A Publisher's Conversation with Authors: The Deafening Noise of Today's Book Market
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, as a follow-on to last week's discussion of the seismic change in the book publishing industry over the past 5-10 years, discusses the difficult nature of today's book market for new authors. The nature of book marketing today is more than anything a matter of getting seen, of the hand of an author (or publisher) to be able to hold up his/her book above a sea of raised hands. I doubt that any publisher (or author) will say that they have a great answer to this problem (including to those "specialists" who promise such solutions to authors for a hefty fee -- with many authors disappointed with the results).
There are, however, some ways to get noticed, especially for those (authors and publishers) with limited budgets for promotion. Given that print ads are out of the realm of possibility for most (e.g., $100K for a one-time full-pager ad in Reader's Digest; $2K for a one-time 1/2 page ad in Foreword Reviews -- although smaller ads are cheaper, they still cost hundreds and provide lesser notice, mixed in with other small ads), alternative options are needed. Below are some ways to get noticed (at least, a little). See previous posts in this column on book promotion for more suggestions.
Name recognition
Name recognition makes a huge difference. Stephen King, Joyce Carol Oates, Shirly Temple Black, Hilary Clinton -- whether political, literary, or from some other field, authors with name recognition have a major advantage.
How can a new author compete with these authors? Well, competition is probably not likely to succeed, but getting one's name known, especially in a niche, can help and is possible. Build a platform. Blog. Write articles on the same topic as your book. Make presentations (at major public events or at libraries -- wherever you can; shine in your small corner, and others will eventually notice). Conduct workshops. Serve as a consultant on your topic -- as a volunteer or for pay. Every day do something to be noticed if only among a small group of people; with time, the group will grow.
And about those famous people in your field? Ask them for an endorsement for your book. If you get one or more to do that, be sure to share the endorsement widely, including on Amazon and other bookseller sites.
Word of mouth
Word of mouth is one of the most effective sales mechanism for books or anything else. People buy what their friends like. Offer your book to book clubs. Offer a free copy of the book to an online Influencer in exchange for a review. Exchange online reviews with another author: you each post the review of the other's book on your social media site (blog, Twitter, etc.). Ask your friends and acquaintances to help spread the word.
Awards
Enter all the book award competitions you can afford. If you have a small budget, then go for the smaller competitions, and more of them. One premier competition can bring a lot of recognition if you are the winner, but sometimes 5-10 smaller competitions can come close to doing the same thing. Every competition you win or place in gives you the opportunity to advertise your book as award-winning. Every time you refer to your book, you can refer to those awards (the more the better). Always list all your awards on your website; announce them on your social media. The award competitions will do the same, bringing your book to the attention of a larger audience.
Reviews
Reviews are essential. Take a look at the top sellers on Amazon. They have hundreds of reviews. A new author may not be able to bring in 1000 reviews overnight but aim for 100 in the first year and try to keep snowballing them going forward. Offer your book to organizations that have journals that write reviews. As noted above, work with other authors to write reviews of each other's books and post them on Barnes & Noble, Amazon (if permitted - Amazon often won't post a review unless the book was purchased from Amazon), your social media, your website, your book's page on your publisher's website, in your marketing endeavors. You can also pay for reviews from some well known review companies; some can be costly, though, and much will depend on your budget. You will probably not see a trackable ROI on a paid review, but an accumulation of paid reviews and free reviews can add up.
Advertising
Yes, it is possible to get noticed through advertising. If you do not have big bucks, find places for cooperative advertising with other authors (IBPA offers such opportunities, Foreword Reviews does, Book Dealer's World does, NABE does). Most of these are relatively inexpensive, with the latter two being within anyone's budget. The greater the reach of the advertising vehicle, the higher the cost, generally.
And don't forget direct marketing. Bulk mail brings in 1% return, typically. It may or may not be cost-effective. Eblasts to a mailing list can be costly (if you buy a mailing list) or inexpensive (if you build your own). No matter what, you should work on building your own list and e-blasting new information at least month;ly.
Bottom line: There is a crowd out there, and it is noisy -- but you can be heard with some effort and creativity.
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. Also available as an ebook and an audiobook.
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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