The release of a book is simultaneously thrilling and terrifying. Up till that moment the book has just had potential and promise. Now it is up to people to decide whether it is something they like and want to buy. Now readers will have a read and make up their own minds. As they should. My marketing and promotion strategy has always been kind of organic, and long term. Agent Janet Reid talks about the same sort of thing here and I think this has always been my philosophy. I'm not keen on being actively 'sold to' so I try to avoid doing this to others. And reading the phrase 'the next big thing, or 'by the next (insert famous author's name here)' about a new book hot off the press makes me grumpy. I want to hear what other readers think. Genuine word of mouth is not something you can manufacture.
Yet again there is much debate about the suitability of books for their target audience. In particular the winner of the 2014 Carnegie Medal, The Bunker Diary, by Kevin Brooks. Folk have been outraged that such a bleak book can win a prize. Because now more teens might read it. Nicola Morgan talks very thoughtfully about this fact, and our desire to protect young people, here. I've talked about my stance on this issue before. I believe children and teens are self limiting and smart readers. There is no magic transformation into adulthood from adolescence. It can't happen in a vacuum. Teenagers must have access to information in order to become responsible, empathetic adults. Better that they read about difficult topics in a book, than have to experience them first hand in order to understand. Letting teens read books like The Bunker Diary might actually be a better form of protection for them.
And I loved this terrific smart response to that annoying article in Slate admonishing adults who choose to read YA books. It made my day. Because:
Critics who treat adult as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. - CS Lewis
But you should really go and read the whole thing. Or an extended version of CS Lewis's original article here.
Showing posts with label Book promotion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Book promotion. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 1, 2014
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Charm offensive....
A writer friend mentioned on facebook that they wanted to avoid promotional work for any of their books published. They had considered using a pen name to help with this.
Firstly I can totally understand why folk might not want to get involved in promotion. Its hard work, it's generally very public and it is difficult to know to what extent it is paying off. For some there are barriers to them doing conventional promotion. Some book folk relish the public face of their business. They are naturals: witty and amusing, charming and able to have the crowd in the palm of their hand in minutes. People chase them for public speaking engagements, workshops and literary festivals. But if you are not a natural you must learn how to do it, face a thousand fears as you do so and you must do all the chasing which can be demoralising (as if we need extra rejections) and exhausting. And, always,there are no guarantees of the outcomes of any promotion you do.
If you are set against promoting your work, from all my experience and observations so far, I don't think a pen name is needed to avoid it. In this industry in New Zealand most authors and illustrators have to work long and hard to get some attention going their way. If you don't do this, 99 times out of 100 (sadly) no one is knocking your door down or ringing your phone off the hook to get a hold of you to promote your work, interview you or buy 1,000 copies of your stunning work of genius. There are exceptions, but then there are usually mitigating circumstances as well. And if you do get the hordes chasing after you when your debut book comes out, there are effective ways to respond and make use of your popularity without running round promoting yourself like a chook with their head cut off. Publishers do like authors and illustrators to promote their work but a) I don't think a pen name necessarily makes a difference as Emily Rodda will attest and b) here in NZ I don't think it is a make or break issue to signing a contract.
Of course the other side of this issue is - can you forge a writing career without any kind of promotion? I do what I feel able to do because I am afraid the answer to this question is no. I also do what I feel able to do because there is something very special about meeting the children who have read and enjoyed your work. Sometimes they are passionate readers and it is unbelieveably heartening to know they have chosen to include you in their library. Sometimes they are budding writers and meeting you is a turning point for them. Both of these things will blow your socks off. Wear two pairs in winter in case this happens.
I know there are other people who are better at promotion than me and I envy the ease with which they expand their fan base and improve their sales. I know some people who don't promote at all and some have successful careers and some don't. There are also new ways of promoting your work through the social network and with the aid of technology and these mean so much can be done from the comfort of your own home. If you are uncomfortable or unable to promote in conventional ways, it pays to check out the alternatives. Ultimately it is up to you what you feel able to do and how you manage your writing career. As with so many other aspects of writing there is no right one way to do this. Do what works best for you but make sure you are well informed about it before you make those decisions.
Firstly I can totally understand why folk might not want to get involved in promotion. Its hard work, it's generally very public and it is difficult to know to what extent it is paying off. For some there are barriers to them doing conventional promotion. Some book folk relish the public face of their business. They are naturals: witty and amusing, charming and able to have the crowd in the palm of their hand in minutes. People chase them for public speaking engagements, workshops and literary festivals. But if you are not a natural you must learn how to do it, face a thousand fears as you do so and you must do all the chasing which can be demoralising (as if we need extra rejections) and exhausting. And, always,there are no guarantees of the outcomes of any promotion you do.
If you are set against promoting your work, from all my experience and observations so far, I don't think a pen name is needed to avoid it. In this industry in New Zealand most authors and illustrators have to work long and hard to get some attention going their way. If you don't do this, 99 times out of 100 (sadly) no one is knocking your door down or ringing your phone off the hook to get a hold of you to promote your work, interview you or buy 1,000 copies of your stunning work of genius. There are exceptions, but then there are usually mitigating circumstances as well. And if you do get the hordes chasing after you when your debut book comes out, there are effective ways to respond and make use of your popularity without running round promoting yourself like a chook with their head cut off. Publishers do like authors and illustrators to promote their work but a) I don't think a pen name necessarily makes a difference as Emily Rodda will attest and b) here in NZ I don't think it is a make or break issue to signing a contract.
Of course the other side of this issue is - can you forge a writing career without any kind of promotion? I do what I feel able to do because I am afraid the answer to this question is no. I also do what I feel able to do because there is something very special about meeting the children who have read and enjoyed your work. Sometimes they are passionate readers and it is unbelieveably heartening to know they have chosen to include you in their library. Sometimes they are budding writers and meeting you is a turning point for them. Both of these things will blow your socks off. Wear two pairs in winter in case this happens.
I know there are other people who are better at promotion than me and I envy the ease with which they expand their fan base and improve their sales. I know some people who don't promote at all and some have successful careers and some don't. There are also new ways of promoting your work through the social network and with the aid of technology and these mean so much can be done from the comfort of your own home. If you are uncomfortable or unable to promote in conventional ways, it pays to check out the alternatives. Ultimately it is up to you what you feel able to do and how you manage your writing career. As with so many other aspects of writing there is no right one way to do this. Do what works best for you but make sure you are well informed about it before you make those decisions.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Unassailable truths...
Unassailable truth # 1 - if I do not sell enough copies of this book I may not get the next one published. However what constitutes 'enough copies' varies widely from publisher to publisher. Sometimes they apply their sales counting formulae in intriguing ways. But publishing is a business. Book sales = good. This is why I do try to promote my books. (Horrible question that I don't want to contemplate - how many books have I sold through my promotional efforts to date?)
Unassailable truth # 2 - authors/illustrators do not agree on whether they should charge for appearances or not. What I can tell you is that the income from the sale of my books this year would almost pay for my coffee habit but nothing else. I would be whippet thin if I lived on my book income alone (or dead). My income from public appearances is 7 or 8 times that. Don't get too excited, I still couldn't cover my living expenses, even if they were significantly reduced from their current levels. And I cannot rely on invitations to speak, read etc... being regular or even continuing. Which makes my SO a patron of the arts. Suffice to say many authors/illustrators rely on a range of income sources to survive. I don't know that charging for visits /readings /appearances is the ideal model to support authors and illustrators. I wish there was more grant money available to assist full time creatives to pursue their art and not be faced with the sometimes difficult side of charging for visits. And more fellowships etc..which didn't involve travelling far from one's family (yay - go the Beatson Fellowship! Not only generous but understanding and forward thinking too). The way many fellowships etc..are structured means my role as mother precludes me from applying. Anyone who is not a mother/parent therefore has more fellowships, awards, grants etc they can apply for. This isn't a criticism of those with more freedom to apply for a wider range of things, but more a lament that such things are out of reach for me. Having my children goes a very long way to make up for that but all the benefits of such awards would sometimes be very handy and would look fab on the CV if i was a successful applicant (and of course hard times mean more competition for these things). And maybe a tax break for the arts patronage my SO is required to take on because he loves me would be good as well.
Unassailable truth # 3 - doing an exam at home is harder because there are a million more distractions and a greater sense of pressure to perform. Ack... Give me a 3 hour exam in an echoey community hall any day.
Unassailable truth # 2 - authors/illustrators do not agree on whether they should charge for appearances or not. What I can tell you is that the income from the sale of my books this year would almost pay for my coffee habit but nothing else. I would be whippet thin if I lived on my book income alone (or dead). My income from public appearances is 7 or 8 times that. Don't get too excited, I still couldn't cover my living expenses, even if they were significantly reduced from their current levels. And I cannot rely on invitations to speak, read etc... being regular or even continuing. Which makes my SO a patron of the arts. Suffice to say many authors/illustrators rely on a range of income sources to survive. I don't know that charging for visits /readings /appearances is the ideal model to support authors and illustrators. I wish there was more grant money available to assist full time creatives to pursue their art and not be faced with the sometimes difficult side of charging for visits. And more fellowships etc..which didn't involve travelling far from one's family (yay - go the Beatson Fellowship! Not only generous but understanding and forward thinking too). The way many fellowships etc..are structured means my role as mother precludes me from applying. Anyone who is not a mother/parent therefore has more fellowships, awards, grants etc they can apply for. This isn't a criticism of those with more freedom to apply for a wider range of things, but more a lament that such things are out of reach for me. Having my children goes a very long way to make up for that but all the benefits of such awards would sometimes be very handy and would look fab on the CV if i was a successful applicant (and of course hard times mean more competition for these things). And maybe a tax break for the arts patronage my SO is required to take on because he loves me would be good as well.
Unassailable truth # 3 - doing an exam at home is harder because there are a million more distractions and a greater sense of pressure to perform. Ack... Give me a 3 hour exam in an echoey community hall any day.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
To promote or not to promote...
To promote or not to promote that was the other big question...
Shakespeare is probably revolving at a rate of knots in his grave right now - sorry Bill, I'm sure I'm not the first. So the school holidays have arrived and before I get pushed off the computer by the kids I wanted to try and scrape the rest of what I remember from the conference off the floor of my brain before it's gone in holiday programmes, taxi duties and a collection of sorry excuses for movies.
A number of folk at the conference - presenters, publishers and booksellers included were keen on authors/illustrators promoting their books to the public. Especially for publishers and booksellers the bottom line is income - if they don't sell product they don't survive. For authors and illustrators the equation is a lot more murky with a complex bottom line that often includes a fear of public speaking. One prominent author said promotion and marketing are not the job of the writer/illustrator but belong with the publisher. I whined to my writer friend about this on the plane ride home - sorry T. - prominent author could easily say this as they already has excellent reputation to help sell their works (and now that i think about it prominent author already has occasional tv presence too so does do own promotion anyway even if inadvertantly). T suggested that prominent author's comments were designed to give people permission not to promote if they felt it was beyond them. Hmmm. For myself, my fear of obscurity outweighs my fear of public speaking. And if one does get asked to speak I would bet any one they could not/would not say no. Public engagements scare me. Deep down I'm shy (stop laughing - all of you!). But I want to have my stories published. I want my books to sell. I want publishers and booksellers to see my books sell so that they publish and stock me again in the future. I want a career. And there are other benefits to promotion as well. So I promote. I agree that you should not do it against your will, that you should be a willing participant, even if you are rigid with fear. But I also think you should give it a go before you decide against it.
Shakespeare is probably revolving at a rate of knots in his grave right now - sorry Bill, I'm sure I'm not the first. So the school holidays have arrived and before I get pushed off the computer by the kids I wanted to try and scrape the rest of what I remember from the conference off the floor of my brain before it's gone in holiday programmes, taxi duties and a collection of sorry excuses for movies.
A number of folk at the conference - presenters, publishers and booksellers included were keen on authors/illustrators promoting their books to the public. Especially for publishers and booksellers the bottom line is income - if they don't sell product they don't survive. For authors and illustrators the equation is a lot more murky with a complex bottom line that often includes a fear of public speaking. One prominent author said promotion and marketing are not the job of the writer/illustrator but belong with the publisher. I whined to my writer friend about this on the plane ride home - sorry T. - prominent author could easily say this as they already has excellent reputation to help sell their works (and now that i think about it prominent author already has occasional tv presence too so does do own promotion anyway even if inadvertantly). T suggested that prominent author's comments were designed to give people permission not to promote if they felt it was beyond them. Hmmm. For myself, my fear of obscurity outweighs my fear of public speaking. And if one does get asked to speak I would bet any one they could not/would not say no. Public engagements scare me. Deep down I'm shy (stop laughing - all of you!). But I want to have my stories published. I want my books to sell. I want publishers and booksellers to see my books sell so that they publish and stock me again in the future. I want a career. And there are other benefits to promotion as well. So I promote. I agree that you should not do it against your will, that you should be a willing participant, even if you are rigid with fear. But I also think you should give it a go before you decide against it.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Rain, rain, go away.....
Its all very blah at the moment. The rain just keeps on coming and i'm sick of having cold feet because a) my socks are wet cos of the rain or b) because its so cold. I saw the movie Dark Knight on the weekend with my SO and my kids and i loved it. This is one smart, complete, well thought out, well acted masterpiece. AND i saw it in imax which is amazing when you think if you lean forward in your theatre seat you will see down the side of the building on the screen. My first thought when the movie finished (besides what a nice complexion that boy Christian Bale has) was i wish all movies and tv programmes were written this well. Still i'd be glued to the screen 24/7 if that were true so maybe its really a blessing that so much tv and so many movies are crap. But it was tres' satisfying and I have already vowed to see it again. Yes Heath Ledger (or is that Legend) acted his pants off but everyone else was right there with him doing a damn fine job. I guess i should shut up about it now because raising people's expectations can be a dangerous thing. So just go see the movie okay?
Anyways I was talking about the blahness of all things (except the Dark Knight) and especially for me at the moment that includes my WIP. I had some feedback from a critique group last weekend and a friend during the week and I'm thinking its too hard to do a good job and I should just stop now before I invest too much time and bits of myself into the story which will then get shoved into a dark file folder for the rest of all time. I'm having a short break from it but its troubling me. I have also had no news from people about submissions which is perpetually tiresome.
I am a shy person. That is why i have a blog to hide behind. In particular, book promotion is hard work for me. I would prefer not to do it but I do want my books to succeed and while I cannot be sure that any appearances I make sell more books in the long term, the chance that the two are related keeps me at it. And I remember how much I adored books as a child and what a thrill it would have been to meet an author. If I had, maybe I would have been braver and started my writing career sooner. It would be nice to make that kind of difference to a child. I keep hoping I discover a format that is easy and fun that I can adapt and apply to every situation. Maybe thats just the thing to divert me from my unhappy WIP and my lack of any other distractions.
Anyways I was talking about the blahness of all things (except the Dark Knight) and especially for me at the moment that includes my WIP. I had some feedback from a critique group last weekend and a friend during the week and I'm thinking its too hard to do a good job and I should just stop now before I invest too much time and bits of myself into the story which will then get shoved into a dark file folder for the rest of all time. I'm having a short break from it but its troubling me. I have also had no news from people about submissions which is perpetually tiresome.
I am a shy person. That is why i have a blog to hide behind. In particular, book promotion is hard work for me. I would prefer not to do it but I do want my books to succeed and while I cannot be sure that any appearances I make sell more books in the long term, the chance that the two are related keeps me at it. And I remember how much I adored books as a child and what a thrill it would have been to meet an author. If I had, maybe I would have been braver and started my writing career sooner. It would be nice to make that kind of difference to a child. I keep hoping I discover a format that is easy and fun that I can adapt and apply to every situation. Maybe thats just the thing to divert me from my unhappy WIP and my lack of any other distractions.
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