|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Hello all.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Welcome to our Friday After
Hours!
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
I wanted to talk about
promotion today, because the book publishing market is shifting
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
away from big NY publishers
who take care of everything to small press and ebook publishers as well as
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
POD self publishing where all
promotion is on the shoulders of the writer and their books will not get
space in the brick and mortar bookstores.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
So the big issue becomes...how
do you get readers?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
For anyone who is bringing out
a book in the near future, I recommend Lisa Warren's book
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
The Savvy Author's Guide to
Book Publicity.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
She was a publicist for
Houghton Mifflin among others and offers suggestions from spendy to
thrifty.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Your goal is to make your name
and the book's title visible to the reading public.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Say you publish a book through
a self publishing site like Lulu. You put it up for sale on amazon.com and
your website.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
How does anybody find it? When
you log onto amazon.com the website doesn't thrust a new book onto your
screen.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
And if they start doing that,
you'd better believe it'll cost you a lot to get that service!
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Start with local bookstores.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
And don't wait until your book
is published. Start way in advance.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Make a list of all the
independent bookstores in your area.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Make up a PR package.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
That can include a catchy
blurb about your book -- you know, the kind you see on a paperback's back
cover.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Include a nice bio about you
the author, with your picture if possible.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
If you want to spend a bit of
money, make up book marks from your cover. If you create the files, you can
get a lot of very nice laminated bookmarks from an online printer for under
100 bucks.
|
|
info
|
Doesn't at least some bookstores
either get that information or look at amazon for new books? Or is it up to
the author to inform the bookstores?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Nope. Sales reps come to the
bookstore and push books...if you're with a big publisher out of NY.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
If an owner reads a book and
likes it or a customer recommends one, the owner might stock it.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Independent bookstores, unlike
the chain stores that can return unpurchased copies, are stuck with the
copies they order.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
And bookstore owners don't
make a lot of money, so they don't buy books unless they think they'll
sell.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
That's why you want that PR
packet to sell that book to the owner.
|
|
andi
|
Does there have to be a picture
of you?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
No. Not if you don't want to
put a picture in there, or you don't have a good one.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
The picture merely
personalizes you a bit.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Be SURE to include ordering
information in your PR package.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
My bookstore owner friends
complain that all too often there is no information about where to obtain
the book
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
and if it's not handled by one
of the big three distributors, the owner won't be able to buy it.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
And by the way, your self
published book and a LOT of the small press houses are NOT handled by the big
distributors. It costs money to get on Ingrams distribution list.
|
|
charie'
|
Magnets are good for promoting
your upcoming novel.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
You can do all kinds of cute
giveaway material -- post cards, magnets, book marks. They do help people
keep your title and cover in mind. :-)
|
|
charie'
|
If your book is POD, how do you
get the chain bookstores to stock it in their warehouse?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
They won't.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Actual shelf space is VERY
precious.
|
|
rae
|
How do you know what the cover
will look like?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
You'll get a copy of the cover
as soon as the publisher decides on it, Rae. Usually the cover flat from a
big publisher is ready months before the book ships.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
These days, the publisher will
send you a jpg or gif file...that's a digital file like a picture uploaded
from a digital camera.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
You can use it to print the
cover on your color printer at home or through an online printer.
|
|
rae
|
Don't you need an agent?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Agents only negotiate
contracts and sales with big NY publishers, rae. They don't handle
promotion at all.
|
|
charie'
|
How do they get around this
catch-22?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
What catch-22, Charie?
|
|
charie'
|
Authors have offered to give booksignings
but can't because the chain doesn't have their book in inventory.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Oh, that one.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
The chain doesn't care.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
They only want you to do a
signing if they have your books to sell.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
But you can set up signings
other places. Or do readings.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Offer to do a reading at your
local library. Leave the librarian a copy of your book.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Many libraries...most libraries...are
thrilled to put on public events like that.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
They'll simply advertise the
time and make public space available...many branches have public meeting
rooms.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
It's up to you to do more publicity...maybe
flyers or see if your local paper will do a piece about you in the arts and
leisure section. Remember that PR packet!
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Many of the little postal shops...the
ones that offer mailing services?...are happy to let you put a display of
books there and sell copies for you.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
They want a piece of the cover
price of course.
|
|
charie'
|
And bring your own copies to
sell?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Of course.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Now a library may have
restrictions against selling -- be sure to ask. But you are getting your
name out there and of course you'll have information on where to buy your
book if you can't sell copies there.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
(Or you can sell them outside,
afterward!)
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
What about your local farmers
market?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Why not pay for a table, set
out your books, bring your laptop and be chatty.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Of course any writers
conference you attend is a great place to get known.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Ask the programming people to
put you on panels.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Ask for a signing or reading.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Be visible and hand out
bookmarks.
|
|
kolanda
|
Could a little blurb from
community leaders that you personally know help in promoting your self
published book?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Of course!
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Any local connection is great.
See if you can get your local or community paper to do that interview with
you.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Send copies of your books to
reviewers with a nice note.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
See if you can participate at
local celebrations or functions, setting up that table to sell your books.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Some communities have local
art fairs. I used to go up to White Salmon, WA for their art fair every
year to do readings and sell books. It was great fun and I sold books.
|
|
quixote
|
What about a PR package 'online'
- say by e-mail (no givaways of course - unless by mail)
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Definitely, Quixote. I"d
use regular mail (to bookstores) and online to anyone you can reach.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Go hunting with google and see
how many book review sites you can find. (There are lots).
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
See if you can submit your
book for review there or if they take reviews, get a friend to write one
for you and submit it. (Author reviews are a bit suspect!)
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Get your friends to write a
good review and post it on amazon.com on your book's page.
|
|
kolanda
|
The subject of self publishing
was discussed at our writers group last night and one of our seasoned
writers (published books) said she is considering going that way in the
future and suggested we consider it too
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
It entirely depends on what
you want and what type of book you are writing.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
A NY publisher gives you MUCH
greater distribution and the sales numbers tend to be higher.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
We're talking 35,000 in sales
up to hundreds of thousands if your book really takes off.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
That's 35,000 copies I mean.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
If you sell a hundred self
published books, that's better than most.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
If you sell 3000 copies in a
year, NY will be impressed. :-)
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
But if you have a solid niche market
so that you can reach a lot of people who will be interested in your book
easily, it might well be worth self pubbing. That way you get all the
profit, not just that royalty.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
I have a student who is a
realtor. Her book is built around the real estate trade. I've advised her
to self publish
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
since she can promote her book
at real estate conferences and there's a high degree of word of mouth
there. And her book will be less interesting to non-realtors.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
So this is a situation where
it's a good idea.
|
|
charie'
|
Is there a procedure to put a
link on your website to your publisher?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
You just add the URL to the
website with the html code to send the person who clicks on that link
there.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
That's all there is to it.
|
|
quixote
|
Wasn't self publishing suspect -
as if a writer didn't risk a professional editor?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Self publishing is ordinarily
two and a half strikes against you.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
The instant assumption is that
it's bad and that's why you had to self publish. Reviewers won't touch 'em,
award committees exclude them.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
And you know what, folks?
Ninety plus percent of self published books are AWFUL so readers are not
enthusiastic about buying them.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
That's the barrier you'll have
to overcome if you want to go that route. That's why a niche market is very
helpful and a LOT of PR is requrired.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Plan to give a way a LOT of
books!
|
|
rae
|
Are any of your books self-published?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
No. Mine are all published
with NY publishers. I actually pay my bills writing and that means I go the
route that brings me the best income.
|
|
charie'
|
My uncle created a teacher's gradebook
and traveled to book shows in his RV to promote it.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
If you can do it, that's a
good way. A friend of mine published several humorous books about raising
goats. She sold them at livestock shows, fairs, and in dairy goat
catalogues.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
She made decent money that
way...a few thousand per book.
|
|
charie'
|
You don't need their permission?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
For a link? No. If you want to
link to a personal website, you should ask the person. That' s only polite.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
The publishers WANT people to
come to their site! They're selling things!
|
|
rae
|
Does that mean that you do
non-fiction most?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Me? I write SF mostly and
mystery sometimes. :-) I've been published with Del-Rey (an imprint of
Random House) and Tor Books at the moment.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Oh, and Penguin-Putnam, too.
|
|
charie'
|
My uncle is a retired teacher
and makes his living off the books now. Word of mouth from those book
shows.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Cool, charie. That can happen.
And text books are BIG payers! A writer friend her has written on textbook
for a university film course and that and the update of it have kept him in
income.
|
|
rae
|
Did you get an agent to get you
started?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
I do have an agent, rae. You
can't deal with the NY contracts without one, believe me. And she sells my
books overseas, too.
|
|
kolanda
|
if you are writing your book
around something that happened in a particular community
(historical/fiction) in the 1920's and the location is still there and is
now a very large retirement community would it be good to go there and do
something for the whole community? It would seem people would like to read
about the history of the place.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Oh, that would be a marvelous
idea, kolanda. Retirement homes are full of readers with LOTS of reading
time on their hands. Offer to do a visit, a reading, and signing.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
When you visit your local independent
bookstores, offer to do a reading and signing for them.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
I don't generally do signings
at big box stores...they don't advertise very well. But I jump at the
chance to do one at a local independent store. And book clubs are GREAT.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
I have always said yes when
asked to be a guest at a book club.
|
|
happyharriet
|
Regarding ebooks, please explain
that process. Thanks.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Generally they are sold as a download
to a reader....like an mp3 player, harriet. They can also be sold as a CD.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
It's the same process as with
a paper book, but it's a computer file.
|
|
charie'
|
How does Print on Demand compare
to self-published?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Print on Demand is simply a
technology charie.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Most small press houses use
POD technology now. It allows them to print small batches of books.
|
|
kolanda
|
great! I already have an open
door as my mother is part of the history and I am writing about her and her
siblings and their life in that community in an orphanage.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Oh, you do indeed have a
lovely niche market, kolanda. I'd probably self publish that book and just
promote it in the community.
|
|
kolanda
|
do I understand this right,
self-publishing can be good for some type books if you have a certain group
or people that will have an interest but not necessarily the general
public?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Yes. In general, you will be
lost in a sea of badly written books and generally, most self published
books by new writers see very very few sales.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
BUT...if you have a niche
market where word of mouth and shared interest gives you an edge...go for
it.
|
|
quixote
|
and do these small press POD
houses have editors? Does one submit, as to a traditional publisher?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
The actual publishers, small
press, ebook and the like, DO have editors and they do not publish every
book they get. They only publish
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
a certain number of volumes a
year. They probably won't pay an advance (a few do) but you'll get
royalties.
|
|
gail
|
Is it too campy to offer, say, a
buy 3 get 1 free promo?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Not at all. One small press
author...I forget who...was offering something like that. If you bought his
two novels, he threw in a collection of short stories.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Whatever works for you. :-)
|
|
keriad
|
how long did it take to get your
first book published?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
I'd been writing and
publishing short fiction for a couple of years before I started pitching my
first novel. I think it took about nine months to sell, but I DID have some
name recognition and was getting great reviews from the critics.
|
|
charie'
|
Does Print on Demand have the
same stigma as Self-published for being looked down on?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
No. Print on Demand is simply
a technology.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
It's like saying 'offset
printed'.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Just a 'how' not a quality
assessment.
|
|
barbiq
|
I don't understand why they
(self published books) are not considered for any awards etc.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Because so many are bad and
there are so many out there. The committees get swamped. They have to
consider all these books and it takes a LOT of time.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
No, it's not fair.
|
|
gail
|
Is self-publishing generally
best for non-fiction, rather than fiction?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Not at all. Self publishing is
only going to be useful to you if you have a highly interested market that
you can reach easily.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
My real estate student can
hand her book around at real estate conferences and if readers like it,
word of mouth will sell it for her.
|
|
gail
|
Self-published books are
considered for awards by Writer's Digest.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Yeah, they do it, but the
major awards don't.
|
|
info
|
The thing that I wonder about
is, what if my heart is into writing sf/fantasy/mystery but I have what I
think is a great ya book. Do I want to send that YA book to a small
publisher and send that sf/fantasy/mystery book to a big NY publisher? Or
can I send them all to a publisher that deals with them all?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
You send each book to the
publisher that seems best suited for that book.
|
|
kolanda
|
How long before you were you
able to write full time and live off it?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
I'bve been doing it
for...let's see...over ten years. So probably seven or eight? But I was
willing to live on VERY little money. Depends on how you want to life. If
you want a 90,000 a year lifestyle you have to earn that money!
|
|
info
|
My concern is that not all NY
publishers take children or YA books that do deal with sf/fantasy.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
That's why you study the
markets to find the right publisher to query.
|
|
rae
|
How about books on genealogy?
Good for self-publishing?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
That might work, rae. That is
a very large niche market and they tend to do a LOT of online
searching.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
I'd probably focus on online
advertising...a website, maybe get geneology websites to link to your site
(send the person who runs it a copy of your book..autographed)
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Give your book away a LOT.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Word of mouth is your best
advertising.
|
|
barbiq
|
Is it better to self-publish
when you write poetry as well as non fic and fic?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Not necessarily. You don't
publish everything in one place. My mysteries don't publish at the same
place as my SF.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
If I get into alternate
history, that'll be a different publisher yet.
|
|
quixote
|
I'm WAY outside the US - in Argentina at the moment
- a 'niche writer' i guess :-( ...what are the options?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
You can submit to any
publisher. It'll cost you in terms of mail, but if they buy your book,
they'll just take electronic files after that.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
I get stuck sending copies of
my novels overseas to my agent's european connection. I use the PO's express
international flat rate envelopes. It's not too bad.
|
|
gail
|
Speaking of your mysteries, is
there another book in process featuring Rachel O'Connor? :)
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Fraid not. My editor left the
publisher to raise her kids and the new editor cleaned out, dumping all the
old editor's writers. Another publisher won't pick up a dead series .
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
I had a couple of small press
houses ask, but I didn't have another book written yet.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
And I"m busy with my SF
at the moment.
|
|
info
|
So the NY publishers don't mind
so much if you use other publishers for manuscripts that don't fit within
they're genre?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Not at all. Now you'll get a
'first refusal' clause in your contract...means you have to show the next
book to them first.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
If it doesn't suit their line
they won't buy it. :-)
|
|
gail
|
So, that's it? There's no way to
write more in that mystery series? What about self-publishing? lol There's
an established market.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Ah, if I'd had a manuscript
finished I would have self published, gail. But it's not established...I
was selling through the box bookstores and a small press can't get in
there.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
So my sales would have been
much smaller. I was selling about 40,000 copies.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Remember...for me it's paying
the rent, not just getting it on the shelf.
|
|
kolanda
|
my book is on history discovered
through genealogy, but I thought it would be boring so I am writing it as
historical/fiction to add personality to the people. Is that a good idea
for sales?
|
|
kolanda
|
on a self published book, how
many words are the norm?
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Hard to say, Kolanda. I don't
know the geneology market so I can't compare for you.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
And you can make a self
published book any length you want...but the longer it is, the more it
costs the readers.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Well, this has been a lively
conversation!
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Lori Soard and I are going to
be talking about self promotion on a shoe string at our next
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
professional connection
interview.
|
|
gail
|
I completely understand the
situation. I'm just disappointed. As a reader, I've come to like Rachel and
wanted to read more about her life and work. :)
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Ah, I was very sorry to see
that series end, gail. I enjoyed Rachel and her friends, too. It's hard to end
something. But then...there's always the next book!
|
|
sss1208
|
and I wanted your recipe for
salmon stuffed cherry tomatoes
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
LOL, a couple of people said I
should do a recipe book.
|
|
charie'
|
Today Jimmy Carter signed his
new book where I work. I got to see what NY promotion feels like. A+ all
the way.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Yeah, but they only do that
for the top book for the season.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Well, I'll post the
transcripts in the usual place: Writing Craft: Forum Transcripts.
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
I'll be here Sunday for our
casual chat. Be sure to drop by. It's a lot of fun. See you then!
|
|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Thanks for coming, all!
|
