Book promotion & advertising
Back when I was a brand-new, under contract, and about to be published author. . .I had visions of bookstores with promotional posters of my book covers, plenty of local press coverage, splashy ads in glossy industry magazines, etc. If you're working on your own books, I'm sure you entertain yourself with the same visions.
Okay, prepare for a wee bit of cold, hard reality. Unless you're a celebrity author or have been anointed as the next JK Rowling, the vast majority of your advertising and promotion is up to you. Your publisher will send out Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) of your book to reviewers, industry pubs, bookbuyers, etc. to drum up reviews and orders. (BTW -- ARCs are the typeset and bound copies of your book before the final corrections are made. They're generally larger than the actual paperback version of your book, because the pages aren't trimmed down to size yet. The covers are generally white and have the text your cover will have, but without the art.)
I've always imagined framed posters of my book covers in my office (and you probably imagine the same). Well, you'll have to have them made yourself. I was fortunate to have a friend who is a professional photographer. Jimmy told me what kind of file he needed of my covers (I believe it was a really high-res TIFF). I asked my editor for that, who relayed my request to the art department. Jimmy did his magic, and sent the file to a vendor he uses to output large prints, et volia -- I have framed posters of my covers on my walls. Point is, chances are you're gonna have to do this (and pay for it) for yourself.
Local press coverage. After working for about 20 years to attain my dream of publication, I thought I'd have local press all over me. Wrong. For the past two years, my publicist at Ace Books has done a splendid job of getting the word out to all of my local newspapers and magazines. We've had a few nibbles, but no takers. My area is literally swarming with authors, quite a few of them famous. The news that there's another author in town has apparently been met with yawns. We'll keep trying , but quite frankly, local press might get you a few more book sales, but mainly its an ego/affirmation thing. To see yourself and your book in your local media gives you that little thrill that you've "arrived." If you can get local press coverage in your area, bravo! : )
Advertising. Ads in industry publications are expensive, and guess what? The cost comes out of your pocket. My publisher's art department will design my ads for me for free, and I took them up on it once. But since I work in an advertising agency, I just asked our senior designer (also a fantasy/sci-fi fan) to do mine. After doing a little research, I determined that advertising in Realms of Fantasy magazine would give me my biggest bang for the buck. If you're going to run ads, do your research, identify your target market, and determine which publication will reach the most of that market. I generally go with the issue before my books come out and the issue after. It works for me.
The Internet. It's just about the best way to get the word out about your books, and it's free. (except for your Internet provider bill every month, which by the way is tax deductible).
I love the Internet! I can't imagine trying to reach out to my fans without it. The Internet lets you talk to anyone, virtually anywhere. What did authors do before websites, blogs, forums, review sites, chats, etc.? I get to talk to fans from all over the world, which is just too cool! Word of mouth from fans online is hands down the best way to spread the word. So if you loved MLTF and A&M, tell your friends, your family, your everybody!
Conferences and conventions. They can be pricey to attend (registration, travel, hotel, etc. -- all tax deductible), but the networking with industry people (fellow authors, editors, agents, reviewers, etc.) is priceless. I'll be at the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Orlando April 22-29. My mentor/author fairy godsister Linnea Sinclair (I don't know what I'd have done without her) has again graciously asked me to be on her SciFi/Fantasy panel. Thank you, Linnea! So if any of you are planning to be there, please look me up; I'd love to meet you!
Coming up tomorrow: I have the information on the panel session I'll be doing at the Romantic Times Convention at the Wyndham Orlando Resort in (of course) Orlando, FL. The title of our session is "Starships and Sorcery." Tomorrow I'll give you details and tell you which authors will be on the panel.
Upcoming topics through next week: Writing discipline, writer's block, 1st person vs 3rd person, writing & critique groups, music I listen to while writing, and how I plot a book.
Lisa
Okay, prepare for a wee bit of cold, hard reality. Unless you're a celebrity author or have been anointed as the next JK Rowling, the vast majority of your advertising and promotion is up to you. Your publisher will send out Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) of your book to reviewers, industry pubs, bookbuyers, etc. to drum up reviews and orders. (BTW -- ARCs are the typeset and bound copies of your book before the final corrections are made. They're generally larger than the actual paperback version of your book, because the pages aren't trimmed down to size yet. The covers are generally white and have the text your cover will have, but without the art.)
I've always imagined framed posters of my book covers in my office (and you probably imagine the same). Well, you'll have to have them made yourself. I was fortunate to have a friend who is a professional photographer. Jimmy told me what kind of file he needed of my covers (I believe it was a really high-res TIFF). I asked my editor for that, who relayed my request to the art department. Jimmy did his magic, and sent the file to a vendor he uses to output large prints, et volia -- I have framed posters of my covers on my walls. Point is, chances are you're gonna have to do this (and pay for it) for yourself.
Local press coverage. After working for about 20 years to attain my dream of publication, I thought I'd have local press all over me. Wrong. For the past two years, my publicist at Ace Books has done a splendid job of getting the word out to all of my local newspapers and magazines. We've had a few nibbles, but no takers. My area is literally swarming with authors, quite a few of them famous. The news that there's another author in town has apparently been met with yawns. We'll keep trying , but quite frankly, local press might get you a few more book sales, but mainly its an ego/affirmation thing. To see yourself and your book in your local media gives you that little thrill that you've "arrived." If you can get local press coverage in your area, bravo! : )
Advertising. Ads in industry publications are expensive, and guess what? The cost comes out of your pocket. My publisher's art department will design my ads for me for free, and I took them up on it once. But since I work in an advertising agency, I just asked our senior designer (also a fantasy/sci-fi fan) to do mine. After doing a little research, I determined that advertising in Realms of Fantasy magazine would give me my biggest bang for the buck. If you're going to run ads, do your research, identify your target market, and determine which publication will reach the most of that market. I generally go with the issue before my books come out and the issue after. It works for me.
The Internet. It's just about the best way to get the word out about your books, and it's free. (except for your Internet provider bill every month, which by the way is tax deductible).
I love the Internet! I can't imagine trying to reach out to my fans without it. The Internet lets you talk to anyone, virtually anywhere. What did authors do before websites, blogs, forums, review sites, chats, etc.? I get to talk to fans from all over the world, which is just too cool! Word of mouth from fans online is hands down the best way to spread the word. So if you loved MLTF and A&M, tell your friends, your family, your everybody!
Conferences and conventions. They can be pricey to attend (registration, travel, hotel, etc. -- all tax deductible), but the networking with industry people (fellow authors, editors, agents, reviewers, etc.) is priceless. I'll be at the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Orlando April 22-29. My mentor/author fairy godsister Linnea Sinclair (I don't know what I'd have done without her) has again graciously asked me to be on her SciFi/Fantasy panel. Thank you, Linnea! So if any of you are planning to be there, please look me up; I'd love to meet you!
Coming up tomorrow: I have the information on the panel session I'll be doing at the Romantic Times Convention at the Wyndham Orlando Resort in (of course) Orlando, FL. The title of our session is "Starships and Sorcery." Tomorrow I'll give you details and tell you which authors will be on the panel.
Upcoming topics through next week: Writing discipline, writer's block, 1st person vs 3rd person, writing & critique groups, music I listen to while writing, and how I plot a book.
Lisa
posted by Lisa Shearin at
8:05 AM
4 Comments:
Two things about local press. One, it helps if you live in an area where there aren't lots of authors, like Kansas. That way getting a book published is news! :)
Second, on the downside, newspapers are cutting back their coverage of books. The big local daily here, the Wichita Eagle, won't review books by Kansas authors unless they come from a big NY publisher, or the University Press of Kansas (which, BTW, isn't a local press; it's in Lawrence, two hours away!). Papers in smaller towns are still more author-friendly, but they can get distracted by odd local news.
I'm wondering about sending review copies to local college newspapers for my next novel (due soon). Have you tried that?
Hi Robert,
Yeah, it would help if I didn't live in a metro area (Raleigh-Durham). ; ) Yes, newspapers are cutting WAY back on book reviews, but fortunately online sites are picking up the slack. Publishers are courting online reviewers and blog review sites in a big way. They send them ARCs just the same as if they were a print reviewer. And sci-fi/fantasy fans are more likely to get their news/reviews online rather than in a newspaper. So the Internet works great for me.
I haven't even read your books yet (the pile is decreasing of books to read...) but I'm spreading the word!
Thank you for spreading the word! : )
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