Publish and Perish

[Frank]

“Writing a book is like sliding down a rainbow! Marketing it is like trudging
through a field of chewed bubblegum on a hot, sticky day.”

--Betty
Dravis


Author and good friend Betty Dravis could not have been more accurate with this
statement. I can still recall the elation I felt after my first novel (ECHOES
FROM THE INFANTRY) was released by St. Martin’s Press in 2005. The sense of
unbridled accomplishment buoyed me for days -- even weeks -- like nothing else
has ever done. And I remained in this suspended state of euphoria for a while -
until I realized that my publisher had only done what every publisher does for
most authors in the way of publicity and marketing -- the bare minimum.

Consequently, my naivete, idealism and and erroneous philosophy of “now I can
just sit back and wait for readers to purchase, read and comment” was rendered
painfully laughable. Then my euphoria abated, replaced by nausea,
disillusionment and pure unadulterated panic. Although my novel received some
very favorable professional reviews, nobody really knew it existed and thus, my
sales numbers suffered. This, in turn, led to a most difficult time getting a
serious look by publishers the second time around.

I was fortunate enough to procure a contract for my second novel, THE LEGEND OF
MICKEY TUSSLER, and was now armed with the knowledge that I would need to be my
own publicist in order to attain some level of success. I didn’t mind - I am no
stranger to some good old fashioned hard work. What I discovered, and what
remains true today as I am trying desperately to bask in the glow of the release
of my third novel, SOPHOMORE CAMPAIGN, is that hard work is often not enough.
This sobering reality comes at the hands of hundreds of unreturned phone calls,
emails, and mass mailings. Hey - is anybody out there listening? There is
nothing more debilitating than being ignored and in some instances just simply
rejected when all you are asking for is a fair chance at having your work
presented to the public for their reading pleasure and ultimately their
approval/disapproval.

This process is so loathsome, so time exhaustive that it almost takes all the
joy out of the accomplishment. Writers should write, correct? If I wanted to be
a publicist I would have majored in marketing at some fancy business school and
devoted my life to this elusive art.

So while I want nothing more than to continue work on my next novel, the third
installment of my Mickey Tussler series, I have no time to do so -- I am too
tied up in trying to wean my newest endeavor off life support.

Anyone else have a similar experience???

[Thayer]

I do, but in the independent corner of this whole publishing spectrum. I often face the proverbial brick wall, as it were, with promotional efforts, despite decent (and unsolicited) reviews, both in the U.S. and UK. I've come now to the place where just write is the mantra, because the marketing factor is draining both my inspiration and my energy.

Best Wishes with your writing,
~Thayer

[Frank]

Thayer wrote: "I do, but in the independent corner of this whole publishing spectrum. I often face the proverbial brick wall, as it were, with promotional efforts, despite decent (and unsolicited) reviews, both ..."

Thank you Thayer. One would hope the writing would sell itself. It should be good enough to just be a good writer, but I guess that is too easy. Good luck to you as well.

[Frank]

D. wrote: "Wow, that sounds like a really aggravating experience. I admire your perseverance."

Thank you D. I keep at it because I love writing and really just want to be read! Thanks again.

[Chris]

It's overwhelming, and nearly impossible to decide what, if anything, works for promotion. I've had the best luck getting publications to follow up on my press releases when there is a distinct local angle, but even when I get newspaper coverage, does that translate into sales?

I think I've talked on this list before about my decision to pull back on publicity in favor of writing, so I won't go into it again. I also covered in this blog post: http://chriseboch.blogspot.com/2012/0...

But it's harder if you have a traditional publisher, because they often won't support your book for more than six months, and if it doesn't do well enough you'll find it harder to get another contract.

I'm lucky that my first novel (The Well of Sacrifice, a middle grade historical drama published by Clarion in 1999) is still in print and earning great royalties. But I didn't do anything to promote it when it came out! It was a different era, I got lucky, it filled a niche. Even now, it's on my website and I occasionally mention it in my blog or on guest blog posts, but most of the sales are from word of mouth.

How do you get that? Patience, I guess, and doing a little bit each day without letting it take over your life. And then getting lucky.

[A.F.]

There are a few tricks to reducing the wear and tear. I've interlinked my social networks through Twitter (an excellent place to find networking contacts as is LinkedIn), so with one tweet I can announce news or do promos and have it go to most of my sites. The key to marketing today is finding how to use all this wonderful technology to your advantage.

[Frank]

True....but I have found, much to my dismay, that this usually leads to dead ends....but alas, we trudge on!