Q&A on Book Releases | Lisa Velthouse

Here?s one big Q and one big A, courtesy of a fellow writer about-to-be-author and me.

Someone who attended college with me recently contacted me on Facebook with some great news and some confusion. The news: she?s publishing her first book! The confusion: how in the world to promote it?

I had a few minutes, so I hammered out a response and sent it off. Then I thought, Hey look! Moms can accomplish things! A real message sent to a real person! I was so excited about this, that I figured I should make the most of it and fling it to the world. Who says you can?t double-dip?

The following are the first things that came to mind when I was posed this: I?m wondering what your experience has been on the other side of publishing a book when it comes to marketing and selling your book. How much time do you spend speaking, traveling, promoting, etc? How much financially have you had to spend to do this?

My response

Congrats on the book deal! That?s exciting. [personal stuff omitted] I wish you the best as you work on everything.

My experience is that it?s best to plan for about a month of serious marketing around the time of your book?s release. Depending on what the publisher initiates on your behalf, that could take little effort (i.e., ?only availability) or a lot of effort (pursuing interviews, writing articles, pitching articles, etc.) on your part. If the publisher hasn?t set you up with a publicist, ask if they will. In my experience, bigger-name radio interviews are fabulous for press, with articles coming in second. That?s a good thing to be thinking about as you complete your book, as well: how could I boil down sections of this book into smaller chunks for articles? (It makes the book-writing much easier and better, I find. Though admittedly I learned this lesson far later than I wish I had. Next time!)

Some people will tell you to take every opportunity you can get, as far as publicity is concerned. I?m not of that school of thought. If something feels awkward to me, where I can pretty easily see that my book?s audience doesn?t overlap much with the venue (radio or magazine or whatever it may be), then I?ve found that those venues, no matter how ?successful? they are, don?t end up being worth the time. Focus on places that are already good matches, and work really hard to market there, because that?s the marketing that will pay off. Does that make sense?

Another great idea is to arrange for a blog tour, where people in the field (and ideally with a following) will agree to review your book on their blog, and then (ideally with the publisher?s donation) offer a free copy of the book as a giveaway to correspond with that review. Depending on your audience, could be a good thing to try. This could be low-impact potentially, especially if your publisher would be willing to do some book mailings in-house for you.

All that said, my experience is limited, so take everything with a grain of salt. Trust your instincts.

Oh. One more thing. You want to capitalize on the first 1-3 months after your book?s release, because that?s when your publisher will still be working hard to promote it. After that, there?s a new wave of product, and it?s just that much harder to keep the publisher thinking about yours! Even so, publishers often love it when you have ideas and when you?re excited about things. If you have an idea for marketing, pitch it to them.

I?ve spent very little money on marketing, and the times when I have spent money, it hasn?t seemed like the money comes back. But I am a cheapskate, so that perspective might be skewed.

Hopefully all this is helpful. In all, enjoy the ride. You?re likely aware that book-writing is something most people wish they could do (and assume is easy) but the authors among us know it?s a privilege and a long labor. Make sure you have a book party to celebrate the accomplishment! I was wary of that sort of thing at first, but found that my friends loved going?most people like being able to say that they?ve been to a book release party, no matter how small or unassuming it is. And it makes for a special day for you as the author.

I hope some of this is helpful! I simply spewed quickly and didn?t take time to go back and edit. Busy season over here.

Source: http://lisavelthouse.com/2012/11/13/qa-on-book-releases/

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