A Publisher's Conversation with Authors: I Already Self-Published My Book; Now I Need a Publisher Because I Am Not Good at Marketing

 

It is Tuesday. Time to tall turkey. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.

Today's topic derives from a series of enote correspondences with a self-possessed, pumped-up-on-his-own-greatness self-published author, simply names James (will leave off the last name to stave off any embarrassment, should he even feel any). The initial note, like many others I receive (no James is not unique), said essentially, I published the greatest book ever, everyone says so, it got some attention from my professional organization, and it has a wonderful review from Kirkus. It just needs a publisher to market it because I am not a marketer; I am an author. When I get those kinds of communications, here is what I do: sort truth from fiction (most of it is fiction), explain to the author (who does not want to hear much of anything that will help him/her actually become a successful author), and duck (the incoming takes lots of different shapes, but generally pointed, nasty, and pompous). After which, I push "delete all."

Sort truth from fiction

• I published the greatest book ever. Okay, who says so? If so, why did no publisher step forward to take it on before you self-published? Or did you think you could get more money for yourself from self-publishing and then realized that publishers know a lot more than you do and royalties from an experienced publisher might well be more than your inexperienced-at publishing, I-want-to-take-it-all approach. Has the book won awards? Which ones? (Some awards are meaningful; others are meaningless.) Where is the proof that it is the greatest book ever? If you want me to publish it, then I am going to make that determination, and if you disagree with my assessment, you will need to continue the rounds (until, typically, you run out) to find someone who thinks as highly of you as you think of yourself.
• It got some attention from my professional organization. What attention? Good words? Recommendation? Number of copies sold to the organization and its membership? ("Attention" is unconvincing. Sales of several thousand copies; that's convincing!)
• Wonderful review from Kirkus. Was it a paid review or an unpaid review? The latter is meaningful; the former less so. How do you define wonderful? The review in this case was very pro forma. It gave a description of the book and a lukewarm endorsement of one sentence, which the author clung to as if it were "Highly Recommended" from Library Journal, MidWest Book Review, or other unpaid reviewer known for its honesty and whose enthusiastic endorsements are hard to earn. 

Explain to the author

•  Description/analysis. My first interaction is to describe my findings -- wheat, chaff, positive, negative, reality, deception (mostly self-deception.) If the book is not worthy of traditional publication (often it is not), I explain why. 
• Cold turkey talk. I then let the author know that a publisher is not going to want to re-publish his/her book for a number of reasons. First, the best sales come from the places the author has already sold to -- friends, family, colleagues, colleagues of colleagues, professional organizations. So, the first month's sales (the best sales) have already been stripped away. It will be hard going from that point -- expensive and much effort, but the author has already made it clear that s/he does not want to put in the effort that will be required from the author (not the publisher) in the industry today. Readers expect authors to interact with them. Authors need platforms and thousands of followers. A publisher cannot make a platform for an author, nor can advertising by a publisher replace a platform. An author who does not want to work to help the publisher sell his/her book is not going to find a publisher wanting to help him/her (except for very famous people -- and that is not what we are talking about here).
• Author marketing. Authors really have two choices when it comes to marketing their books. Relying on a publisher to do all the marketing and promotion and going merrily about their own business with hands held open to receive all that they can get in terms of royalties (and likely complaining when they think they are too low) is not one of them. One choice is to hire a publicist. It is costly. An author may or may not make back the investment, but the books will sell better. So, if getting the book known is wanted, then a publicist is the best approach. Sometimes, the right combination of publicist and book and author can bring about a bestseller. (Authors should research the results of publicists before latching onto any particular one.) The other choice is to bite the bullet and do the hard work. Build the platform. Rah-rah your book. Make presentations. Blog for yourself and others. Write articles (yes, be an author; Dickens, Hemingway, and many, many other authors stayed afloat that way, not through book sales). Word of mouth is the best advertising -- any marketer will tell you that -- and the first mouth has to be yours.

Duck

• Incoming volleys take many forms. Typically, I get very defensive responses, suggesting that I am missing the opportunity of a lifetime. Yes, I will pass up that opportunity with gladness.
• Name calling is not uncommon. So, it you thought I was so stupid, why did you come to me in the first place.
• I had one guy threaten to call in law enforcement -- who would be arriving at my house within the day if he did not receive a contract in the mail (yeah, he was a bit cuckoo). The laugh was on him. Our little town has no law enforcement. (One of those few idyllic places where people just do not break the law, making the need for law enforcement officers moot.)

Well, for sure, this is not the way to find a publisher. As I said, I hit delete and move on to more worthy books. Check out these POSTS to learn ways to have a better effect on a potential publisher.

Lesson for today's Tuesday talk: If you want to be a successful author with a traditionally published (or hybrid) book, put your ego away. As in many walks of life, authors/people hurt themselves, their plans, their goals, and their potential triumphs in order to protect their egos. Not worth it!

 Read more posts about publishing HERE.

The Tuesday talks reflect real discussions between the management of MSI Press LLC and our own authors or those would-be authors who come through our doors but don't make the cut--yet. If you have a topic you would like to see addressed, leave the question in the comment section. Chances are, in our 18 years of publishing first-time and experiences authors, we have had a conversation with one of our authors that we can share with you.