Author’s marketing requires skills many of us need to acquire. This week, Radical Writers welcomes award-winning author, Henry McLaughlin. For more about Henry, check out his links at the bottom of this post.
Guest post on author’s marketing by Henry McLaughlin
Marketing for an author can be described as the sound of fingernails on a blackboard amplified a hundred times. There are a few authors who are excellent marketers. I met him at a conference once. He lost me at his third sentence when he started talking about Amazon algorithms and the intricacies of figuring out pricing.
Unfortunately, marketing is the new reality of writing and publishing. Why write if you don’t want to get published? If you publish, whether traditional or self, you need to market your product and, to a certain extent, yourself. Even traditional publishers expect the author to do up to 99% of the marketing.
So, what’s a person to do? Weep and moan about how unfair all this is? As Dr. Phil would say, “How’s that working out for you?”
The best strategy is to accept the reality of today’s publishing world and deal with it.
When possible, attend conferences and take the workshops offered on marketing. As you build your writing community network, talk about other author’s marketing experiences. Look for tips and resources, for what worked and didn’t work, what they learned they would carry forward into their next marketing effort. Study books, blogs, and articles for information and tips. Experiment with ideas and possibilities. Discover what you’d be comfortable doing.
I recently released a new book—Emily’s Trials—with Elk Lake Publishers.
Knowing I view marketing the same way I view colonoscopies, I asked a writing friend I trusted for advice. He recommended hiring a person to run a book launch for me on Facebook. And he gave me a name.
Her name is Karen Sargent. We shared emails and talked on the phone. I liked her ideas and style.
ONE KEY ELEMENT in every marketing campaign (just as there is in every aspect of our lives): NEVER FORGET TO INVOLVE GOD IN YOUR THINKING, PLANNING, AND DECISION MAKING. AND IN IMPLEMENTING YOUR PLAN.
After praying over all the information before me, I decided to go forward. The key element was the peace I had over the whole project.
Karen recruited the launch team. She planned the activities, encouraged the members, organized prizes.
Recruiting the team took a couple of weeks, and the launch itself was a three-week effort to publicize the book on Facebook and other social media. Karen came up with suggestions, graphics to share, and contests for the team members.
In my view, the effort was a great success. The team was enthusiastic and diligent. Emily’s Trials reached number 11 on the Amazon top 100 list for its genre.
What did I learn from the experience? To select a team leader who is accessible, who shares my vision for the book, and who is skilled at generating action from the team. I also learned the value of connecting with God throughout the process.
Would I do it again? Yes. I experienced no pressure or angst about having to do all that work by myself. I also experienced the joy of working with the team and sharing in making the launch a success. The effort exceeded my expectations. How about you? Please share your experiences in marketing, especially what you found worth repeating in your next publishing effort.
Visit Henry’s website by clicking here and check out his newest release, Emily’s Trials. #emilystrials.
To learn new skills, include author’s marketing, join one of our writing groups.