Conversation with a Publicist
Tonight I'm feeling a lot better about this whole publicist business.
After a missed step or two, I spent some time on the phone with my agent and one of his media specialists this afternoon. We talked for about 45 minutes, discussing what it is about my novels that sets them apart from, say, something like Clancy's works, or a Vince Flynn novel. By the time I ended the call, we'd hashed out an appropriate direction, as well as a few descriptions of yours truly that I'm comfortable with.
If you're an author, or a writer aspiring to be one, you might gain something from what I've learned recently, and I offer up these lessons very humbly. After 'Red Sky at Morning' was published, I followed every axiom of the trade to promote the series. Social media, Facebook, Goodreads, blogging, setting up my own website (with special thanks to my oldest son, and webmaster, Adam), giveaways, Amazon.com, and a few others that I'm forgetting right now. Ultimately, there's only so much you can do on your own, and unless you've got just the right contacts, the struggle can seem uphill most of the time. If only getting great reviews translated into sales... but they don't. I've had many, many kind words said about my books, and from a lot of people I've never met, which is very encouraging. I hope that continues. But unless the word gets passed along, Michael Neill's world will be largely unknown by the reading public.
And that's where a publicist comes in. An agent has the contacts, and can line up interviews that I could never arrange on my own. This same specialist got my publisher (also an author) on one of America's biggest late night radio shows; which, in turn, got some very good results in terms of sales.
By the end of this afternoon's call, my agent/publicist had me pegged as a 'military advocate' and also a 'military researcher'. I have a background in the Marines and the Air Force, and by virtue of serving in the present, my insights into the armed forces are fresh. We also decided to promote the books by presenting me as a military novelist with ties to Christian fiction. Those are the distinctives that set me apart from some of the big names out there who write espionage.
Michael Neill's world is filled with The Hammer; but The Hope is also there. Wish me luck as I balance the two and try to give readers their money's worth!
Steve
After a missed step or two, I spent some time on the phone with my agent and one of his media specialists this afternoon. We talked for about 45 minutes, discussing what it is about my novels that sets them apart from, say, something like Clancy's works, or a Vince Flynn novel. By the time I ended the call, we'd hashed out an appropriate direction, as well as a few descriptions of yours truly that I'm comfortable with.
If you're an author, or a writer aspiring to be one, you might gain something from what I've learned recently, and I offer up these lessons very humbly. After 'Red Sky at Morning' was published, I followed every axiom of the trade to promote the series. Social media, Facebook, Goodreads, blogging, setting up my own website (with special thanks to my oldest son, and webmaster, Adam), giveaways, Amazon.com, and a few others that I'm forgetting right now. Ultimately, there's only so much you can do on your own, and unless you've got just the right contacts, the struggle can seem uphill most of the time. If only getting great reviews translated into sales... but they don't. I've had many, many kind words said about my books, and from a lot of people I've never met, which is very encouraging. I hope that continues. But unless the word gets passed along, Michael Neill's world will be largely unknown by the reading public.
And that's where a publicist comes in. An agent has the contacts, and can line up interviews that I could never arrange on my own. This same specialist got my publisher (also an author) on one of America's biggest late night radio shows; which, in turn, got some very good results in terms of sales.
By the end of this afternoon's call, my agent/publicist had me pegged as a 'military advocate' and also a 'military researcher'. I have a background in the Marines and the Air Force, and by virtue of serving in the present, my insights into the armed forces are fresh. We also decided to promote the books by presenting me as a military novelist with ties to Christian fiction. Those are the distinctives that set me apart from some of the big names out there who write espionage.
Michael Neill's world is filled with The Hammer; but The Hope is also there. Wish me luck as I balance the two and try to give readers their money's worth!
Steve
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