For book/ebook authors, publishers, & self-publishers
What's Your Biggest Challenge with Your Book?
I'd be interested to learn what authors/publishers on this network think their biggest challenges are with their book. I wonder if there's any common, pervasive challenge we all face.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Graham Hunt on
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I'm a writer. I write. That's what writers do.(funnily enough) Now, having finished my book I find I'm also required to be a promoter (that's if I ever want people to read the jolly thing, which from my perspective is part of the purpose of the exercise.) I like living in my own head. Isolation doesn't bother me. However, now I find I've actually got to go out and relate to people....gimme strength. That is the biggest challenge. Of course I could always leave my writing to be discovered and promoted by someone else after I'm gone. I have considered that.....leaving them I mean, not going....at least not just yet. I'm too busy writing to even think about dying.
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Permalink Reply by Bill Frank on
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Graham, we don't want you to die just yet, either. And we certainly don't want you to think that marketing your book will be the death of you. It is, however, one of the more difficult tasks for a writer, such as yourself.
A thought that should bouy your confidence in selling and promoting your book is this. Nobody is more of an expert on your subject than you are. Nobody, not even a publisher, understands your topic and can discuss it better than you. That is true whether your book is non-fiction or fiction.
Start small. The easiest way to identify who may want to read your book is to project your characteristics onto the reader. Figure that the reader of your book will be much like you. Think about how and where you learn about books you want to read in your genre. Is it in magazines? If so, which ones? You'll want to have your book mentioned in those magazines. Is it online? If so, which web sites? Start courting the owners of those web sites to have them discuss or review your book.
I've found that one of the easiest ways to promote a book for shy writers is to do a "virtual book tour." A virtual book tour is where you, as the author, visit several web sites as a guest and discuss your topic and answer questions. It's all done from in front of your computer without leaving home.
You can arrange and conduct your own virtual book tour. Google "virtual book tour" to find resources for how to do it. If you don't want to do the research, scheduling and schmoozing yourself, you can hire a company to create the virtual book tour for you. One of the best at arranging virtual book tours is Penny Sansevieri at A Marketing Expert (www.amarketingexpert.com). Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired Magazine, has recently started his own virtual book tour company. He got the idea at the 2006 Book Summit which I moderate. With Chris' contacts in the media, you may want to investigate his service, too.
In the end, it's important to remember that you're the expert on your subject. If you want people to know about your subject, there's nobody better to tell them than you. Live by the addage, "if it's to be, it's up to me." Good luck and good selling.
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Permalink Reply by Elisa Mayo on
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My biggest challenge is knowing what to do next. Each day I ask God, "okay, what today?" And though He always leads me on what to do, I can't help but feel uncertain about all the irons in the fire... websites, blogs, groups, joined organizations, etc, etc, etc! It's the impatience in me that begins to well up and make me feel afraid! And yet, I know that He has not given me a spirit of fear, but has given me a spirit of power, love, and sound mind. I think having people like you guys to blog with will help to alleviate those feelings, or atleast share them! To God Be The Glory --- www.elisamayo.com
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Feeling overwhelmed is common for authors and publishers. The Byzantine distribution channels, old school rituals that made publishing a closed society are crumbling under pressure from the new forms of digital marketing and distribution.
Take a deep breath. It only takes five marketing actions a day to generate noticable results. Five things, every day, without fail totals 1,825 marketing actions a year (working 365 days. And what author doesn't work 365 days per year?).
If you take it one day at a time, you'll find it far less intimidating and confusing.
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Permalink Reply by Lawrence Santoro on
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My biggest challenge? To get my book into stores. Once in stores, to get it into the hands of readers. With a small press publisher (Annihilation Press in Illinois) who has no contractual arrangement with any distributors, it's almost impossible for the major stores to take the book. "Just North of Nowhere," is an attractive, well written book that I can usually sell at readings. The problem remains: How to get reading in stores where people actually shop?
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Lawrence, you're learning first-hand that it's your responsibility to market your book, not your publisher's. Publishers provide editing, layout & design, printing and distribution for your book. Marketing and promotion, however, are your responsibilities.
One shortcoming Annihilation Press has is not fulfilling one of its primary responsibilities: distribution. No contracts with distributors severely limits the marketing you can do to bookstores. Does Annihilation Press have a contractual relationship with any book wholesalers (Ingram, Baker & Taylor)? If so, your book is available to bookstores if they order it from the wholesaler. Wholesalers will not actively market your book to bookstores as a distributor would, however. You have more marketing possibilities to bookstores if you book is available for ordering. If not, you may have to discuss with Annihilation Press alternative distribution channels they have access to and market to those channels.
What genre is your book? Different genres suggest alternative distribution channels for your book.
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The value of blurbs cannot be overstated. Studies have shown that book buyers exhibit a consistent, predictable pattern when deciding to buy. The first look at the book's cover for 5-7 seconds, then the back cover for 12-17 seconds. While looking at the back, they are looking at the blurbs. What they are looking for is a blurb from someone they've heard of (or in some cases, someone they know) or someone who is an expert in the field about which the book is written.
Blurbs take two forms: endorsements and recommendations. Endorsements come from knowledgeable, respected people who are somehow related to your book. This is most obvious for non-fiction books. Say you have a book on business finance. An endorsement from Alan Greenspan, former Fed Chairman, would be a powerful endorsement for your book because he is well known and an expert in finance.
Obtaining endorsements requires two steps. First, identify the key people within your field or experts on the subject matter on which you write. Generate a list. The list should be pretty long because getting endorsements is a numbers game. The more names you have, the higher the chance you'll get an endorsement from someone important. Second, send review copies of your book to everyone on your list. Review copies are the least expensive form of advertising you can engage in for your book.
I have one author who has written a fiction book on the 1986 War with Libya. When we were generating a list of possible endorsement candidates, I urged him to think big. We generated a large list that included General Colin Powell, commander during Gulf War 1 and James Webb, former Secretary of the Navy during the Libyan War and now a Senator from VA.
Recommendations are another type of blurb you can have on your book. Recommendations come from noteworthy media that have read your book and liked it. To obtain recommendations is a two-step process. First, make a list of the media you'd like to review your book. Media can be newspapers, magazines, television, radio, blogs, social networks or user groups. Media is divided into National, Local (or Regional) and Trade. Second, send out review copies to as many different media as you can afford.
Most people think of the National media when they think of reviews. Everyone thinks they will be on Oprah or Tyra, or in USA Today. National media is very difficult to get to review your book, however, because they are barraged with requests from around the world. Local media is more approachable. It can still be hard to get a review in a local newspaper, however. This is particularly true if your local newspaper is the LA Times of Chicago Tribune. The most approachable media, and the media most likely to give you a review, is the trade media. This works best for a non-fiction book. If the book is on business finance, send review copies to Finance magazines and business magazines in hopes they will review it.
In all cases when you send out a review copy, do not expect to get the book back - even if you send a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope.
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Permalink Reply by SusieSunshine on
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When you send review copies and recommendation copies are they of the completed book with the cover or are they galleys? And are you lumping review copies and recommendation copies into one catagory: review copies?
Thanks for the clarification!
Susie
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Hi, Susie. Most reviewers and publications today accept finished books as review copies. There are a seven reviewer publications (Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal and five others) that prefer galleys (bound, unedited books with a white cover) to finished books. This is a vestige of the old book production methods when it would be months between the galley and the finished book. Modern production methods have shortened the time it takes to produce finished books, however, and most reviewers and publications have kept pace with the changes.
I use the term "review copies" to mean both books that one sends to get reviewed in publications and books for which one is seeking recommendations (say from celebrities, industry leaders or influencial members of the community).
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Sorry, Frank, for not responding sooner. I haven't been to the group in a bit and haven't had the time to respond to things.
I do appreciate you clarifying the topic for me. I have copied, pasted, and printed it out to put in my binder.
Thank you for your time!
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Permalink Reply by Art Farkas on
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I'm about to commission some bumper stickers that read "Bill Frank is da BOMB!" because your info on this thread is amazing. Bill, my humor book, LETTERS TO EBAY, is set to be released on Aug 30 in the US and Aug 16 in the UK and right now is publicity crunch time. I have a huge publisher (Warner Books/Grand Central Publishing) and have been assigned a wonderful publicist. Finished books were sent out Tuesday along with a press release to over 600 morning zoo radio shows and over 400 college radio shows and newspapers. As a first time author I don't have a huge platform but feel I'm doing all I can to publicize my book including giving her (publicist) lists of media outlets that would be interested in my book, creating a web site and myspace page, creating a book trailer (I posted on this site too, as well as youtube), contacting independent book stores, and visiting blogs and other web site. Would you have any more advice for a chap like me? I'm willing to do anything and very much am a people person so I'm embracing this book thing like there's no tomorrow. Thanks.
-Paul Meadors
(writing as Art Farkas)
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Hi, Paul. Congratulations on the forthcoming release of your book, "Letters to EBay." You are fortunate to have Warner Books/Central Publishing to launch your book for you. What a benefit to have a publicist to help. Over 1,000 review copies sent to various radio stations and newspapers is terrific. What a benefit to have the resources of a large publisher!
You're off to a good start at building your platform. A web page is mandatory - you've covered that. Social netowrking pages (such as MySpace, BookMarketing, etc.) are also a valuable part of any book strategy today. The trailer you've posted is also a good vehicle.
The only thing to keep in mind about your book marketing efforts is this. Marketing a book takes time. Some say three years, minimum, to have a book catch on. It took Deepak Chopra ten years to become an overnight success. His career skyrocked when he was on Oprah (that's why so many people want to be on Oprah). What many people don't know is that he was selling his book for years before Oprah "discovered" him. He was a cult phenonom within his field, first.
Remember, everything you're doing now is intended to start a conversation about your book. Conversations evaporate, however. It's all about keeping the word about your book in front of potential readers as much as possible.
What's your publisher's strategy for the book after the first 90 days? What's your strategy for the book after the first 90 days? (Why 90 days? Most bookstores buy books on consignment and may return them to the publisher for a full refund if the books don't sell. In this hypercompetitive marketplace, a book has about 90 days to sell in a bookstore chain, such as Barnes & Noble, Borders or Books-a-Million, before it is returned to the publisher).
There are two specific strategies I see missing in your description above. First, work with your publicist to conduct "virtual book tour" to blogs and websites that specialize in EBay. Send review copies to these communities with the idea of accomplishing two things. One, have the blogger or webmaster review your book to the community. Two, book you as a guest on the site. Most bloggers and webmasters are anxious to have guests that are relevant to their constitutents.
Second, conduct an exhaustive Amazon marketing campaign. There are about 15-17 different marketing programs that one can conduct ranging from Search Inside (contreversial to some publishers including Warner Books, potentially) to Buy X Get Y to ClickRiver. Brent Sampson's book, "Sell Your Book on Amazon," describes each in detail.
With the resources you have available to you with Warner Books and what you are currently doing to promote the book, you're off to a good start. It's a marathon, not a sprint, however. Be prepared to sustain and persevere for months to come and you'll have the best shot at succeeding.
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