A Publisher's Conversation with Authors: A Parallel between Human Intelligence and Book Promotion

It is Tuesday. 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 post continues the book promotion theme from last week and some previous posts but from a somewhat different perspective.  At the risk of seeming a bit meshuggeneh, I believe an understanding of human intelligence can provide some insight into book promotion.

Intelligence (g)

Basic human intelligence is often called (g) by psychologists. So, what is (g_? Here is one definition: "The term general intelligence (g) refers to a broad mental capacity that influences performance on cognitive ability measures."  There are many other definitions of (g), but they are all similar and less important than the proposal that (g) represents itself as two factors: crystallized intelligence and fluid intelligence. General intelligence is, in a way, potential whereas crystallized and fluid intelligence are, in essence, practice.

Crystallized Intelligence

Crystallized intelligence refers to knowledge accumulated through experience and education like vocabulary and math skills. This would be akin to reading all about book marketing and book promotion, selecting strategies employed by other authors and recommended by agents, and practicing what they preach. This approach can be helpful -- initially. This approach can be helpful -- when it works. Sometimes, crystallized book promotion is enough. Generally, though, it is not enough.

Fluid Intelligence

Fluid intelligence is the ability to solve novel reasoning problems; it is correlated with several crucial life skills, such as comprehension, problem-solving, and learning. Often, crystallized book promotion, well, crystallizes -- and as books age, the things that caught one or another reader's eye may not have aged well, especially vis-a-vis a changing culture. (Culture always changes; it is the rare book that becomes a classic for all time and all cultures -- and that is not essential for a book to be good, to serve an author's purpose, and become beloved by its readers.) Fluid book promotion allows for these kinds of changes -- both cultural and again changes. Just as fluid intelligence allows humans to deal with novel and changing situations, so can fluid book promotion provide an author with the ability to continue to market a book effectively over time. Taking advantage of unexpected opportunities, hooking into the "local scene," and creative ways to find new readers and new genres of readers all required fluid intelligence and fluid book promotion.  

Bottom line: The concepts of crystallized and fluid intelligence were proposed in 1963 by Raymond Cattell. For a more sophisticated understanding of these concepts, research his work. It is fascinating and much more nuanced than anything discussed here. (And there is much more to the differences in human psychology terms, including the role of aging -- but that is a topic for a different kind of discussion.)

See more Publisher Conversations with authors HERE.

 Learn more about publishing from an acquisitions editor -- how to get your book proposal accepted, why proposals are turned down/accepted, and how to find the right publisher for your book. On special sale for $5 while inventory lasts at MSI Press webstore.

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 that you would like 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.

                             

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