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.
Thanks for these great suggestions, Dana. I've found your website, The Savvy Book Marketer, very useful.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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
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!
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.
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!
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?
Nadine, I share your feeling that being able to meet, or virtually meet, your readers is a rewarding aspect of being a writer. Books are a part of a cultural conversation, and social media helps that conversation to flourish.
Great comments! For those of us who would rather be writing than promoting... look for ways to promote that are all ABOUT writing. Guest blogs, essays, creating a speech to deliver. Liz, tell us more about your virtual book tour.
I think you have to be a business man or woman. You're promoting a brand - you! Publishers aren't going to do the marketing for you. Maybe some, the rest is up to you.
I can freeze when it comes to this promotion business, and that's how I see it: a business. I'm a writer, not a business woman. Going the FaceBook, Twitter, blogging route is not enjoyable for me. They mostly lead to other writers spamming about their books, which are most often in a genre I have no interest in reading. The only type of promotion I have enjoyed was a virtual book tour, and that I would do again.
I don't think so, Ellen. I think it's a matter of personality. You're probably right about promoting skills being similar to writing skills, and that's why I keep working on marketing and promoting my book. BUT--that doesn't mean I enjoy it! I'd much rather be writing!
Amy, I know what you mean, and I sometimes feel the tug of those thoughts myself. It's been helpful for me, though, to kind of redefine promotion so that it plays to my strengths. If I can see promotion as calling on the same skills I use in writing, and offering some of the same rewards, I can make it work for me. I also ask us women to ask ourselves whether part of the distaste for "tooting our own horns" is gender-related. Are we less likely than men to take up the amount of space we rightly deserve?
Interesting post, Ellen, but I have to disagree. I write to entertain. I want to escape inside my story, and I want others to do the same. I want my characters to speak to the readers and for the readers to hear their voices, not mine. I don't want to go out and sell myself. Well, I worded that wrong. But you know what I mean, I hope! Writing for me is escape, as is reading for me. Promoting and marketing my book is selling my "brand" and my book in the real world. While I believe in my work, I am uncomfortable "tooting my own horn." I don't enjoy it. I'd much rather be writing. Or reading. By myself. Not in public. And I find online marketing exhausting and frustrating. I feel like I'm spinning my wheels. I just want to write!
Wynnie -- Grassroots promotion is great! Lots of ways to do it. Onward...
Thank you for an article that may motivate and encourage me to do more. So many writers have always wanted to write, share, and promote their ideas. My poetry, channeled and personal, seemed to come to me randomly 2010-now. I realize now I was probably always suppose to write, however the "promotion piece" of writing and publishing has not been a motivating factor for me. My newness to this adventure, makes me naive to all that there is "to do." Thank you for the encouragement. I am not an introvert, but have yet to find the best way to promote myself and my work. I love sharing my poetry and thoughts with others, but I'm more a grass roots type of promoter. Luckily I have friends who like my work and do promote it! Thank you again for your upbeat article.
Great comment, Natylie. I encourage writers to think about the ways in which writing and promotion are similar, and find ways to get involved in promotion that best suit who they are. Don't make the mistake of thinking that because you're an introvert you won't enjoy getting the word out about your book.
Liz,
I think what you are describing is a big part of simply being introverted as opposed to extroverted. It is the way a person's brain is wired -- an orientation. I think this probably has a lot to do with why many writers say they love writing but not promoting. Many, but not all, writers are introvered and that's why we can spend hours writing and being solitary.
Introverts -- as you describe -- need time to reflect and think before they talk. Extroverts, on the other hand, think as they talk and are better at speaking extemporaneously. In terms of socializing, introverts are better at socializing in smaller doses and one-on-one or in a small, intimate gathering as opposed to a larger group. Introverts are drained by socializing and extroverts are energized by it.
This is not to say that it is impossible for introverts to do promotion that involves public speaking and heavier socialing; it just means that it's more draining for us and more of a challenge.
Liz -- Thanks for confessing your stage fright, which is shared by millions of us! There are so many opportunities to reach out from the safety of your computer. Go for it.
I love the thought of promoting my book. Great article!
I will be honest: I have terrible stage fright! I'm comfortable behind the screen because I feel much more confident in my ability to express myself via computer than I do speaking out loud, in front of other people. I've realized that the reason for this is that the written word gives me time to sit and think about what I want to say, and to form the words as perfectly as I possibly can. By contrast, speaking out loud (especially in front of a crowd), is very instantaneous. If a person hesitates for too long - or not long enough - then the crowd will never forget it. Or if you say something incorrect out loud, it can rarely be corrected.
By contrast, no one has to know if I misspelled a written word or if I hesitated too long before writing something down. They only see the finished product, and nothing of me forming the product.
I hope that makes sense. I know I could promote if I had to, but I will be a bundle of nerves while I'm doing it!
Jennifer, I agree about the need for chutzpah. A mantra that helps me is something a friend once said: The people who get things done aren't necessarily the very best in the world at what they do. (Who could judge that, anyway?) They're just the ones who get up and do it. And Virginia, I'm not one who chats up the waitress...but there are other aspects of book promotion I adore (public speaking, for example). I think we can all find things we like.