Friday, January 25, 2013

Marketing

Author Marsha Ward and I are members of ANWA (actually she started  it many years ago), and earlier this week one of the members who's a new author posed a question about marketing. Marsha's response was great, and I'm so glad she shared it on her blog, so I can let you folks know about it.

What's the best approach to marketing my book?

So many times, that's a question I hear from first time authors. Here's my answer, and you may not like it, but it's really the truth:

After you have announced your book to your friends via your email contacts, social media sites, and twitter, and have a short "signature" below your name in your email account, the best thing to do in the marketing arena is to write the next book and get it out there.

Yeah, I know that sounds weird, but I cannot emphasize this enough. Too many people with one book available are spending prodigious amounts of time trying in vain to influence sales, instead of writing the next book.

The thing is, the availability of multiple books/short stories/novellas is what seems to drive sales better than anything. And when someone spends all their time drumming up sales for their ONE book (and thus making a pest of themselves), what's the good of it if--when someone reads it and wants more--there is no more work available?

There IS no good that can come of that situation. After the reader exhausts their search engine capacities and their patience and doesn't find anything else by you, your name is then forgotten--once the distastefulness of the frustrating episode fades away.

DO make sure you . . .

Sorry. Go visit Marsha's blog to see the rest.

19 comments:

  1. Interesting--thanks for sharing Marsha.

    I can see where having a long-term plan that involves a steady stream of works would make sense in terms of customers who enjoy the author and want more.

    Not sure why I did not think of it in those terms before. And, I think writers will appreciate that wisdom in that it gets them away from what is usually not fun (marketing) and back to what they love (creating stories).

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  2. Good to know I'm doing something right!! First book is out, second one will be in two months and a third two months after that. *whew* lol Definitely don't want to make a pest of myself. I'm trying the minimal marketing approach to see how it goes and focusing on making the writing better. Just attended a discussion about this on FB. How to market without alienating readers. It's a fine line to walk.

    Melanie

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  3. I kind of love that. It's why I decided to go ahead and finish writing the second novel in my trilogy before releasing the first one. I'm a slow writer but I wanted there to be a second book available right away while I write the third.

    Also, I think if people don't have a second or third novel coming, a short story collection is also a good alternative to have available for people to read (if self-publishing).

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  4. Cool post~ thanks for the marketing advice! Now if I only had a book for sale to market... :)

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  5. Thanks, Donna! I appreciate the links. :-)

    Marsha Ward
    Westerns with Heart & Grit

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  6. Absolutely agree. Sales of my ebooks increased enormously with the release of the second. Readers like to know the writer isn't a one trick pony.

    I do disagree about the email signature line though. I trialled it and was quickly brought down a peg or two by friends and family who thought it was ridiculous. Gotta say, I agree with them.

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  7. getting right on it! excellent advice!

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  8. Great post Marsha. So true we have to write book 2.

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  9. Yep it is a marathon, not a sprint. So one must keep pumping them out, have 8 in the process of being done now.

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  10. I can't agree more, Marsha. As Dan Wells has said, "Always submitting, always writing." :)

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  11. I can write book 'til the cows come home. It's just the finally saying they're polished enough and getting someone to publish them that I fall down on. Right now I'm in the middle of writing one but I'm polishing my Sci Fi (A TERRIBLE MAJESTY) for pitching at conference. I'm hoping it'll be picked up by Shadow Mtn.

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  12. A very interesting 'marketing plan'. I like it.

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  13. Great insights! I never though about book series in a marketing sense quite like that before. I better get started then:)

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  14. Great insights! I never though about book series in a marketing sense quite like that before. I better get started then:)

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  15. Excellent advice, and I'm pleased to meet Marsha.

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