The world of publishing – like so many other industries – has changed a great deal over the years. The changes mean that (among other things) publishers and authors handle promotion and publicity very differently than years ago. If a writer thinks his job is done once he finishes the manuscript, he’s living in the clouds.In many cases, once the contract has been signed and all the final edits are done, that’s when the real work begins! This is probably especially true for new, unknown authors. Publishers don’t roll out the red carpet, book first-class airline seats on your world book tour, and give you an unlimited publicity budget.
This link from the Washington post details what one new author did the get people to notice her book.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/09/23/AR2009092304603.html
This New Yorker article – funny as hell – gives a tongue in cheek overview of PR and Marketing in a memo form. Well worth the read!
http://www.newyorker.com/humor/2009/10/19/091019sh_shouts_weiner?printable=true
Finally, this article in Walrus gives an overview of dollars and cents in the book world. Very informative.
http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2009.11-business-turning-the-page/
I agree with your thoughts on PR. It is the last thing i want to do after signing a book deal. but if you want to get a second book deal it seems an author has no other choice but to push his/her book to the best of their ability...
ReplyDeletebest of luck.
Jeff:
ReplyDeleteIt is what it is, sigh... I just wish I knew what the magic secret is... I'd gladly do whatever I needed to, it's just so daunting to figure out how to do it, what's going to work best for me and my book. Here goes a lot of trial and error :)
Jill
I was reading a blog, or website of a bestselling author. (I’ll try and find it so i can give you the link) the author talked about every aspect of PR on your own book and how if you don't do it most likely your book won't sell. The author talked about the things you can do to push your book in ways that work for very little cost, but requires huge amounts of time. It kind of broke down the author struggle to promote the books that finally earn top billing for his publisher, so they would invest huge amounts of money on marketing his/her books...
ReplyDeleteI’ll look for it and get back to you.
Thanks Jeff, I look forward to seeing the link if you can find it.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that the choice is spend mucho dinero or spend mucho time... I'm not sure which one I can spare! But, it would seem foolhardy to not cough up one or the other (or both)...
Cheers, Jill
Thanks for posting these links, Jill. The New York Times article was definitely enlightening, if a little daunting.
ReplyDeleteGood luck promoting your book!
So true. You have to be prepared to sell your books, if you want to be successful you have to work for it.
ReplyDelete