I’ve recently been part of a number of conversations with authors about how they can successfully promote their books. These aren’t self-published books, these are books published by traditional publishing companies, all of which have marketing departments.
Over at Buzz, Balls and Hype, M.J. Rose has a fantastic article about exactly how to do this.
Read: Get thee to a marketing/pr meeting!
Working in a publishing house and having an author as a partner has given me an interesting perspective on the industry. From the author’s point of view I see that there is usually little communication between editor or publicist and author about what to expect in terms of the process. From the publisher’s point of view I see that there is very little time to walk someone through the whole process–you’re busy actually getting the interviews and sending the books out for review. Both side are in need of help from each other.
What’ I like about the Buzz, Balls and Hype article is that it explains the process nicely and gives sound tips on ways an author can approach his/her publisher.
Here are the points that stand out for me:
1) 4-6 months before your book comes out ask for a marketing/PR meeting
The timing is going to be dependent on your particular publisher and the type of book you have coming out. But basically before it hits the stores, before it goes out for review, make sure you have a meeting about what’s going to happen.
2)Key talking points to cover in that meeting:
– Do you want to spend some of your own money promoting the book and if yes how much?
– How many ARCs (Advance Reading Copies) are going out (if any)?
– Is there a tour planned?
– Are there any online or off line advertising/promotional plans?
– What would the publisher like you (the author) to do for the book? What don’t they want you to do?
– Is there any incentive program that makes sense?
– If appropriate is there a reading group guide?
– Will you have/who is your publicist? What time frame will he/she be working on your book? What kind of reviews/press is the publisher going after?
– Do they have other authors with similar books coming out at the same time? Would they be interested in piggy backing efforts?
– Do they have a problem with you setting up your own speaking engagements, do they/how do they want to know about them?
The article offers excellent background information on why these are key questions to ask and the purpose behind asking them.
If you work in publishing or are an author or potential author, have a read through this article.
Article: Get thee to a marketing/pr meeting!
What do you think? Valuable info?