“What? You mean I spent a year writing my book, six months revising
it, and three years getting it published, and you tell me that was the
easy part?”
Yup. [NOTE: Of all the authors I’ve talked
to over the years, most have stated that the average time to find a
publisher is six years. And that’s the average. One mid-list SciFi
writer who is now well established told me it took him ten years to
place his first novel. So don’t get discouraged after your first dozen
rejection slips. This is a long and ego-bruising process.]
It’s
time for the harsh reality. Your novel is a product. In the publishing
industry, it’s one product competing with thousands of others just like
it. If you’re really lucky beyond your wildest dreams, you’ll hit a
homerun your first time at bat J.K. Rowling did with Harry Potter or, to a lesser extent, Brian Keene did with The Rising.
For the vast majority of us, we have to work at building our
reputation. You have to make the readers aware that your book is out on
the market, convince them to purchase a copy, and hope that they like it
enough to come back for more. Up until now you’ve spent all your time
writing that first book. Now you have to spend just as much time
marketing it if you ever hope to see your second book published. Trust
me on this one – I’m speaking from experience.
[DISCLAIMER:
What I’m about to say next is a generalization about the industry and
does not hold true for each and every publisher. My publisher,
Shadowfire Press, understands that it takes several years and several
books for an author to come into his/her own, and is very nurturing in
that process. However, I know of other publishers that I will not name
that see their authors as resources to be exploited for their own gain.
That is why, as I stressed in a previous blog, an author must be careful
about who he/she contracts with and not feel as though they must take
the first offer that comes along.]
All the authors,
publishers, and literary agents I’ve talked to stress that publishing is
an industry. As in any industry, if you can’t turn a profit for the
company, the company will let you go and find someone who can make them
money. Publishers spend a certain amount to get your book into print in
the anticipation that it will be popular and turn a profit. The industry
closely tracks book sales, and that information is readily available.
So if the book doesn’t sell well, for whatever reason, and if it the
publisher is not able to at least break even, then good luck getting
them or anyone else to take a chance on your second book. (The good news
is the rise of e-publishing. Since the initial outlay to publish an
e-book is so much less since the company does not have to worry about
printing and shipping costs, the chances of your book turning a profit
are much greater. Conversely, your royalty on an e-book should be
greater than with a hardcover or paperback.)
Compounding
the problem is the vast number of books on the market today. Gone are
the days when a publishing house had a small but reliable cache of
authors and would devote its time and resources to making them
successful. Today, most publishers dedicate their limited public
relations budget to those books or authors they deem most marketable,
letting the rest of us fend for ourselves. Even those publishing houses
that look after their authors include clauses in their contracts that
require the author to take upon themselves much of the responsibility
for marketing the book. It’s a fact of life of the publishing industry
today.
Years ago the author’s mantra used to be “Write or Die.” Today it’s “Market or Die.”
The good news is, marketing yourself and your book is neither costly nor difficult, only time consuming.
Since
you have a product to sell, you need a place to sell it. So let’s begin
by setting up a website and a blog. Keep it simple. The goal is to
provide a forum to discuss your writing and what you’ve written, so
everything that goes on it should be geared to that end. My blog layout
contains the basics: a photo and brief bio of myself, links to my web
presence and where to purchase my books, links to other websites I
frequent, and banners to vampire-related websites that have also
provided links to my blog. Check out several blogs and websites for
authors you like to see what they have done, then create your own. If
the idea of creating one intimidates you, don’t let it. There are
several sites out there that allow the technologically-impaired to
easily set up and manage a blog or homepage. Once you spend the time to
create your blog and homepage, keep up with them. Try to post at least
three days a week. If a potential fan clicks on your site and sees that
it hasn’t been updated since the Red Sox won the last World Series, they
won’t bother following you. It takes half a day at most to set one up
and only a few hours a week to maintain it. (And before anyone who has
visited my website comments, I admit I’m horrible when it comes to
updating my webpage, but I hope to do better, especially now that I
chastised you for not doing so.)
Keep the content
interesting. Post updates about your writing, when you sign a contract
or get published, any conventions or book signings you’re attending,
etc. And be sure to vary the content. If your blog is only about you and
your writing, you’ll bore readers. Include postings that are fun or
informative. I post the weekly Sunday Bunnies and news about upcoming
genre-related books, movies, or TV shows. Just try to avoid content that
will be controversial or divisive (like politics and religion). If you
give your honest opinion of a President or other leading political
figure, don’t be surprised if you alienate half your readers.
NEXT BLOG: Marketing Your Book and Yourself, Part II
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