Tips and resources on writing and marketing
My plan is to send a weekly writing advice newsletter, but I missed last week. First I was in Santa Fe speaking at a conference. Then we had election stress. Then I messed up my back, and I took Friday off to celebrate my anniversary. Since I don't yet have paid subscribers, I thought it more important to be gentle with myself and take a break.
Tip: Always remember to be good to yourself! Take breaks when you need to. That's especially important with the busy holiday season coming up, which can involve a lot of family stress for many people.
BUT if writing is important to you, try not to cut it out entirely. Even ten minutes a day or an hour a week can keep you going, and you can build on that habit when you have more time. Or make a plan for when and how you will return to it. For example, you might go ahead and schedule time on your calendar now for writing in January.
I plan to send out a video newsletter this week, but in the meantime here are couple of resources/thoughts.
From author and former agent Nathan Bransford: Shy, depressed, grieving, and adrift characters still need to be active
That's a good thing to remember when you're writing those opening chapters and establishing the promise your story is going to make! Don't just think about what's wrong in your main character's life. Think about what they want and what they're going to do about it.
On Marketing
A new author joined the Tule Publishing team recently and asked a question on the author listserv. (I've never worked with a publisher that had a listserv for all its authors before. It's great!) He wondered what marketing things were useful. Here's my response:
All of the promo things you've mentioned can help. Sadly, none of them help enormously.
Well, getting enough reviews can help with the "social proof" that convinces people to buy the book. Tule can help with getting reviews from readers. You don't necessarily want to ask all your friends and family to leave reviews. For one thing, it's against Amazon's rules. (People can probably get away with it if they review a lot of things honestly, but if someone who's never reviewed before leaves a review, that could look suspicious.) But also, the sales site algorithms might decide that "People who buy cookbooks are the right audience for this thriller" and you don't want that.
In-person events can sell a few books. Guesting on a podcast, maybe, if it's the right podcast with a large audience. Social media posting might lead to a sale now and then, over time. Are any of these things worth the time you put in? Maybe not, or only if you actually enjoy the activity – so find something you enjoy and do that. Otherwise you can waste a lot of time running around selling one book here and one there, when you could be writing the next book. Basically, if we knew an easy way to sell a lot of books, we'd all be doing that already.
I was just at a conference where a presenter mentioned that there is no evidence authors can really move the needle on book sales through their own activities. But you never know when a book here or a book there eventually finds the right person, who recommends it widely. For example, I know someone who went to a big event and only sold a few books – but one of those sales led to selling 300 books to be given out at a conference.
Short answer – do a few things that sound fun, but don't stress about it. And have patience, as it can take a few years for a book or author to take off.
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That's it for now! I'll get that video newsletter more focused on writing advice out in a couple of days.
Chris