thanks for a great article, Ellen.
Bonnie, one way to narrow down the target audiences for a novel is to look for promotional "hooks" in the book – the location/setting of the story, the hobbies/professions/characteristics of the main characters, and the timeframe or storyline. For example, horse lovers would tend to be interested in a book where horses figure prominently in the story.
Virginia, a good way to see where people are talking about you and your book is to set up Google Alerts for your name and your book title – you'll get a list of places where you are mentioned online.
There are two ways contact visitors to your own website – you can invite them to join your mailing list (or subscribe to your newsletter) using a mailing list management service such as MailChimp or Aweber, and you can invite visitors to subscribe to your blog's RSS feed to receive each new blog post. Try Feedburner to set up an RSS feed for your blog.
I often hear authors say that they feel overwhelmed by book promotion or aren't really sure what to do. Book promotion is easier and more effective when authors have a written marketing plan to follow. A book marketing plan should be customized for the type of book, the characteristics of the target audience, and the skills, budget and time constraints of the author. I offer a free book marketing plan outline that you may find helpful.
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Comment by Ellen Cassedy on October 28, 2012 at 9:11am
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Google Analytics is a great resource for figuring out what sources are sending visitors to your blog. I've never heard of using it to follow up on individuals, though.
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Comment by Virginia Llorca on October 27, 2012 at 6:44pm -
Someone remarked did I know how to track where my page hits are from. Other than the stats and traffic source thing on my blog, do you think something like Goggle Analytics would be helpful? Someone said they used it to email people that might be interested in their work. That seems a little stalker-ish to me. What do y'all think?
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Comment by Ellen Cassedy on October 27, 2012 at 12:38pm
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Who might be interested in your book? Start with people who are interested in YOU -- your friends, fellow writers, relatives, neighbors. Then branch out. I gave my book to some on my list of "super fans," and sent notes or notices, mostly by email, to others -- with a link to "buy the book" on my website.
As for a simple guide, check out The Savvy Book Marketer, a blog/website I've found very useful.
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Comment by Bonnie McCune on October 27, 2012 at 11:18am -
Good tips, but I have no idea who might be interested in my women's novel--aside from women. Did you give your book to your potential "super fans?" I also can't figure out who is reading all the author blogs out there. Wish there were a simple guide to all this. Bonnie McCune, author, A Saint Comes Stumbling In
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Comment by Ellen Cassedy on October 27, 2012 at 7:48am
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Virginia, we should all have such problems. Sold 32 books or got 93 blog hits in a day...celebrate and move on! (I assume you also know about ways to track the sources of your blog hits, right?)
Catherine, you're so right: You've worked so hard for this -- own the moment. Great advice!
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Comment by Kathleen Kern on October 27, 2012 at 5:51am -
I know who my fans are--but it's a relatively small demographic: human rights activists and Mennonites who aren't freaked out by descriptions of secular realities (in a previous post I said "not freaked out by the F-word" and don't want to re-generate that discussion). I'm trying to figure out how to expand that base. The novel I am promoting now has as its main character a 26 year old agnostic slacker who doesn't know how to cope when her sister is kidnapped while working for a Christian human rights organization in Iraq because she (the slacker) is more interested in anime series than human beings. So I'm trying to think of places that anime enthusiasts haunt, but I'm not really an anime expert, so I'm trying to bone up on that, but want to be upfront with the fans and not appear as an expert, when I'm not. I'm just realizing this will really interfere with NaNoWriMo and my new novel.
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Comment by Catherine McNamara on October 27, 2012 at 2:12am -
I didn't really understand book promotion until someone said You Have Worked So Hard for This, Own the Moment! Then my nerves fell away and I realised that I HAVE worked really hard, I do know the work inside out, and my efforts will help with the book's sense. Then my promotional drive kicked in and I haven't looked back. Hand me a microphone and give me a jug of water!
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Comment by Virginia Llorca on October 26, 2012 at 7:45pm
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Of course positive feedback is what makes it worthwhile. The part that doesn't sit well with me is when I notice something, like the day I sold 32 books or the day I got 93 blog hits, and I do not know what caused it so I can reproduce it. Who said what about me and where?
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