An interrupted conversation
Feb. 21st, 2008 05:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
msagaraAs many of you know, I work in a bookstore. I like working in a bookstore.
Some of our customers know I write books (some of them also read them). One of our customers came into the store yesterday, where I had taken one of my hardcovers (mostly to show![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
cszego, who was also working). The customer looked at the book and then asked me what the print run was. He's worked in the printing industry, and I think he was trying to price the cover, although I'm not certain about this. He has also, as came out later in the conversation, worked with ad agencies, or rather as part of them.
I said, "I don't know." Because, actually, I don't know.
This surprised him, and he asked why I didn't know.
I mostly don't know because at this point, it doesn't matter – I can't change it. Actually, at almost any point it doesn't matter, because I can't change it. This doesn't mean I wouldn't listen with interest if someone were to take time out of their overworked and busy schedule to tell me, but it does mean that I won't demand time out of same to find out. I told him that all of the relevant information would come to me on the royalty statement, and that since I could not change anything at this point, I was content to receive it then.
The next question he asked: "How much self-promotion does your publisher expect you to do?"
I said, "None." Because, actually, it's true.
There was another disconnect, another silence, and then "Why?"
"Possibly because they're afraid we'll offend everyone when we're sent out in public. Or possibly because they're afraid we will bother the publicists they do employ."
The next question, then: "How much self-promotion are you planning to do?"
Oddly enough, I said "None." This is not entirely true, but for the purpose of this particular conversation, it was close enough.
And then he asked me both why, and how I expected to actually – well, to be fair, I can't remember his actual wording, but what I took from it was: Sell any books.
He has done promotion in the music business, to some effect, and of course pays attention to promotion done in any other businesses. So he looked at me as if I were a complete moron when I said "the type of promotion that I consider effective, in terms of marketing books, I can't afford." In particular, the display space/endcap space/front shelf multiple-pocket space, that the chains sell to publishers. I am not 100% sure that I could, as an individual, purchase those spaces, but I admit that I've never done any research with that in mind. I think, to his mind, I couldn't afford not to do these things.
So I said, "The publishing industry is not, in general, exactly like the other industries in this regard."
"Why not?"
"Well... what makes you go and pick up a new novel? Because for most of the people I know, it's someone else telling them they really liked the book (or hated it). I realize you probably hear this all the time, but word-of-mouth, which it is very hard to buy, predict, or control, seems to be the biggest factor. And then cover. Where I'd prefer the money be spent, if I had any say in it."
He felt that radio ads would at least be useful (and economical). I could not imagine a radio ad that would work, for me, but I don't listen to all that much radio. But he kept coming back to the same point: Movies. Music. If the big guys are all doing this, there's got to be a pressing reason, and it's something that publishers should also be doing if they own the property (and that, by implication, I should be doing on a shoestring if I do, although to be fair, he did not suggest that I spend millions of dollars doing it).
Of course, he also admitted that a 60 million dollar movie with its 20 million dollar promotional budget made 10 million dollars.
I really like this person, btw. I like his taste in books, which is often quirky, and I generally enjoy talking to him – but I admit that I have never talked about the business of publishing with him until now.
And I was trying to think of a way to say that the promotional budget of most houses is probably not much more, in total, for every book they're publishing in one year, than the budget for a single movie of the type he was citing, with regards to advertising/promotion campaigns. (Yes, I could have just said this, since that's what I normally do, but on rare occasions, I try not to be entirely offensive. No, there is nothing offensive in what I just typed, but when someone says something that shocks me, I tend to be a touch on the more forceful-than-necessary side if I just blurt out the first words that come to mind.)
While I was doing this, because I admit I live in a bubble where most people who will speak about these things have the same general sense of the business, overall, that I do, he said, "How do you think J.K. Rowling or Stephen King or Robert Ludlum got started?"
And while I have no idea how Ludlum got started, I know that Rowling's first book was published in a small run, and with a small advance, by the division of the company that published middle-grade fantasy. I know that King's first novel, Carrie did better than anyone expected in hardcover, and at that time, the hardcover publishers frequently didn't have a mass market division, so the auction for the paperback rights were big. But in either case, the word-of-mouth response built – quickly.
I still don't think we've reached the point in this industry where that's going to go away; I still don't think we can package and promote our way to Rowling or King status. I understand that in our ad-aware society, there's possibly going to be some misconceptions about this. And because I can think of so many titles that were heavily pushed and fell into obscurity, I never think that the big sellers are entirely due to marketing efforts. Terry Brooks owes something to the marketing effort, but it is not clear to me that he would not have reached critical mass without it.
The point is: Books are not interchangeable. If publishers knew in advance which titles could to promoted to greatness, they would be doing that. They're a business. It's not always clear that a book that you loved will hit a broad range of diverse readers in the same way, which is what is needed. Boiling the books down to the plot/genre elements doesn't work; there's some alchemy that gets missed when you dissect a novel, because in general you dissect corpses, not living things.
Do I want my books to sell? Well, yes. Do I want people to love them? Of course I do. But I suppose at this point in my life, with almost 30 years of watching the bookstore shelves, I don't feel as if I'm betraying the book by putting most of my effort (and my endless fretting, which I promise I will try much harder not to burden you all with) into working on the next book.
And that's what I didn't actually get the chance to finish saying to this poor man: In terms of career investment the best thing I can do is to write new books in as timely a fashion as I can manage. If all my books are written on time, and I am not foolish enough to start working on a third world, my feeling might be different.
But I might also spend more time with my husband and children.
Some of our customers know I write books (some of them also read them). One of our customers came into the store yesterday, where I had taken one of my hardcovers (mostly to show
cszego, who was also working). The customer looked at the book and then asked me what the print run was. He's worked in the printing industry, and I think he was trying to price the cover, although I'm not certain about this. He has also, as came out later in the conversation, worked with ad agencies, or rather as part of them.I said, "I don't know." Because, actually, I don't know.
This surprised him, and he asked why I didn't know.
I mostly don't know because at this point, it doesn't matter – I can't change it. Actually, at almost any point it doesn't matter, because I can't change it. This doesn't mean I wouldn't listen with interest if someone were to take time out of their overworked and busy schedule to tell me, but it does mean that I won't demand time out of same to find out. I told him that all of the relevant information would come to me on the royalty statement, and that since I could not change anything at this point, I was content to receive it then.
The next question he asked: "How much self-promotion does your publisher expect you to do?"
I said, "None." Because, actually, it's true.
There was another disconnect, another silence, and then "Why?"
"Possibly because they're afraid we'll offend everyone when we're sent out in public. Or possibly because they're afraid we will bother the publicists they do employ."
The next question, then: "How much self-promotion are you planning to do?"
Oddly enough, I said "None." This is not entirely true, but for the purpose of this particular conversation, it was close enough.
And then he asked me both why, and how I expected to actually – well, to be fair, I can't remember his actual wording, but what I took from it was: Sell any books.
He has done promotion in the music business, to some effect, and of course pays attention to promotion done in any other businesses. So he looked at me as if I were a complete moron when I said "the type of promotion that I consider effective, in terms of marketing books, I can't afford." In particular, the display space/endcap space/front shelf multiple-pocket space, that the chains sell to publishers. I am not 100% sure that I could, as an individual, purchase those spaces, but I admit that I've never done any research with that in mind. I think, to his mind, I couldn't afford not to do these things.
So I said, "The publishing industry is not, in general, exactly like the other industries in this regard."
"Why not?"
"Well... what makes you go and pick up a new novel? Because for most of the people I know, it's someone else telling them they really liked the book (or hated it). I realize you probably hear this all the time, but word-of-mouth, which it is very hard to buy, predict, or control, seems to be the biggest factor. And then cover. Where I'd prefer the money be spent, if I had any say in it."
He felt that radio ads would at least be useful (and economical). I could not imagine a radio ad that would work, for me, but I don't listen to all that much radio. But he kept coming back to the same point: Movies. Music. If the big guys are all doing this, there's got to be a pressing reason, and it's something that publishers should also be doing if they own the property (and that, by implication, I should be doing on a shoestring if I do, although to be fair, he did not suggest that I spend millions of dollars doing it).
Of course, he also admitted that a 60 million dollar movie with its 20 million dollar promotional budget made 10 million dollars.
I really like this person, btw. I like his taste in books, which is often quirky, and I generally enjoy talking to him – but I admit that I have never talked about the business of publishing with him until now.
And I was trying to think of a way to say that the promotional budget of most houses is probably not much more, in total, for every book they're publishing in one year, than the budget for a single movie of the type he was citing, with regards to advertising/promotion campaigns. (Yes, I could have just said this, since that's what I normally do, but on rare occasions, I try not to be entirely offensive. No, there is nothing offensive in what I just typed, but when someone says something that shocks me, I tend to be a touch on the more forceful-than-necessary side if I just blurt out the first words that come to mind.)
While I was doing this, because I admit I live in a bubble where most people who will speak about these things have the same general sense of the business, overall, that I do, he said, "How do you think J.K. Rowling or Stephen King or Robert Ludlum got started?"
And while I have no idea how Ludlum got started, I know that Rowling's first book was published in a small run, and with a small advance, by the division of the company that published middle-grade fantasy. I know that King's first novel, Carrie did better than anyone expected in hardcover, and at that time, the hardcover publishers frequently didn't have a mass market division, so the auction for the paperback rights were big. But in either case, the word-of-mouth response built – quickly.
I still don't think we've reached the point in this industry where that's going to go away; I still don't think we can package and promote our way to Rowling or King status. I understand that in our ad-aware society, there's possibly going to be some misconceptions about this. And because I can think of so many titles that were heavily pushed and fell into obscurity, I never think that the big sellers are entirely due to marketing efforts. Terry Brooks owes something to the marketing effort, but it is not clear to me that he would not have reached critical mass without it.
The point is: Books are not interchangeable. If publishers knew in advance which titles could to promoted to greatness, they would be doing that. They're a business. It's not always clear that a book that you loved will hit a broad range of diverse readers in the same way, which is what is needed. Boiling the books down to the plot/genre elements doesn't work; there's some alchemy that gets missed when you dissect a novel, because in general you dissect corpses, not living things.
Do I want my books to sell? Well, yes. Do I want people to love them? Of course I do. But I suppose at this point in my life, with almost 30 years of watching the bookstore shelves, I don't feel as if I'm betraying the book by putting most of my effort (and my endless fretting, which I promise I will try much harder not to burden you all with) into working on the next book.
And that's what I didn't actually get the chance to finish saying to this poor man: In terms of career investment the best thing I can do is to write new books in as timely a fashion as I can manage. If all my books are written on time, and I am not foolish enough to start working on a third world, my feeling might be different.
But I might also spend more time with my husband and children.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-02-21 11:14 pm (UTC)I've been feeling really behind the curve lately, watching all the kids get freaky about their Pub Date (as if the actual day means a thing--unless they're Harry Potter, books slide out there over a period of weeks, not on a single day), and go on about this promo op and that bookmark and this or that signing and on and on. They're working like mad to promote their books, with the clear assumption that it's required and, more to the point, effective. It's been giving me a complex.
I mean, back in the day, she said, looking around for her wheelchair (must be somewhere between the saddle racks and the manure cart), we were taught that signings and the like make an author feel good and keep the author's family off his case, but the only real, effective promotion is what you've described. Well, that and a good website, regularly updated, and a blog that builds a following.
So it's still true? I'm not insane for opting out of the self-promo game?
I can't tell you how much better that makes me feel.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 12:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 12:27 am (UTC)Can you expand on this one a bit? It's the only one that I have no real experience with in my years on the retail lines, and I'm now of course deeply curious.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 09:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 02:08 am (UTC)At least in terms of direct stuff. Indirectly ... I'm hearing a lot of anecdotal evidence that blogging, if you have an interesting blog presence (and talk about interesting things, and don't only focus on trying to get people to buy your books) can have an effect, though it's tricky to measure.
But sitting behind a table smiling for two hours in order to sell five books really doesn't have that much impact ... unless that table is in a bookstore, and you're cordial and likeable about it, and you use it to help build a relationship with the booksellers there that will make them maybe continue caring about your books after you leave. Which means the occasional bookstore signing can do some good, but carting my books to other places, where I'll be forgotten the moment I take my books home, not so much.
(Actually, Michelle, I'd be curious as to your take on bookstore signings, and what the bookseller feels they do or don't get out of them.)
I did a bunch of stuff when my last book came out, mostly at random, responding to opportunities without evaluating them. This time around I'm trying to think about what's actually effective, and also about what I can do without eating into too much of my writing time, since I'm pretty much "spending" time to do things.
One requirement is: I have to be able to enjoy being there. Otherwise, if I'm not enjoying myself, there's no way I'm going to come across well to anyone, at which point I may as well stay home.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 02:18 am (UTC)I have more to say on this in a bit. Well, actually, I always have more to say, but this is even relevant.
(Actually, Michelle, I'd be curious as to your take on bookstore signings, and what the bookseller feels they do or don't get out of them.)
First novel launches for people who are actually in the same city are always a really nice way of moving a lot of books. As for the rest? Getting a big name author to come to the store and sign books does sell more books, for us. For a newer author, it's more a community thing, because you won't move as many books -- but it's not always about the bottom line when you're part of an on-going community, and obviously we don't expect huge numbers in that case.
But yes, if you're friendly and helpful and it's not stressful to have you in the store, we do remember -- and yes, if we have a choice between two recommendations, there's a tendency to tip towards the person we remember as being nice. But:
One requirement is: I have to be able to enjoy being there. Otherwise, if I'm not enjoying myself, there's no way I'm going to come across well to anyone, at which point I may as well stay home.
Is really, really important. I think the Library conferences are important as well, for YA writers -- I could be wrong about that, but the Librarians are a gateway to the libraries. But I also get the impression that good reviews will have the same impact vis a vis a book in the libraries.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 02:46 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 09:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 02:26 am (UTC)I can't tell you how much better that makes me feel.
The story I tend to tell people who are very, very stressed about self-promotion: My two most successful books to date were published when I had fallen off the edge of the universe and had no energy to do anything except write (and when I say energy, it is grossly overstating the case). No web presence, no LJ presence, no email, nothing.
This may mean that I am of that class of writer who is better off being invisible because I am either too boring or too offensive, although I would like to believe this is not the case.
Had I attempted to put any of that non-existent energy into promoting the existing books at that time I would never have had the third book ready, or the 4th (which, admittedly, is not out yet), and I would have lost any sales momentum the the first 2 had built.
I think, rather than saying self-promotion is pointless, which I'm trying hard not to say, I'd rather emphasize that writing time is the vastly more productive choice if you have to choose between the two.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 02:40 am (UTC)I can live with that.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 02:59 am (UTC)Pretty much - although as usual, it's also timing, because things move so quickly =/. Sometimes it takes people time to find an author; LKH was by no means an overnight success, and look at her now.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-21 11:28 pm (UTC)Without knowing as much as possible *who* is going to read a particular book, buy a specific thing, service, etc. It's impossible to know where and how to advertise effectively.
Unlike nonfiction books, fiction/SF/Fantasy, etc. books can be very hard to categorize and as you pointed out, it's very difficult to figure out what will sell. Publishers do promote new books when they know there's a large (and quantifiable number) of people who will buy a book because of the *author*, but not necessarily because of content (unless it's a really hot topic at a particular time).
My two cents :-)
no subject
Date: 2008-02-21 11:30 pm (UTC)He may well be a nice guy, but he needs to study his marketing textbooks again.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-21 11:33 pm (UTC)He may well be a nice guy, but he needs to study his marketing textbooks again.
In his defense, we never got down to talking about an actual marketing plan, in part, I think, because he was so flabbergasted by my first couple of responses. I don't think he understands publishing as a business; it's not one that he would have helped craft ad campaigns for, and really, if you're not trying to make a living in it, there's not a lot of point in gathering the minutiae unless you're compulsive -- but I think that he assumed that models of a type similar to the ones he knows work would be extant.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-21 11:39 pm (UTC)Again, no offense to the gentleman in question. Just a curious reaction to how some people practice marketing.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-21 11:49 pm (UTC)Ah. I think this is because he assumed I was saying marketing/promotion had no value. Which I wasn't exactly saying, but I can understand exactly how it could be taken that way. So his X will work because Y does it was probably more in support of the concept of X, with Y as proof that X is obviously useful. If that makes sense. Which, I agree, is somewhat muddled.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 12:06 am (UTC)I discovered your book on one of my random "let's see what I can find on the lark" whims. I was looking for something new to read, by an author I hadn't read before. It was a mixture of the cover, the title, the back copy, and reading the first few pages that convinced me to purchase Cast in Shadow. The book also stood out from other books that I was also considering.
But even going back to my experience in Marketing in the DVD Publishing world... we're in a niche market, so we simply don't have the sort of advertising spend that Big Hollywood, be it film or tv has. But in that way we're like Southwest Airlines. We may not have all the frills, but we have a sound business model, we're always quite in the black, and our customers enjoy the ride.
But honestly, you're an author, you shouldn't HAVE to promote your own book. A good publishing house should have someone do that for you, they have contacts and a network you most likely do not. They know the usual places, and they can also see from a business standpoint when it makes sense to go the extra mile or do something a bit more special. They have a grade scale, varying on how they think the book will sell into retail, they reverse engineer a cost of goods which covers the printing of the book and is the base on which other considerations are added to in order to get the SRP.
Honestly, if you look at music, sales have been dramatically dying off, and so it doesn't make sense to spend as much in promoting these days. You have to learn to change and adapt to a different consumer. Throwing money at a problem, doesn't fix it.
I know one of the most difficult things I have to do in my job, is at the very beginning when we have just finalized a new acquisition that I've been assigned. I write a creative brief, which influences & impacts ann future creative (from ads, trailers, packaging, etc.) Followed by coming up with comparative titles--which we always compare to mass, mainstream works--yet even then it doesn't capture the spirit of some of the properties we manage.
---
Now what I'd like to know, is there some way fans can acquire autographed books? Maybe if I sent a book with a SASE it could be mailed back in somewhere?
no subject
Date: 2008-02-26 08:24 pm (UTC)This unfortunately is not the case in the epublishing industry. You're expected to do a LOT of self-promo and you can't rely on the publisher for that. That's the way the business works.
The divide between print and epublishing I think is growing more than shrinking these days, I'm afraid.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-28 08:40 pm (UTC)There are probably a lot of differences between book publishing and epublishing that isn't an offshoot of book publishing, and my post doesn't really address this because I admit I know very, very little about the latter; I would be far less comfortable commenting about epublishing on its own, because of that lack of knowledge; I imagine that building up an audience for ebooks might not be dissimilar from the long work required to build an audience for a blog.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 12:09 am (UTC)I think genre fans are the type who are going to be geeky enough to be very Internet savvy and invested enough in an author to go online and look for their Web site. I remember half a dozen years ago trying to find information about your work online, because I wanted to discuss it -- or at least find out when I could expect the new book in the series. I remember it took me a long time before I finally stumbled upon your Web site, which IIRC is what led me to your livejournal.
It's a medium that I think is eally rewarding. I know Rowling obviously has a great marketing plan, but at the same time, I know several of my friends spent hours and hours on her Web site as they waited for book six and then seven. I think another author who's Web presence (in part thanks to rabid fans) was very good is the late Robert Jordan. Granted, the FAQ for his series alone was huge, but it was easy to find.
A good Web site lets fans stay aware of a writer, so we can get out to the bookstore the week a book comes out, instead of noticing a favorite author finally has a new title out when I happen to be browsing at Barnes and Noble (assuming they carry said author's books) while killing time.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 12:14 am (UTC)Obviously their targeted consumer is the teenager. BUt many of the concepts they have in place can be adapted and grown to fit a wider range of demographics.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 12:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 12:34 am (UTC)I am very, very bad in this regard =/. It's always on the list of things to do, and it's always on the bottom of that list because I know zero html, and have not a lot of design sense, and am usually chasing after one deadline in desperation (the deadline changes, but sadly the sense of frenzied omg desperation doesn't).
But actually, yes, I think this is more and more relevant -- it's not tied to a single book, but it is a way of showcasing information.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 12:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 02:41 am (UTC)I can make a pretty nice ballgown, I know a lot of dance styles, and I know the correct bows/courtesys/reverances for several different times and places, but I have no more notion of how to put a website together than I do of how to forge a steel blade.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 02:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 05:17 am (UTC)Some of your fans might be willing to help out, and goodness knows there's plenty of codeheads out there who read fantasy and love to be productive helping out others, especially when they're just out of school trying to build a portfolio. The only problem is the usual one of volunteers, lack of time and distractions taking them away.
You do need to provide regular content, or be willing to learn the minimal level of code to enter things in a wiki-style website, but once it's set up, you would be able to update it yourself, with occasional overhauls.
You could also contact a school and offer to pay a minimal amount while giving the winner some much-needed resume credits.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 12:25 pm (UTC)Fiddle with the layout (the basic would be to pick one with a design you like, change the tab/button names and put some of the book graphics behind the header) and then go live ^^. You get comments, you can do polls, you can link to your own books on amazon.com and get some money for that (as an affiliate) if you even want to do that, as someone who works in an honest bookstore.
I can only work in stuff like Dreamweaver preview mode to code websites and fiddle with existing layouts (www.bookish.net is based on a golf site layout by Alex King), but it worked for my school newspaper (www.zeitung-hk.de) just as well as a blog.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 09:17 pm (UTC)I do recommend against using the web composition options provided by Microsoft. They're notorious for not displaying properly when accessed by non-Microsoft browsers.
I'm not sure about the complexities of uploading the pages. Those depend on where you host it, but I expect that there are people who could offer help there, too.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 05:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 12:20 am (UTC)This is because I am a snob.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 01:31 am (UTC)And you wonder why I love you!
Now, back to work on my novel, rather than self-promotion.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 01:48 am (UTC)I read a book based on recommendation, cover or, mostly often, love of the author's previous work. I'll walk into Bakka and ask whoever's working what I should buy, or I'll wander Bookcity aimlessly til something grabs me. Strangely, this works very well. I might miss books I'd otherwise like, but I very rarely buy something I dislike.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 03:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 02:44 am (UTC){rf}
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 04:52 am (UTC)Book reviews, word of mouth introduce me to new authors - recently it seems like I keep stumbling across new author livejournals, and it's really opened up a whole new list of authors whose work I will check out.
If I'm in a book store, end caps, and the "new releases" show me new books by authors I don't know about - and cover art and titles are what will draw me to pick up the book and read the blurb.
While I'm not in the industry at all, my gut tells me that recently, the biggest single impact on a novel might be whether Oprah picks it up for her book club and waves it around on tv.
But again - that's just word of mouth on an unbelievably giant scale :)
My two cents as a reader and fan
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 08:15 am (UTC)Ahem. Sorry. Somehow I get the feeling that if it had been me in that discussion I would have had to take the same measures to avoid being offensive.
As a reader of yours, what got me to buy The Broken Crown was indeed the cover. Ditto for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone--I was one of the people who bought in its its original, very small American print run, because I thought Mary Grandpre's cover art was interesting.
While I'm not one of those people who trumpets the death of reading in North America, after living in Japan and spending time in Europe I have to say that it's my impression that marketing campaigns for books work AFTER there's a built-in audience--whether it's a public that demonstrably reads a lot, such as here in Japan (everyone's got to do something on trains), or the huge audience that HP had obviously gained round abouts the publication of the fourth book in America, which is when Scholastic started rolling out all the marketing.
Movies and music are different. For one thing, it's a lot easier to pirate them, which I tend to think does usually have a usually positive impact on the sales of genuine product.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 02:23 pm (UTC)book pimpfiction store owner called me..) Now, I can find author web pages, blogs, or if all else fails, Amazon for release dates far in advance.As a reader, I love that. It gives me time to read the past books in the series so I come to the new book with all the backstory fresh in my mind. It gives me time to rave to everyone I know about the book or the author, and spread the addiction. Heck, it allows me to find a holiday in time to gift the author's other works to people.
I think perhaps Mr. Promoter doesn't understand that with books, most of the large, effective promotions are fan driven. We use the internet to find each other, to communicate, and are capable of assembling a flash mob on surprisingly little notice. Getting 100 people to dress up as their favourite character and go buy a new book on the same day is a lot easier than it used to be, and it can be coordinated worldwide.
Which is kind of scary, when you think about it.
-T
no subject
Date: 2008-02-22 08:23 pm (UTC)Both are internet based.
One is through blogs I read where people rave about/review books that have caught their attention. I suppose this is Internet word of mouth.
Lately, I've also started listening to genre based podcasts. These often talk about books and authors and tend to have author interviews. These can be really interesting and if an author comes across well and their book sounds interesting I'm quite likely to go and investigate their book - and subscribe to their blog feed if they have one, keeping me in the loop.
My personal favourites are Dragon Page Cover to Cover (www.dragonpage.com) and Adventures in SciFi Publishing (www.adventuresinscifipublishing.com).
Oh and anywhere you're offering news or comments, make sure you have an RSS feed. I don't have the time or memory to remember to keep going back to websites, LJs or blogs, but I subscribe to the feeds and keep a daily eye on those.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-26 08:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-02-26 11:17 pm (UTC)It's reassuring that I'm not the only one who finds self-promotion a daunting and uncomfortable proposition. One that, I might add, carries the penalty of an enormous drain on creative energies. I have to be careful not to listen to the (loud-mouthed, opinionated) self-promoters or I'll start feeling guilty and inadequate because I don't spend every waking moment on it.
Alas, one of the reasons that my internet presence is light is that I have only so much time my eyes and my back can stand being at the computer (and three novel projects I ache to be working on), so that doesn't often leave a lot of time for other writing.
I suppose that going to cons is a form of promotion. A small number of readers get to hear me enthuse about the project of the moment, or the latest thing to come out. But mostly, I do them (and rarely away from the West Coast) because I find it nourishing and energizing to hang out with like minded people, talking about writing. When I lived in LA, I had more local writer friends, so now the cons provide a partial antidote to sfnal writerly isolation. I don't expect to sell any books as a result, and am always surprised and delighted when asked to autograph something. This, of course, makes the reader feel good, so two people are happy. That's always a good thing
no subject
Date: 2008-02-26 11:26 pm (UTC)Hello =D.
I think most authors find self-promotion a daunting and uncomfortable proposition, but not all -- but yes, if you do, it's a big drain on creative energy because it's a big drain on energy, period. As are all things that we loathe and feel inadequate doing.
But in fairness to the self-promoters, I think they're trying everything to see what works, and they try to share what did work. I don't think they (all) realize the effect this has on the writers they're sharing with, because in some ways, self-promotion is the attempt to do something in an industry in which there's very little author-end control beyond the writing itself.
Publishing is not a field that is kind to control freaks. Of which, I have been accused.
But mostly, I do them (and rarely away from the West Coast) because I find it nourishing and energizing to hang out with like minded people, talking about writing.
Me, too. I like conventions, and I like seeing my convention friends and the writers I only have face time with at cons. I like meeting readers as well.