Writers in the Storm

Penny Sansevieri

When it comes to writing books and book promotion, I know that it can sometimes feel like a confusing odyssey of choices. And while I can’t address each of these in detail, there are a number of areas that are keenly tied to a book’s success (or lack thereof). Here are ten for you to consider:

1. Not Understanding the Importance of a Book Cover

I always find it interesting that authors will sometimes spend years writing their books and then leave the cover design to someone who either isn’t a designer – or worse, they design their own book cover. Consider these facts for a minute: shoppers in a bookstore (online or brick and mortar) spend an average of 3 seconds looking at the front cover of a book and 7 seconds looking at the back before deciding whether to buy it. Further, a survey of booksellers showed that 75% of them found the book cover to be the most important element of the book. Also, sales teams for publishers or book distributors often only take the book cover with them when they shop titles into stores.

2. Sometimes You Get What You Pay For

There’s an old saying that goes: “You can find a cheap lawyer and a good lawyer, but you can’t find a good lawyer who is cheap.” Though this is a very different market, it’s kind of the same thing. Yes, there are deals out there and that’s not to say that you have to pay a good publicity person tens of thousands of dollars, but if you find someone who’s willing to market you for $200 or something like that, I’d be asking questions about what you get for your money, because while $200 dollars isn’t much, it’s $200 here and $99 there. Eventually, it all adds up. If a deal seems too good to be true, make sure that you’re getting all the facts. Just because they aren’t charging you a lot doesn’t mean they shouldn’t put it in writing. And by in writing, I mean you should get a detailed list of deliverables. Finding a deal isn’t a bad thing, but if you’re not careful it might just be a waste of money.

3. Listening to People Who Aren’t Experts

When you ask someone’s opinion about your book, direction or topic, make sure they are either working in your industry, or know your consumer. If, for example, you have written a young adult (YA) book, don’t give it to your co-workers to read and get feedback (yes, I know some YA books have adult market crossover appeal, but this is different). If you’ve written a book for teens, then give it to teens to read. Same is true for self-help, diet, romance. Align yourself with your market. You want the book to be right for the reader; in the end that’s all that matters. Also, let’s face it, since your coworkers have to see you everyday they probably won’t tell you if they don’t like your book.

4. Hope is Not a Marketing Plan

I love hope. Hope is a wonderful thing, but one thing it isn’t, is a marketing plan. Hoping that something will happen is one thing, but leaving your marketing to “fate” is quite another. Even though you wrote the book and put in hours of sweat equity making it perfect, you still have to market it. More often than not authors tell me that they can’t seem to get family or friends to buy their book (this isn’t uncommon by the way). But even if they do buy a book that’s what? One hundred copies at the most? While family and friends do want to help, you shouldn’t bank on them for success. So when it comes time to get your book out there, you need to have a solid plan in place, or at the very least a set of actions you feel comfortable working on. Waiting on a miracle, a sale, or a sign from above will cost you a lot in terms of book aging. Once your book is past a certain “age” it gets harder and harder to get it reviewed, so don’t sit idly by and hope for something to happen – or HBO to call. Make it happen. A book is not the field of dreams, just because you wrote it doesn’t mean readers will beat a path to your door.

5. Work It, or Not

There’s a real fallacy that exists in publishing and it’s this: “instant bestseller.” Anyone who has spent any amount of time in the industry knows there is no such thing as “instant” and certainly the words “overnight success” are generally not reserved for books. Overnight success is also never really overnight, per se. There is this odd belief that a “miracle” will just happen when you publish. Personally, I love miracles, but they tend to not happen with books, sadly. Book promotion should be viewed as a long runway. Meaning that you should plan for the long term. Don’t spend all your marketing dollars in the first few months of a campaign, make sure you have enough money or personal momentum to keep it going. Whether or not you hire a firm you must “work it” – meaning working your marketing plan, working your goals, whatever. Publishing is a business. You’d never open up a store and then just sit around hoping people show up to buy your stuff. You advertise, you run specials, you pitch yourself to local media. You work it. But what does “working it” mean? Well, it means that if you have a full-time job, you find time each week to push the book in some form or fashion. You find time. You make time. You should be engaged in your own success, even if you hire someone to do this for you, you should still be involved. Sometimes it doesn’t take much, but it does take a consistent effort. I also call it the compound effect: everything you do adds up.

6. Living by Metrics

Metrics is a funny thing; sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. Often I find in the book world it just doesn’t. I speak with authors who want metrics on everything and that, frankly, isn’t realistic. For this reason, authors often forgo getting reader reviews because: What’s the metric in that? Well there isn’t one, technically but you never know if a new buyer will see that particular review and be prompted to buy your book. Metrics when it comes to things you can actually measure is great, but for everything else, it’s a waste of time. Again for most of what we do, it’s the compound effect. Yes, you could pitch 100 bloggers, and get only one response and you think: the metrics of pitching bloggers is terrible, I won’t do that again. When in reality, maybe it was your pitch that was weak, or your email subject line, or maybe the book wasn’t right for them. I know that sometimes it’s easier to blame metrics, but in most cases, metrics aren’t the issue.

7. Not Understanding Timing

To a certain extent, timing in publishing has essentially become obsolete;things like advanced reviews, advanced pitching and early sales into bookstores aren’t the be-all-end-all they once were. Still, timing is important. While it’s true that sometimes older books can see a surge of success, it’s not the rule. You’ll want to be prepared with your marketing early. In fact, you should have a plan in place months before the book is out. That doesn’t mean that you’re sending 200 review copies out, that just means you have your ducks in a row, so to speak, and you know what your plan will be. Also, timing can affect things like book events (especially if you’re trying to get into bookstores). To understand when you should pitch your book for review, start to get to know your market and the bloggers you plan to pitch. Create a list, and keep close track of who to contact, and when you need to get your review pitch out there. Though many things have changed in regards to timing, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t plan. A missed date is akin to a missed opportunity.

8. Designing your Own Website

You should never cut your own hair or design your own site. End of story. But , let me elaborate. Let’s say you designed your own site, which saved you a few thousand dollars paying a web designer. Now you’re off promoting your book and suddenly you’re getting a gazillion hits to your site. The problem is the site is not converting these visitors into a sale. How much money did you lose by punting the web designer and doing it yourself? Hard to know. Scary, isn’t it?

9. Becoming a Media Diva

Let’s face it; you need the media more than they need you. I know. Ouch. But it’s the unfortunate truth. So here’s the thing: be grateful. Thank the interviewer, and send a follow up thank-you note after the interview. Don’t expect the interviewer to read your book and don’t get upset if they get some facts wrong. Most media people don’t have the time to read your book; carry an index card with book highlights on it and hand it to them prior to the interview. And please never, ever ask for an interview to be redone. I mention this, because it actually happened to a producer friend of mine who did an interview with a guy, and he decided he didn’t like it and wanted a second shot. Not gonna happen. The thing is, until you get a dressing room with specially designed purple M&M’s, don’t even think about becoming a diva. The best thing you can do is create relationships. Show up on time, show up prepared, and always, always, always be grateful.

10. Don’t Drink Dirty Water

There’s a lot of negativity out there. Between bashing Amazon, or saying that Goodreads is just a haven for negative reviews. Let’s face it, there’s a lot to complain about. I get it. And while I’m not trying to go all Tony Robbins on you here, your mental attitude has a lot to do with your success and your personal stamina to keep going and keep marketing. Yes, there are a lot of books out there, and a lot of other authors competing for the same virtual shelf space you are. So then you go to conferences to try and learn how to sell more than the 100 books, and someone just tells you they hit their 10,000^th book sale and you feel like never writing again. The thing is, the more you can stay positive, the more wind you will have in your sails. Believe me, this is true. I don’t mean to ignore the realities of being in publishing but I would advise you to just stay above it all. I once worked with an author who was one of the most amazing writers I’ve ever seen. Honestly. Every book this author wrote had mega-bestseller written all over it. But he was always, always negative – about everything. He didn’t get enough reviews, he wasn’t making enough sales (though I know his books were selling really well). Then, one day, despite his “everyone hates me” attitude, he got a publishing deal. They published one of his books, and then dropped him. I had a friend who worked at this publishing house, and I asked her what the scoop was, she said that he was so negative, so hard to please and so hard to work with that no one could stand him. Don’t drink dirty water.

These days, there is a lot an author can do on their own to make their book soar. There are a ton of resources out there for you. Seriously. Compared to when I was first in business almost 16 years ago, the resources and free promotional tools that are out there now are almost mind-boggling, and the fact that so many authors don’t take advantage of them is even crazier. Remember the compound effect I mentioned earlier? It all adds up.

When it comes to marketing, the mistakes can cost you more than anything both in time and money. Knowing what to do to market your book is important, but knowing what to avoid may be equally as significant.

What tips do you have for marketing success?

 

ABOUT PENNY

Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert and an Adjunct Professor with NYU. Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns. She is the author of fourteen books, including How to Sell Books by the Truckload. AME is the first marketing and publicity firm to use Internet promotion to its full impact through online promotion and their signature program called: The Virtual Author Tour™

To learn more about Penny’s books or her promotional services, you can visit her web site at http://www.amarketingexpert.com. To subscribe to her free newsletter, send a blank email to: mailto:subscribe@amarketingexpert.com

Copyright @2015 Penny C. Sansevieri

 

Kimberly Brock

Well, there’s Harper Lee and Atticus and just somebody tell me what does it all mean? I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it.

I guess I can’t help myself because I’m a writer and a southerner and I always liked saying Harper Lee only had the one book and it gave me relief. Like I didn’t have to accomplish much more. Except now I have to figure something out to leave under my bed, damn it.

I’m also thinking how she was really young when she wrote this new, old book that’s turned up. I can conjure up how it makes so much sense that she was going home from life in New York to life in Alabama and what on earth that must have been like to try to process. Here’s your swanky new life up north with people who talk good and act big and you go home to an old daddy who’s probably embarrassing with his corny jokes and prayer before meals. Which also makes him the Daddy you love. Which means you have to overlook his issues. Like drinking. Or gambling. Or women. Or bigotry. Or just being lazy. You can be a town hero and feel sorry for Boo and stand up for Tom, and still do all that other stuff at home and ya’ll know it. I mean, I get it. She wasn’t much more than a kid when she wrote that stuff she hid under her bed, when she was trying to love imperfect people in an imperfect world and learning that it’s hard to have it both ways. I don’t know if she found the answer.

I haven’t even read the book, only a chapter. I say this goes to show the power of story and a fictional character, that we’re all so worked up about it. It’s just that everybody keeps turning up a disappointment and I’m kind of sick of that. I want the old Atticus like I want Santa Claus. I want somebody to just be good in all the mess. I want a good husband. I want a good Daddy. I want a good president. I want to trust the whole wide world and sing on top of a hill with Don Draper, who regrets how bad he’s been to women, and share a Coca-Cola with a bunch of happy, hippie teenagers. I want Boo Radley to come out! (Even if I know it’s only Robert Duvall behind the door, made up real sweet.)

I am so distracted by this. But I’m also thinking about things like Bill Cosby. (He put his hand on my belly when I was pregnant with my daughter. I am sad. I am horrified. I am angry.) And I’m dreaming about all the little white boys with mental problems, the ones I used to teach, hopped up on meds, maybe going in places any day now and shooting people they’ve never even laid eyes on. And flags. And cops. And riots. And war in places that have been warring since the dawn of man. And also, vaccines. And all the pharmaceutical commercials that promise me a better quality of life, if I don’t die from side effects. (Which, let’s face it, really wouldn’t be a side effect.)

And that makes me think how, in general, my whole thought process is made up of side effects. All the stuff that’s filtering through my head every day – and night, if we’re honest – can be summed up as side effects. I am worried about Harper, I really am. And Malala, too. Did you ever think what it’s like to be her? And I’m worried that my Keurig coffee maker might be silently poisoning me since I seriously can’t ever empty all the water out of that reservoir. What is in there, lurking? You know it’s not clean. But I just pushed the button, anyway. It doesn’t TASTE like cancer.

Cancer is another thing. Did you ever hear of so much cancer as you hear about today? Is it because I’m getting older? I keep telling people that it’s because I’m getting older, it’s just a different stage of life. This is the stage where there is cancer eating everybody up. When I was twelve, I didn’t hear about cancer because cancer wasn’t eating up enough kids, only the ones on the TV commercials. Now I’m old enough for cancer to be a daily conversation. And divorce. And parents dying. Or pets dying. It’s all very traumatic. I am not being facetious. I mean this. I am sad a lot more than ever before. Because of all of the losing stuff and people. There is a lot of losing going on.

On the other hand, there’s a lot going on in general that is piling Life up around me. So it’s not just the losing. It’s the gaining. Sometimes it’s more like hoarding. My schedules look like those houses of hoarders on cable. Kids going places, growing up and teeth coming out or growing crooked or being allergic to everything because, apparently, I’m feeding them chicken and milk hopped up on God knows what. And banquets. I’m hanging awards on their walls and probably they’re collecting anecdotes for future therapy sessions. It seems like they ought to paint my name in a space at the pediatrician’s parking lot. That’s the award I want. A shorter walk. But they’re all busy and I’m busy with them. And I am just so proud. And grateful. And distracted.

Because I’m also busy without them. I’m busy with the big people, too. The people who need things from me and fill me up when my tank is low. The daily exchange of encouragement, support, wisdom, humor or just a good shoulder rub. Meet me for coffee. Sweet Communion. And Brainpickers, Lord. Heartbreakers, too. The ones having breakdowns or dealing with addictions or climbing ladders or moving out or moving on or needing me to show my face in support of one thing or another. Funerals or celebrations. And I love every one of them so I’m there and I’m participating and I’m just trying to process it all. Maybe I’ll put that in the book under my bed. Maybe one day they’ll say I was just senile when I agreed to let it be published because, obviously. Sheesh.

Did I mention I’m writing a book? Yeah. And there’s room in my head for it, just like there’s room in my life for the writing of it. But I go to the beach with all of this other stuff going on in my head, Harper and all. And I wonder how on earth I’m ever going to focus on a bunch of made-up people, dealing with whatever? How will I ever get the formula right so the characters are compelling? So they’re sympathetic, but not cliché? So the story is identifiable? So there are great odds and every page is infused with relationships and conflict to the gills? How do I come up with material that takes readers on a journey, where they come out of it alive or dead, but hand in hand and forever changed? And the thing is, don’t you just know when it’s done, some editor is going to say I ought to consider writing the whole thing from a child’s perspective and clean everything up a little bit, so black is black and white is white and it’s easy to tell the good from the bad? I bet Harper can tell me how easy that is.

I don’t know. Inside, I guess I’m still little Scout, trying to see what the hell’s going on through the too-small eyeholes of my ham suit. I’m told what I’m really doing as a writer, is processing all of this stuff. Sitting here at my desk waiting for something to strike me, I wonder if my trouble most days, was Harper’s trouble, too. You can’t just let Boo out and forget the rest. Maybe it should seem obvious to me that in order to get to the source of my truest, most transparent work, I’m going to have to work up the courage to look under my Writer’s Bed at the mean old Atticus I’ve stuffed back in there. Maybe the only way to make sense of who we are, what we love, what we fear, what we dream and what we dare, is to pull the terrible out with the tender. To be true so we can be transformed. Is that what we’re all really trying to do with this writing business?

Like I said, I’ll have to think about it.

Have you found the courage to look under your Writer’s Bed? What might happen to the work you’re producing, if you dared?

About Kimberly

Kimberly Brock is the award winning author of the #1 Amazon bestseller, THE RIVER WITCH (Bell Bridge Books, 2012). A former actor and special needs educator, Kimberly is the recipient of the Georgia Author of the Year 2013 Award. A literary work reminiscent of celebrated southern author Carson McCullers, THE RIVER WITCH has been chosen by two national book clubs.

Kimberly’s writing has appeared in anthologies, blogs and magazines, including Writer Unboxed and Psychology Today. Kimberly served as the Blog Network Coordinator for She Reads, a national online book club from 2012 to 2014, actively spearheading several women’s literacy efforts. She lectures and leads workshops on the inherent power in telling our stories and is founder of Tinderbox Writer’s Workshop. She is also owner of Kimberly Brock Pilates.

She lives in the foothills of north Atlanta with her husband and three children, where she is at work on her next novel. Visit her website at kimberlybrockbooks.com for more information and to find her blog.

 

Heather Webb

As a novice writer, especially one in search of an agent, we swallow every writing and industry rule hook, line, and sinker. It’s understandable when we’re dying to get our foot in the door. And sure, most of those standards exist for a reason, but those books that break out, usually SHATTER the laws of fiction.

I’ve stomped all over plenty of rules myself. For example--

MY FIRST NOVEL WAS NOT A TRUNK NOVEL: I’ve heard this about a million times from so many sources: teachers, writers, agents. The advice out there says to write a novel, (or 500,000 words worth of manuscripts), and stash those books in a drawer because those words are sub-par. Your craft is sure to be riddled with newbie mistakes and a total p.o.s. in the plot and structure department. But that may or may not be true. The very first novel I ever wrote was agented and published. In my case, I refused to put that book away until I GOT IT RIGHT. Granted, I rewrote that bad boy about a million times, but it can be done. It HAS been done. Don’t let that rule scare you. Do the work and be tenacious!

I WROTE A HISTORICAL IN FIRST PERSON: Gasp! There’s a lot of shuddering when that happens among the literarti and historical fiction crowd. “Serious fiction”, after all, is written in third person, or so I’ve been told over coffee from a “friend” with an elegant sneer on his face (and plenty of “experts” in literature). Also not true. I could list a dozen wonderful historicals off the top of my head that were written in first person, or a dozen wonderful novels in other categories including GONE GIRL, among many others. This rule is a ridiculous assertion. All POVs have their limitations and issues. If it suits your story, press on!

I SKIPPED TIME PERIODS: My first novel took place during the French Revolution and for my second novel, I fast-forwarded in time an entire century to the Belle Époque era. This is another thing frowned upon, as many historical novelists conquer an era and become the expert of that time. I, on the other hand, relish the challenge and excitement of discovering new eras, people, events. (Or maybe I’m a glutton for punishment and need to STEP AWAY from the research books.) The other issue with jumping ahead is that publishers like to group your books by theme and dates. In any case, I blew the lid off that one.

I TOSSED ASIDE BIOGRAPHICALS, GOING ALL-FICTION: My first two novels are biographical fiction and not because it was a trend or because they were someone’s wife or lover. I just happened to love the two women I wrote about for a million reasons. Now, I find myself in uncharted territory. I’m going all fiction in a historical setting. Am I nervous? Sure. Is it a risk? Definitely. But I refuse to be pigeonholed into a narrow category if it doesn’t jive with my vision. If a publisher doesn’t buy my next book, then what, you ask? The answer is simple. I’m a writer. I write another book because I MUST. My need to write is a sickness and a cure all in one. I’ll carry on, quill in hand.

Are we seeing a theme here?

Publishers need to take a risk themselves—go out on a limb and invest in a book—and beautiful writing will tempt them to do so. Write your books. Make them beautiful. Follow your vision and your instincts. At the end of the day, we’re individuals and what’s so dadgum amazing about books in the first place is how they are all so different, and more importantly, how they bring up questions of human nature which challenge us to change, evolve, and revolt if necessary. So buck the system.

MAKE YOUR OWN RULES.

What rules have you broken, for better or worse?

About Heather

Heather Webb writes historical novels for Penguin and HarperCollins,which have been translated to three languages and have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Cosmopolitan magazine, France magazine, and Reuters News Book Talk. BECOMING JOSEPHINE follows the life and times of Josephine Bonaparte set to the backdrop of the French Revolution, and RODIN’S LOVER released Jan 27th, chronicles the passionate and tragic story of Camille Claudel, sculptor, collaborator, and lover to the famed Auguste Rodin. A FALL OF POPPIES releases in 2016.

Heather is also a freelance editor and contributor to award-winning writing sites WriterUnboxed.com and RomanceUniversity.org. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association.

Twitter: @msheatherwebb