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J.
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Sep 03, 2020 07:28PM
Good evening! I was very disappointed in my first experiment with advertising my book in a magazine. I did my research and I chose a magazine I was familiar with. I was surprised how the arrangement unfolded. I paid a large sum of money, filled out a contract for one month, submitted my artwork for their artists to create the ad and verbiage and answered all questions within the magazine deadlines. When it came time to proof the advertisement they never sent it to me. Late, the night before release of the magazine they emailed saying they had forgotten to send it to me and they attached it for my review and hoped it was ok because it was too late to change anything. I looked at the attachment and the advertisement contained grammatical errors. They were so nice through the whole process up to that point that I did not have the heart to tell them about the problem, the publication is going to look just as bad having the error on their page. I am seriously discouraged about the whole matter. I am hoping all of you wonderful writers have some advice for me regarding advertising in print magazines, This has been such a sour experience, I am ready to just start saving to hand over a crazy fortune to an advertising company to do this for me but I am concerned I will run into the same problem with them. With the amount of money and time I invest in editing my own work, I went into this with the assumption that established magazines do the same thing. Thanks so much for your time and for this forum! ~ Jennifer
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Dear Jennifer,Welcome to the world of the indie writer. There are a million ways that people and organizations such as that magazine have to separate you from your hard-earned money. I'm sorry this first "experiment" was so disappointing (and costly!).
But you are not without recourse. I faced a similar problem ten years ago with the publication of my first novel. Then, I hired a PR firm for a month through my indie publisher. They produced nothing, and believe me, it cost me Big Coin! At the end of the contract, I wrote the publisher an e-mail, asserting fraud, and threatening to sue. Within a day (!), we came to terms; the result: my next three books were edited and published by them for free.
In your case, I would (1) maintain all records, emails, notes taken on the telephone, and the like; (2) write them a polite but firm email, citing the contract, noting you were extremely disappointed but that the terms of the contract were NOT met, and (3) you ask that the advertisement be corrected to meet your requirements and run at no expense to you in the next issue.
If they do not agree to these terms, then I would file a complaint for fraud with the attorneys general in the state in which that publisher does business (just use the state posted for their Contact US street address; forms for filing a complain with the AG can be found on the Web). Allege consumer fraud and ask that your monies be returned. The attorneys general usually will require them to respond to the state within 15 days. I have had to do this on several occasions for a variety of reasons, and it has never failed to resolve the situation in my favor quickly.
The above withstanding, know there a some good books available to help the indie author market (i.e., create a demand) and sell their books. I'll let the authors of these books, who frequent this site, tout their wares.
Good luck. Don't be put off by this one failed experience. The rewards that come from writing and seeing your books in print are unlike anything else you've experienced. I know you feel that way. Keep honing your skills and finding your audience. You already can be proud of what you have accomplished.
Ted
J. wrote: "Good evening! I was very disappointed in my first experiment with advertising my book in a magazine. I did my research and I chose a magazine I was familiar with. I was surprised how the arrangemen..."Thank you so much Ted! I have printed out your words for my wall, they did me a world of good today. I feel better about how I need to handle this situation and I am so sorry you have experienced the same. I hope you have a wonderful afternoon and happy writing!
Mod
If you do pay for something- you have to advocate for yourself and get value. Speak to a manager over there and let them know of your disappointment.
If you hit a brick wall, move one and know you have to check anything that is published on your behalf. We all have horror stories and the best part is they don't last long.
You would do everyone here a favor, Jennifer, by letting us know which organization/magazine failed to fulfill its contract with you. Buyer beware!!!
And if and when they make amends, let us know as well. This would be important information to share.
Carole wrote: "Ted is right. The most important advice is 'honing your skills and finding your audience." Scroll through the discussion threads here. It's a forum where indies come to share what works and what is..."Thanks so much Carole, I didn't realize how much I needed goodreads until this happened. This has been a good reminder of what I need to do and, as a default introvert, a reminder of how important it is to do it else it will clutter my head for a long time:)
Theodore wrote: "You would do everyone here a favor, Jennifer, by letting us know which organization/magazine failed to fulfill its contract with you. Buyer beware!!!
And if and when they make amends, let us kno..."
Good morning! I was hoping no one would ask me this, yikes! I try not to mention any company name on the rare occasion I have an issue with something but this is the first time the behavior was so unlike my expectations. I do not want other writers experiencing this, I will post how and if this issue gets resolved, by then I should have the courage to post the company details:)
Mod
Do a giveaway on Amazon and if your book is with KDP try a two-day promotion giving it away so you can get reviews.
I regularly do blog tours. Many are affordable- like
Silver Dagger maia@silverdaggertours.com will run a blog tour and charge what the author can afford. Check out blog tours in your genre and invest in those rather than a magazine ad.
While magazine ads are great- you have to advertise int he same place for at least three to four times before people will invest. This is why a blog tour is valuable. The week your book is featured on blogs all over the internet in your genre- people will get familiar with your title. Some blog tours will net reviews like I love
books blog. contact lauren.ireadbooktours@gmail.com.
thewriterslife@gmail.com- Dorothy from Pump up your book will even include a cute video trailer you can use for other promotions.
goddessfish@gmail.com - has a great target audience.
I am running blook tours on books that have been out for over ten.
years and always see a bump in sales. You can write them and see if they can start you out with a smaller more affordable package.
If you don't have the budget for any of them- then create a blog, start posting and then ask fellow authors with blogs to run a post on theirs in exchange for you to feature their book.
I did this all the time, but unfortunately, I had to let my assistant go and I don't know how to do it. I know some kind soul from Goodread will walk me through it, but I am so busy saving my day job business I can't devote the time to it.
However, that hasn't stopped me from posting directly from Amazon daily, and you know what?? My sales have increased. I find something pithy and current to say about the book. post it to my social media and from there post it to other PUBLIC Facebook groups- but read their rules so you don't piss them off.
There is Snapchat, Youtube, Tiktoc, Pinterest, and even Linked In- I use all these platforms for free advertisement- but you have to give value in order not to bore people, so I post things that are in the subject area of the book I am promoting. - Like watch for a holiday- Most of us get busy for Halloween to promote our horror, paranormal and sci fi books. Valentines Day is a good time for romance.
All summer I pushed my school non-fiction series with a homeschool- keep those skills sharp vibe.
Use your imagination and it's okay to get silly. I post video clips of me reading other author's books. I've posted videos of my sons' podcast- I cross-promote where I can to create buzz.
Join Indie Author's Collective on Facebook and start there.
Carole wrote: "Come up with a plan. As I said start looking at the thread and the many things authors do to promote their book. You have to be diligent about it. Create a Facebook Author page and like other FB pa..."Thank you so much! I am experimenting all day today with what I have learned here, I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. The weather is beautiful here today so I am out on the porch with my laptop and a good book:)
Mod
I'm on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram. Looking into expanding on LinkedIn and slightly considering Snapchat but NOT TikTok.I stream live on video every Wednesday for a series I do. The video is live on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube all at the same time. I'm trying to become more active doing it to gain a following.
