As many of you already know, my Publetariat site was offline entirely for close to two months in the early part of this year, and then it was back online but laying more or less fallow for several more months while my work continued behind the scenes to ensure the site was secure and functioning properly.
Now that I've got it up and running again, with new material being posted there five days a week, I've discovered that many of the sites and blogs I used to visit when searching for possible content to share on Publetariat have disappeared.
I suspect many of those missing site and blog owners eventually threw in the towel because they felt they didn't have the time or energy to keep adding new material on a daily, weekly, or even monthly basis, and having been repeatedly admonished to do so, felt there was little point in keeping the site or blog going if they couldn't live up to that requirement.
Giving up was a mistake.
As you may have noticed, I don't post here daily, weekly, nor even necessarily monthly. I post when I have something to say that I think is worth sharing, and frankly, it just doesn't happen all that often.
Don't get me wrong: I am most certainly NOT saying that people who DO post daily, weekly, et cetera are just flapping their gums for no good reason. Plenty of bloggers have a lot of interesting, valuable, educational, or even just amusing stuff to post on a regular basis, and I applaud them for being so prolific.
But even if you're like me, only posting as time allows and when inspiration strikes, it's still worth keeping your blog up because longevity has intrinsic value on the internet. Here's how the cycle works:
The longer your blog is up, the more legitimate and "trustworthy" it looks to Google and other search engines. The more search engines "like" and "trust" your blog, the higher (closer to the top) its posts come up in search results.
The higher your blog's posts come up in search results, the more exposure you get. The more exposure you get, the more traffic you get. The more traffic you get, the more people you get sharing links to your blog. The more traffic and links you get, the more legitimate and trustworthy you look to search engines.
And the cycle repeats, ad infinitum.
What all of this means is, even if you're NOT posting fresh content on a frequent basis, the mere fact that your blog exists---and continues to exist, year in and year out---is helping to cement and build your author platform by improving your search rankings.
Even when I'm not posting new stuff here, people keep coming every single day from web searches and by following direct links to stuff I've posted here previously.
Of course, posting fresh content regularly will always help to drive more traffic and get your books more exposure. So if your goal is maximum sales, the laidback, infrequent posting approach won't work for you.
But if you're considering shutting down your site or blog merely because you don't currently have the time or energy to update it regularly, DON'T. Someday you may again have the necessary time and energy, and until then, your "resting" blog is still building traffic and credibility for you. Given that it can take years to build a following and reach respectable web traffic numbers, why on Earth would you want to throw away the equity you've already built?
Let your blog lie fallow if that's what you need to do right now, but don't shut it down if there's even the tiniest possibility you'll want to blog again in the future.
Showing posts with label book marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book marketing. Show all posts
Monday, December 9, 2013
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Publisher, Sell To Thyself!
I'm always astounded by the hard-sell and oversell antics of some indie authors. While I often advise indie authors that they must be able to take off their Author hat and put on a Publisher hat, the thing is, no matter which of those two hats they're wearing they should always have a Reader beanie on underneath.
While I wouldn't ever advise a writer to engineer his or her fiction to suit a given demographic, this is definitely required when it comes to nonfiction. You must do this in order to identify your target audience and ensure your book contains the information or reference material that audience will want. But having said that, I'll go on to say that even fiction authors---even literary fiction authors---would do well to give a thought to the reader as they lovingly craft their prose. You want to see your vision brought to vivid life on the page, certainly, but you don't want to confuse or bore your readers in the process.
It's even more critical to keep your Reader beanie on nice and snug when you go to don your Publisher hat. This is necessary because among other things, you still must identify your target audience, regardless of whether your book is fiction or nonfiction, in order to develop an efficient and effective marketing plan. You need to figure out who's most likely to be interested in your book, and where and how to reach those people. But this doesn't mean that once you've done so, you should go all full-bore, Mad Men, Marketing Exec From Hell on them.
Author and Publisher you may be, but you're also still a human being and a consumer. You still shake your head in annoyance at the pile of junk mail, junk email, junk fax and even junk Facebook and Twitter flowing into your life on a daily basis, don't you? So why on Earth would you ever risk being counted among the purveyors of that junk?
How is it possible that the Author who chuckles to herself at over-the-top marketing hype in advertisements for weight loss aids will nevertheless splatter "MY BOOK WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!" in gigantic, flashing red letters two inches tall on her author website?
How can the Author who complains about all the pointless piano-playing cat videos his Facebook friends post to his wall go on to blast all his Twitter followers with twice-daily reminders of his book's current availability and sales rank on Amazon?
Why does the Author who's sick of all the spam comments left on her blog turn around and post a so-called review of someone else's book in which she devotes as much time to plugging her own book as talking about the book she's supposedly reviewing?
Yes, you must get the word out about your book. But you most do so with some consideration for the people on the receiving end. When in doubt about a given tactic you're about to employ, put yourself in the shoes of a non-writing, non-publishing, ordinary consumer and imagine how your tactic will be received under those circumstances. Don't overthink it, just go back to the Golden Rule: advertise how you'd want to be advertised to.
While I wouldn't ever advise a writer to engineer his or her fiction to suit a given demographic, this is definitely required when it comes to nonfiction. You must do this in order to identify your target audience and ensure your book contains the information or reference material that audience will want. But having said that, I'll go on to say that even fiction authors---even literary fiction authors---would do well to give a thought to the reader as they lovingly craft their prose. You want to see your vision brought to vivid life on the page, certainly, but you don't want to confuse or bore your readers in the process.
It's even more critical to keep your Reader beanie on nice and snug when you go to don your Publisher hat. This is necessary because among other things, you still must identify your target audience, regardless of whether your book is fiction or nonfiction, in order to develop an efficient and effective marketing plan. You need to figure out who's most likely to be interested in your book, and where and how to reach those people. But this doesn't mean that once you've done so, you should go all full-bore, Mad Men, Marketing Exec From Hell on them.
Author and Publisher you may be, but you're also still a human being and a consumer. You still shake your head in annoyance at the pile of junk mail, junk email, junk fax and even junk Facebook and Twitter flowing into your life on a daily basis, don't you? So why on Earth would you ever risk being counted among the purveyors of that junk?
How is it possible that the Author who chuckles to herself at over-the-top marketing hype in advertisements for weight loss aids will nevertheless splatter "MY BOOK WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!" in gigantic, flashing red letters two inches tall on her author website?
How can the Author who complains about all the pointless piano-playing cat videos his Facebook friends post to his wall go on to blast all his Twitter followers with twice-daily reminders of his book's current availability and sales rank on Amazon?
Why does the Author who's sick of all the spam comments left on her blog turn around and post a so-called review of someone else's book in which she devotes as much time to plugging her own book as talking about the book she's supposedly reviewing?
Yes, you must get the word out about your book. But you most do so with some consideration for the people on the receiving end. When in doubt about a given tactic you're about to employ, put yourself in the shoes of a non-writing, non-publishing, ordinary consumer and imagine how your tactic will be received under those circumstances. Don't overthink it, just go back to the Golden Rule: advertise how you'd want to be advertised to.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Are Indie Author Book Tours Worthwhile?
As anyone who follows this blog or reads Publetariat regularly already knows, my financial circumstances have been precarious lately. Because of this, I've concluded I simply can't afford to do the self-financed book tour I had planned to support the release of The Indie Author Guide. "But April," you may ask, "how can you afford not to be out there, promoting your new book? Isn't that what all us indie authors are supposed to do?" The answer, as per usual, is, "It depends."
First, let me break down the realities of small-time author book signings for you. By "small-time", I mean pretty much anyone who isn't such a household name that velvet ropes and barricades will be required for crowd control at the event. Having spoken to numerous local bookstore managers, I've learned they consider a small-time author event that sells 25 books to be a huge success. On average, ten copies is more typical, and isn't considered a disappointment. Given that the author is only earning about a dollar, maybe less, on each of those sales, even if the event makes it over the "huge success" bar of 25 copies sold the author's eventual profit from the event will be $25 or less. Remember, the author won't see dime one of that $25 for many, many months---and maybe not at all, if the book doesn't earn back the author's advance (on a mainstream-published book).
Let's go even further, and say every person who bought one of the 25 copies convinces two friends to buy copies, also. Net cumulative profit for the author is still just $75 or less, and this is under ideal, maximum-sales circumstances. Now subtract what you spent on gasoline traveling to and from the event, plus the cost of any snacks or drinks you purchased en route or while there. Your eventual profit probably stands somewhere around $60 for six to ten hours of your time. And again, this is a maximum-sales scenario we're talking about. It's far more likely you'll sell ten or fewer copies, in which case all your royalty proceeds will be consumed by expenses.
If that time would've been spent watching TV, napping, or otherwise devoted to leisurely pursuits, then a signing event can still be a worthwhile alternative for you. Even if it's not super-successful, it's getting you out of the house, giving you more practice in meeting with the public, and providing an opportunity to win over a few fans. It may also provide fodder for pictures and video to post to your website or blog.
But most indie authors have (and need!) day jobs, and mine is freelancing as an author services provider (e.g., editing, formatting, ebook conversions, etc.). I don't work a nine-to-five, Monday through Friday schedule. Since I still have young children at home who require my attention and supervision whenever they're not in school, I get quite a bit of my work done in the evenings and on weekends when they're on visitation with their father---in other words, during the hours when store managers like to schedule signing events. For me, the choice on a given Saturday isn't between burning through a few more titles on my Netflix queue or spending that time promoting my book instead, it's between earning hundreds of dollars or spending that time promoting my book instead.
Right now, I simply can't afford not to be working.
I'm going to honor my commitment for the first date that was set, at the Montclair Plaza Borders from 2-6pm tomorrow, 1/8/11, but that's it as far as my book tour is concerned.
I'm also already set to speak at the Writer's Digest Conference in Manhattan the weekend of 1/21-1/23/11, where I'll be on a couple of discussion panels and will also be presenting a Kindle publishing workshop. My travel expenses are paid, but I'm on the hook for my own meals, parking at the airport, and any other incidentals. I've decided it's still worthwhile for me to do this because of the opportunity to meet up with not only my fellow indie authors, but also with the other speakers. The latter group includes several whom I've "known" through online interaction over a period of years, but have never met face-to-face. I'll be losing money on that weekend, most definitely. But it's hard to put a pricetag on the value of maintaining relationships in the business, or on the value of an opportunity to give more of my fellow indies some of the information or how-tos that can help them realize their dreams of publication. It's also a better promotion opportunity for me than a book signing because of all the national promotion Writer's Digest is doing for the event.
So when deciding whether or not to do a signing or speaking event, you have to weigh not only the matter of how much you stand to earn financially and in intangibles, but how much you will be required to give up in exchange. Sometimes, it's worth it. Sometimes, it's not.
*UPDATE* I did my stint at Borders yesterday, all four hours of it. I spoke to exactly five store patrons, and sold exactly one copy of my book in the store. It's interesting to note that three of the five patrons said they planned to buy my book online, where its price would be lower. Given that I enjoy talking shop and can burn through four hours in a bookstore without even trying any day of the week (and twice on Sundays), it wasn't a bad way to spend an afternoon. Still, it was obviously not a profitable event in terms of book sales, and for me, that time would've been much better spent doing freelance work.
First, let me break down the realities of small-time author book signings for you. By "small-time", I mean pretty much anyone who isn't such a household name that velvet ropes and barricades will be required for crowd control at the event. Having spoken to numerous local bookstore managers, I've learned they consider a small-time author event that sells 25 books to be a huge success. On average, ten copies is more typical, and isn't considered a disappointment. Given that the author is only earning about a dollar, maybe less, on each of those sales, even if the event makes it over the "huge success" bar of 25 copies sold the author's eventual profit from the event will be $25 or less. Remember, the author won't see dime one of that $25 for many, many months---and maybe not at all, if the book doesn't earn back the author's advance (on a mainstream-published book).
Let's go even further, and say every person who bought one of the 25 copies convinces two friends to buy copies, also. Net cumulative profit for the author is still just $75 or less, and this is under ideal, maximum-sales circumstances. Now subtract what you spent on gasoline traveling to and from the event, plus the cost of any snacks or drinks you purchased en route or while there. Your eventual profit probably stands somewhere around $60 for six to ten hours of your time. And again, this is a maximum-sales scenario we're talking about. It's far more likely you'll sell ten or fewer copies, in which case all your royalty proceeds will be consumed by expenses.
If that time would've been spent watching TV, napping, or otherwise devoted to leisurely pursuits, then a signing event can still be a worthwhile alternative for you. Even if it's not super-successful, it's getting you out of the house, giving you more practice in meeting with the public, and providing an opportunity to win over a few fans. It may also provide fodder for pictures and video to post to your website or blog.
But most indie authors have (and need!) day jobs, and mine is freelancing as an author services provider (e.g., editing, formatting, ebook conversions, etc.). I don't work a nine-to-five, Monday through Friday schedule. Since I still have young children at home who require my attention and supervision whenever they're not in school, I get quite a bit of my work done in the evenings and on weekends when they're on visitation with their father---in other words, during the hours when store managers like to schedule signing events. For me, the choice on a given Saturday isn't between burning through a few more titles on my Netflix queue or spending that time promoting my book instead, it's between earning hundreds of dollars or spending that time promoting my book instead.
Right now, I simply can't afford not to be working.
I'm going to honor my commitment for the first date that was set, at the Montclair Plaza Borders from 2-6pm tomorrow, 1/8/11, but that's it as far as my book tour is concerned.
I'm also already set to speak at the Writer's Digest Conference in Manhattan the weekend of 1/21-1/23/11, where I'll be on a couple of discussion panels and will also be presenting a Kindle publishing workshop. My travel expenses are paid, but I'm on the hook for my own meals, parking at the airport, and any other incidentals. I've decided it's still worthwhile for me to do this because of the opportunity to meet up with not only my fellow indie authors, but also with the other speakers. The latter group includes several whom I've "known" through online interaction over a period of years, but have never met face-to-face. I'll be losing money on that weekend, most definitely. But it's hard to put a pricetag on the value of maintaining relationships in the business, or on the value of an opportunity to give more of my fellow indies some of the information or how-tos that can help them realize their dreams of publication. It's also a better promotion opportunity for me than a book signing because of all the national promotion Writer's Digest is doing for the event.
So when deciding whether or not to do a signing or speaking event, you have to weigh not only the matter of how much you stand to earn financially and in intangibles, but how much you will be required to give up in exchange. Sometimes, it's worth it. Sometimes, it's not.
*UPDATE* I did my stint at Borders yesterday, all four hours of it. I spoke to exactly five store patrons, and sold exactly one copy of my book in the store. It's interesting to note that three of the five patrons said they planned to buy my book online, where its price would be lower. Given that I enjoy talking shop and can burn through four hours in a bookstore without even trying any day of the week (and twice on Sundays), it wasn't a bad way to spend an afternoon. Still, it was obviously not a profitable event in terms of book sales, and for me, that time would've been much better spent doing freelance work.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
How To Lose Fans and Alienate Visitors
Hi, Joe or Jane Author. My name is...well, it doesn’t really matter what my name is, all that matters is I’ve just signed up for your newsletter, or started visiting your site or blog, or registered for membership on your site, or started following you on Twitter, or friended you on Facebook or MySpace or FriendFeed or Goodreads or LibraryThing or something similar. This should be the start of a wonderful relationship, in which you share useful and amusing information with me and I sing your praises to everyone I know, buy your books, register for your webinars and show up to your speaking engagements. So far, so good. Now here’s how to f**k it up.
Bombard me with emails. When I signed up for your newsletter, Helpful Tips or the like, unless you specified otherwise at the time I signed up, I’m expecting to hear from you no more frequently than once a week. And in all honesty, if your messages take longer than about five minutes to read, I won't. Between my job, my family commitments, my social commitments, my own reading and writing, and the fall TV schedule ramping up again, I don’t have time to wade through your too-frequent or too-lengthy missives.
Bait and switch me. It might surprise you to learn that when I signed up for your newsletter or Helpful Tips I was expecting to receive…wait for it…news or Helpful Tips, NOT advertising messages. It’s fine to have a one- or two-line sales pitch at the end of your email, or to send out the occasional message about your upcoming book or speaking engagement, but the rest of your content better be worth my time and attention. Look at it this way: would you read a magazine that had nothing but full-page ads in it? If your favorite TV show suddenly started consisting of 80% ads and 20% show, would you keep watching it?
Son of bait and switch me. If you’ve promoted your free webinar, ebook, members-only site, newsletter or whatever else you’ve got as Twenty Surefire Strategies to accomplish some goal, and I sign up, I’m expecting to receive…you guessed it: Twenty Surefire Strategies. When you give me a series of sales pitches for twenty fee-based products or services from you and your affiliates instead, I tend to conclude you’re a lying liar.
Return of the son of bait and switch me. Goodreads, LibraryThing, Shelfari and other reader community sites are places where people share their reactions to books they’ve read and engage in discussions about all things book-related, generally from a reader’s perspective. If the only books on your virtual shelf are those you’ve written yourself, or if you’ve got a variety of books on display but reserve your gushiest reviews for your own work, it’s obvious you’re using the site as a marketing outlet. Way to give new authors everywhere a bad name.
Bait and switch me, the revenge. It’s great that you’re branching out into new areas, or already operating in multiple areas, but don’t assume I want to branch out with you. I signed up for your Sci Fi Wonks site because I enjoy science fiction in general, and yours in particular. Imagine my surprise (and annoyance) when I also started receiving emails from your Gory Horrors site. And your Renaissance Romance N’ Ribaldry site. And your [insert religious affiliation here] Inspiration Of The Day site. And your eBay store. Bonus question: how angry do you think I was to find there were no “unsubscribe” links in any of the unwanted emails?
Bait and switch me, the final chapter. I understand I may need to provide my email address when posting a comment on your blog or site, because it protects you from spammers and hackers. And of course, if I’ve used the Contact form to send you a remark or question off-site, you need my email address to respond to me. But neither of these actions gives you the right to add me to your mailing list. Even if you’ve added some verbiage to your site pages to indicate that’s what you’ll do anytime someone enters his or her email address anywhere on your site, since that’s not howupstanding and honest most sites operate, if you want to avoid any appearance of bait-and-switchery you need to have a separate page just for mailing list signups.
Bait and switch me, the remake. Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed, MySpace and other social networking sites are intended for…seriously, do I have to say it? Social networking. Not marketing or sales pitches. If most (or worse, all!) of your tweets, status updates or blog entries are only there to promote yourself or your work, you’re wasting my time. Just like I said about signing up for your newsletter or Helpful Tips, I wasn’t expecting to get a steady stream of advertising.
Are you beginning to sense a common thread? When I’m getting a lot of quality content from you, I don’t mind getting a modicum of advertising and promotion too. Sometimes I’m truly glad to hear about your new book, service or product, especially if I’m getting a special discount, premium edition or access to material or events not made available to the general public. But the moment the balance between content and advertising tips in the direction of advertising, I’m out. The moment I start thinking you’ve abused my trust, I’m out AND spreading the word. So please, don’t make me tweet angry.
Bombard me with emails. When I signed up for your newsletter, Helpful Tips or the like, unless you specified otherwise at the time I signed up, I’m expecting to hear from you no more frequently than once a week. And in all honesty, if your messages take longer than about five minutes to read, I won't. Between my job, my family commitments, my social commitments, my own reading and writing, and the fall TV schedule ramping up again, I don’t have time to wade through your too-frequent or too-lengthy missives.
Bait and switch me. It might surprise you to learn that when I signed up for your newsletter or Helpful Tips I was expecting to receive…wait for it…news or Helpful Tips, NOT advertising messages. It’s fine to have a one- or two-line sales pitch at the end of your email, or to send out the occasional message about your upcoming book or speaking engagement, but the rest of your content better be worth my time and attention. Look at it this way: would you read a magazine that had nothing but full-page ads in it? If your favorite TV show suddenly started consisting of 80% ads and 20% show, would you keep watching it?
Son of bait and switch me. If you’ve promoted your free webinar, ebook, members-only site, newsletter or whatever else you’ve got as Twenty Surefire Strategies to accomplish some goal, and I sign up, I’m expecting to receive…you guessed it: Twenty Surefire Strategies. When you give me a series of sales pitches for twenty fee-based products or services from you and your affiliates instead, I tend to conclude you’re a lying liar.
Return of the son of bait and switch me. Goodreads, LibraryThing, Shelfari and other reader community sites are places where people share their reactions to books they’ve read and engage in discussions about all things book-related, generally from a reader’s perspective. If the only books on your virtual shelf are those you’ve written yourself, or if you’ve got a variety of books on display but reserve your gushiest reviews for your own work, it’s obvious you’re using the site as a marketing outlet. Way to give new authors everywhere a bad name.
Bait and switch me, the revenge. It’s great that you’re branching out into new areas, or already operating in multiple areas, but don’t assume I want to branch out with you. I signed up for your Sci Fi Wonks site because I enjoy science fiction in general, and yours in particular. Imagine my surprise (and annoyance) when I also started receiving emails from your Gory Horrors site. And your Renaissance Romance N’ Ribaldry site. And your [insert religious affiliation here] Inspiration Of The Day site. And your eBay store. Bonus question: how angry do you think I was to find there were no “unsubscribe” links in any of the unwanted emails?
Bait and switch me, the final chapter. I understand I may need to provide my email address when posting a comment on your blog or site, because it protects you from spammers and hackers. And of course, if I’ve used the Contact form to send you a remark or question off-site, you need my email address to respond to me. But neither of these actions gives you the right to add me to your mailing list. Even if you’ve added some verbiage to your site pages to indicate that’s what you’ll do anytime someone enters his or her email address anywhere on your site, since that’s not how
Bait and switch me, the remake. Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed, MySpace and other social networking sites are intended for…seriously, do I have to say it? Social networking. Not marketing or sales pitches. If most (or worse, all!) of your tweets, status updates or blog entries are only there to promote yourself or your work, you’re wasting my time. Just like I said about signing up for your newsletter or Helpful Tips, I wasn’t expecting to get a steady stream of advertising.
Are you beginning to sense a common thread? When I’m getting a lot of quality content from you, I don’t mind getting a modicum of advertising and promotion too. Sometimes I’m truly glad to hear about your new book, service or product, especially if I’m getting a special discount, premium edition or access to material or events not made available to the general public. But the moment the balance between content and advertising tips in the direction of advertising, I’m out. The moment I start thinking you’ve abused my trust, I’m out AND spreading the word. So please, don’t make me tweet angry.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
2009 ABNA: Horseman of the Writerly Apocalypse?
Okay, I'm delaying the next installment of the series from The IndieAuthor Guide one more time, but I don't feel too bad about it since my previous entry provided a means to get a free copy of the entire book. I'm afraid there's something I'm feeling pretty fired up about, and I've been encouraged to blog on it. Read on.
Bottom Line It For Me, Baby Version (200 Words or Less)
In this year's Amazon Breakthrough Awards contest, first round eliminations will be on the basis of a 300-word marketing pitch---not even a synopsis. No entrant's actual writing will get a look-see unless the entry passes the marketing-trial-by-fire elimination round. This is reflective of the sweeping, and to my mind, catastrophic changes currently revolutionizing the publishing industry to both readers' and writers' detriment. There was a time when the whole thing was about passion: a writer pouring months or even years of his life into a story or idea that wouldn't let go of him, then connecting with an agent who was so touched by the material that she was willing to risk her reputation on it by forwarding it on to editors, one or more of whom would be so inspired by the material to champion it up the chain of command. Now, passion has nothing to do with it. Books are sold to big publishers on the basis of a sales pitch, the same way screenplays are sold to studios. To all those who've doubted the viability of, or necessity for, an indie author movement to match those in music and film: can you hear me now?
Go On An' Run Yo Mouth, I Ain't Got Nuthin' But Time Version (Can't Promise It Won't Go On Forever):
The fact that the first round of eliminations in this year's Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest is based on a 300-word-maximum marketing pitch, not even a synopsis, and no one's actual writing will get a look-see unless it survives the pitch round, is downright depressing. The contest will accept up to 10,000 entries and whittle that pool down to 2,000 on the basis of a pitch, which is described in the contest FAQ as follows:
"The pitch is more than just a summary, it needs to be a well written explanation of what the book is about. Talk about your novel's strengths with respect to how it is being evaluated; Think about the elements chosen on which to judge your novel for the purpose of this contest; its overall strength, plot development, character development, originality of idea, and writing style or prose. Take the time to study your intended market and make sure your pitch demonstrates that you understand how your book fits within this market and how it will identify with your audience. Remember the book should resonate with who your readers are. The Pitch should be a concise explanation of your book and why the reader would want to read your novel."
Considering the fact that my 'Bottom Line It For Me' section above is 199 words, 300 words doesn't seem nearly adequate to squeeze in all the pith the contest organizers are demanding. What the ABNA contest seems to be asking for is an 'elevator pitch', which is the hated yoke of the screenwriter. The idea is, if you're in an elevator with a movie exec, how can you convince the exec to request your script in two minutes or less? All there's time for is a logline and a thumbnail market analysis, like this:
[Title] is a [genre] that's like [recent hit movie or all-time classic movie] meets [recent hit movie or all-time classic movie]. When [what happens?], a [who or what? - species, job title, gender, other concise descriptive] must [do what?] to [accomplish or avert what outcome?]. My research shows [statistic or researched factoid], and according to [reference magazine, well-known website or other authority], [genre or other important aspect of story] is very popular with [demographic]. [Industry person or other respected icon] read it and said [rave review remarks].
Just substitute the word "book" for the word "movie" in the above template, and you're good to go for your book pitch. I have some experience writing these things from my screenwriting days, but the fact that you have to write them at all, or be rehearsed in 'elevator pitching', was a big part of the reason I gave up on screenwriting. It's a soul-killing exercise in taking something you've poured your heart and soul into over months or even years, and boiling it down to an assurance of how much money can be made selling it. Once upon a time the screenwriter's job was to craft a touching or compelling script, and the producers were the ones who came in and bastardized it and dumbed it down for maximum marketing and profit. Now, they expect the script to come to them pre-dumbed-down and pre-bastardized, already packaged like a commodity they can immediately use to forecast sales. Sadly, the same thing is now happening with books.
As anyone reading this blog knows, a typical writer must feel a great deal of passion about a given story or character to invest the necessary time and effort in writing an entire book about it, then edit and polish that book in round after round of revisions. Yet when the time comes to try and land an agent or sell the manuscript to a publisher, the writer is supposed to just shut that passion off like a water tap, adopt the cold detachment of a marketing wonk and focus exclusively on his book's prospects for commercial success. The only ones who do it well are writers like Nicholas Sparks, who BEGINS with brainstorming about what will sell in today's market and works backward from there to come up with a story and characters. Writers like him are focused on the book's commercial prospects from the beginning; they don't write stories, they engineer them. That's why there are so many soulless, forgettable books these days, and why I've gone indie. In an October interview in Entertainment Weekly, Mr. Sparks describes his "process" thus:
''After every book I feel like the well is dry,'' he says. ''Well, that's it! Got nothing. Done. Washed up. Don't know what I'm going to do. Maybe I'll write a cookbook.'' But then he practices his standard method of formulating the skeleton of his next love story. ''Okay,'' he says, getting excited, ''I just wrote The Lucky One. So the next one won't be a military story. I know that right off the bat. These characters were in their 20s, okay, so the characters are not in their 20s. Okay, so if you're in your 40s, what are the dilemmas? Oh, wait, I've got Nights in Rodanthe coming out, and that's a love story with characters in their 40s, so if I come out with a book just like that, people will think I'm not original. Okay, what are the dilemmas that typically face 30-year-olds that I haven't done? Are we dealing with a woman who has put herself on hold for the sake of her career? Very common for women. See, you want something universal. So, hmmm, where does that go? Could be anything. Hmmm, let me do her biological clock. Hmmm, maybe she goes to her 20th high school reunion? Ah, yes, maybe she had a boyfriend? Was he ever married? Was he divorced, is he widowed? Does he have kids? What if this, what if that, what if this...''
Now, I don't know about you, but my own writing process does not begin with market analysis, theories about "dilemmas that typically face 30-year-olds", issues "very common for women," or "something universal". I tend to begin with characters or situations I feel passionate about, then work very hard to do them enough justice to inspire my eventual readers to feel as strongly about them as I did when I sat down to write. Apparently, I am part of an outmoded breed by today's publishing standards. My silly notion of beginning with something I find personally inspirational must appear downright quaint to a bestselling technician like Mr. Sparks.
Clearly, the book business is breaking down into the same two camps as the movie business, with the mainstream dominated by disposable projects and celebrity vehicles that got made on the basis of a marketing pitch, and the independent path being the only route left to people who got into the whole thing because they wanted to tell a story they felt passionate about. To me as a reader, it's depressing, because mainstream books of real quality and depth are few and far between anymore. But to me as an indie author, it's further reassurance that I'm on the right path and that an indie movement in authorship is both viable and inevitable.
If you're an engineer of stories, capable of successfully working backward from market demographics like Mr. Sparks, you no doubt have a fine future ahead of you in the 2009 ABNA and with mainstream publishers. Otherwise, ask not for whom the indie author movement calls: it calls for you.
Bottom Line It For Me, Baby Version (200 Words or Less)
In this year's Amazon Breakthrough Awards contest, first round eliminations will be on the basis of a 300-word marketing pitch---not even a synopsis. No entrant's actual writing will get a look-see unless the entry passes the marketing-trial-by-fire elimination round. This is reflective of the sweeping, and to my mind, catastrophic changes currently revolutionizing the publishing industry to both readers' and writers' detriment. There was a time when the whole thing was about passion: a writer pouring months or even years of his life into a story or idea that wouldn't let go of him, then connecting with an agent who was so touched by the material that she was willing to risk her reputation on it by forwarding it on to editors, one or more of whom would be so inspired by the material to champion it up the chain of command. Now, passion has nothing to do with it. Books are sold to big publishers on the basis of a sales pitch, the same way screenplays are sold to studios. To all those who've doubted the viability of, or necessity for, an indie author movement to match those in music and film: can you hear me now?
Go On An' Run Yo Mouth, I Ain't Got Nuthin' But Time Version (Can't Promise It Won't Go On Forever):
The fact that the first round of eliminations in this year's Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest is based on a 300-word-maximum marketing pitch, not even a synopsis, and no one's actual writing will get a look-see unless it survives the pitch round, is downright depressing. The contest will accept up to 10,000 entries and whittle that pool down to 2,000 on the basis of a pitch, which is described in the contest FAQ as follows:
"The pitch is more than just a summary, it needs to be a well written explanation of what the book is about. Talk about your novel's strengths with respect to how it is being evaluated; Think about the elements chosen on which to judge your novel for the purpose of this contest; its overall strength, plot development, character development, originality of idea, and writing style or prose. Take the time to study your intended market and make sure your pitch demonstrates that you understand how your book fits within this market and how it will identify with your audience. Remember the book should resonate with who your readers are. The Pitch should be a concise explanation of your book and why the reader would want to read your novel."
Considering the fact that my 'Bottom Line It For Me' section above is 199 words, 300 words doesn't seem nearly adequate to squeeze in all the pith the contest organizers are demanding. What the ABNA contest seems to be asking for is an 'elevator pitch', which is the hated yoke of the screenwriter. The idea is, if you're in an elevator with a movie exec, how can you convince the exec to request your script in two minutes or less? All there's time for is a logline and a thumbnail market analysis, like this:
[Title] is a [genre] that's like [recent hit movie or all-time classic movie] meets [recent hit movie or all-time classic movie]. When [what happens?], a [who or what? - species, job title, gender, other concise descriptive] must [do what?] to [accomplish or avert what outcome?]. My research shows [statistic or researched factoid], and according to [reference magazine, well-known website or other authority], [genre or other important aspect of story] is very popular with [demographic]. [Industry person or other respected icon] read it and said [rave review remarks].
Just substitute the word "book" for the word "movie" in the above template, and you're good to go for your book pitch. I have some experience writing these things from my screenwriting days, but the fact that you have to write them at all, or be rehearsed in 'elevator pitching', was a big part of the reason I gave up on screenwriting. It's a soul-killing exercise in taking something you've poured your heart and soul into over months or even years, and boiling it down to an assurance of how much money can be made selling it. Once upon a time the screenwriter's job was to craft a touching or compelling script, and the producers were the ones who came in and bastardized it and dumbed it down for maximum marketing and profit. Now, they expect the script to come to them pre-dumbed-down and pre-bastardized, already packaged like a commodity they can immediately use to forecast sales. Sadly, the same thing is now happening with books.
As anyone reading this blog knows, a typical writer must feel a great deal of passion about a given story or character to invest the necessary time and effort in writing an entire book about it, then edit and polish that book in round after round of revisions. Yet when the time comes to try and land an agent or sell the manuscript to a publisher, the writer is supposed to just shut that passion off like a water tap, adopt the cold detachment of a marketing wonk and focus exclusively on his book's prospects for commercial success. The only ones who do it well are writers like Nicholas Sparks, who BEGINS with brainstorming about what will sell in today's market and works backward from there to come up with a story and characters. Writers like him are focused on the book's commercial prospects from the beginning; they don't write stories, they engineer them. That's why there are so many soulless, forgettable books these days, and why I've gone indie. In an October interview in Entertainment Weekly, Mr. Sparks describes his "process" thus:
''After every book I feel like the well is dry,'' he says. ''Well, that's it! Got nothing. Done. Washed up. Don't know what I'm going to do. Maybe I'll write a cookbook.'' But then he practices his standard method of formulating the skeleton of his next love story. ''Okay,'' he says, getting excited, ''I just wrote The Lucky One. So the next one won't be a military story. I know that right off the bat. These characters were in their 20s, okay, so the characters are not in their 20s. Okay, so if you're in your 40s, what are the dilemmas? Oh, wait, I've got Nights in Rodanthe coming out, and that's a love story with characters in their 40s, so if I come out with a book just like that, people will think I'm not original. Okay, what are the dilemmas that typically face 30-year-olds that I haven't done? Are we dealing with a woman who has put herself on hold for the sake of her career? Very common for women. See, you want something universal. So, hmmm, where does that go? Could be anything. Hmmm, let me do her biological clock. Hmmm, maybe she goes to her 20th high school reunion? Ah, yes, maybe she had a boyfriend? Was he ever married? Was he divorced, is he widowed? Does he have kids? What if this, what if that, what if this...''
Now, I don't know about you, but my own writing process does not begin with market analysis, theories about "dilemmas that typically face 30-year-olds", issues "very common for women," or "something universal". I tend to begin with characters or situations I feel passionate about, then work very hard to do them enough justice to inspire my eventual readers to feel as strongly about them as I did when I sat down to write. Apparently, I am part of an outmoded breed by today's publishing standards. My silly notion of beginning with something I find personally inspirational must appear downright quaint to a bestselling technician like Mr. Sparks.
Clearly, the book business is breaking down into the same two camps as the movie business, with the mainstream dominated by disposable projects and celebrity vehicles that got made on the basis of a marketing pitch, and the independent path being the only route left to people who got into the whole thing because they wanted to tell a story they felt passionate about. To me as a reader, it's depressing, because mainstream books of real quality and depth are few and far between anymore. But to me as an indie author, it's further reassurance that I'm on the right path and that an indie movement in authorship is both viable and inevitable.
If you're an engineer of stories, capable of successfully working backward from market demographics like Mr. Sparks, you no doubt have a fine future ahead of you in the 2009 ABNA and with mainstream publishers. Otherwise, ask not for whom the indie author movement calls: it calls for you.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
The Newly-Published Author's Long, Dark Night of the Soul
Bottom Line It For Me, Baby Version (200 Words or Less):
If you think writing the book, soliciting feedback, revising, designing cover art, formatting, publishing and getting the book listed for sale are the hard parts...you ain't seen nuthin' yet. Your adventures in authorship have only just begun, and your work is far from over. Somehow, we've all acquired the tribal misinformation that once the book is out there, readers will rejoice and the inevitable tidal wave of sales will commence. The reality for newly-published, unknown authors everywhere is quite different. It's a given that indie authors are on their own to promote their books and get their books into brick-and-mortar stores, but the same is now true for mainstream-published authors as well. Shockingly, publication with a major house is no longer any guarantee that your book will show up on the shelf of your local Borders. It's oddly comforting to know we indies aren't at such a huge disadvantage compared to the mainstream anymore, but that doesn't make the work of self-promotion any easier or more pleasant.
An Indie Author Guide to Promotion is coming to the rescue, but every minute I spend writing about promotion is a minute I'm not able to do any promotion, so please be patient.
(No Run Yo Mouth Version again, because I'm too busy with...wait for it...promoting my books!)
If you think writing the book, soliciting feedback, revising, designing cover art, formatting, publishing and getting the book listed for sale are the hard parts...you ain't seen nuthin' yet. Your adventures in authorship have only just begun, and your work is far from over. Somehow, we've all acquired the tribal misinformation that once the book is out there, readers will rejoice and the inevitable tidal wave of sales will commence. The reality for newly-published, unknown authors everywhere is quite different. It's a given that indie authors are on their own to promote their books and get their books into brick-and-mortar stores, but the same is now true for mainstream-published authors as well. Shockingly, publication with a major house is no longer any guarantee that your book will show up on the shelf of your local Borders. It's oddly comforting to know we indies aren't at such a huge disadvantage compared to the mainstream anymore, but that doesn't make the work of self-promotion any easier or more pleasant.
An Indie Author Guide to Promotion is coming to the rescue, but every minute I spend writing about promotion is a minute I'm not able to do any promotion, so please be patient.
(No Run Yo Mouth Version again, because I'm too busy with...wait for it...promoting my books!)
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Chapter Two: The Troubles Begin
Bottom Line It For Me, Baby Version (200 Words Or Less):
Promotion is a bi*ch, and so's her sister, Marketing.
Go On An' Run Yo Mouth, I Got Nuthin' But Time Version (can't promise it won't go on forever):
I've got two Kindle-edition novels up for sale in the Kindle store at Amazon, and the trade paperback editions of those novels will go on sale in the 'regular' Amazon bookstore shortly. When they do, I can get some free review copies out to local newspapers and magazines to try and drum up some coverage. In the meantime, I'm having a great deal of difficulty finding legitimate, socially acceptable ways to promote my work.
I originally generated some interest in the Kindle editions by posting to some Kindle discussion groups on Amazon and elsewhere, but you can only do that once without risking the label of 'spammer' and the ire of the group. When a new book comes out the publisher generally tries to get some quality editorial reviews, i.e., in Publishers Weekly or the Times Book Review, but those types of publications are too busy pointedly ignoring self-published authors to give us the time of day.
So I thought, "Hey, enthusiastic readers enjoy discovering new voices, just like film and music fans. I should approach one of these enthusiastic reader groups to see if any of them might be interested in forming an editorial review body specifically for independent books!" What a lovely, simple idea it seemed at the time. Now that the smoke has cleared, the bodies have been removed from the field of battle and we're free to sift through the rubble, let's see if we can piece together what happened.
I located an ebook reader group that described itself as interested in new technology and the lively discussion of books both old and new. I politely asked this group if any of their members might be willing to form an editorial review circle for books from self-published authors, whereby they would get free review copies of the books and have their reviews posted in the Editorial Review box on Amazon book pages. I'm still not sure precisely what part of this idea inspired such irritation in them: the free books, the prestige of becoming a recognized editorial reviewing body, the opportunity to be a driving and influential force behind the indie author movement, or the idea of all the free promotion their group would get as a result.
Whatever it was, what I thought had been a nice, friendly and productive discussion between me and a few other, interested group members was soon characterized as some kind of attempt to take over and subvert the group---though why anyone thought I could have possibly accomplished such a coup with my one thread out of over 30, I can't say. Then I noticed a thread in which one of the objectors posted about celebrating the sense of friendship and community in the group, and just about got whiplash. That's when I decided that maybe my definition of friendship and community is quite different than the standard for this group, and perhaps it would be best for all involved if I left them.
One member emailed to tell me she'd also decided to quit the group as a result of what was said to and about me there, and another posted to say he wished I'd return because he was also interested in my idea. But I'm afraid I've soured on the whole thing; I'm fiercely protective of my positive attitude, which has been absent all day on account of this fracas, and I'd prefer not to delay its return any further. I'm gonna need all the willfull-idealism-in-the-face-of-hopeless-odds I can muster in the coming weeks, as I begin soliciting for editorial reviews on my trade paperback editions. Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens...
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