Thanks,. This was useful re the publicity work. Very depressing. Don't we all just want to write and put our stuff out there? But why would someone buy it unless they know about it? The costs sound more than I can handle, being a senior on a fixed income. It turns out that everything I know and think is too expensive. Oh well...I shall keep writing, because I need to keep writing.
I'm sharing this post far and wide. Even those of us who know the time, effort, experience and resources we bring to clients, numbers can feel startling. Thanks for breaking it down the way you did, Kathleen.
Kathleen - this is amazing. Long before my book was published last month I decided to hire two publicity firms because they didn’t conflict and did very different things. One dealt with Amazon ads, goodreads and speaking engagements. The other dealt with conventional publicity, podcasts and helping me place op-eds that I would write based upon my books themes. I thought the conventional book publicists did an amazing job. The verdict is still out on the other but they did find a couple of potential markets for my book that might yet pay off in a big way. In general, I don’t know how authors publicize their books without hiring a firm. I’m lucky; I could afford this but I also didn’t have the time to do everything myself, so I really had to hire someone. Thank you for this newsletter; it is amazing and I am glad I found you!
This is such great insight, Kathleen! What do you think of tools like Storiad and Propel? And I wonder should authors consider what constitutes a win when setting out on a publicity campaign if nothing can be guaranteed? Would minimum expectations still be reasonable, say 3-5 podcast appearances, X number of blog posts and reviews, etc?
Kathleen, you tell it like it is. Going back a few years, I did my own publicity. Wouldn't recognize the game today--so many changes and new obstacles.
However in the ten minutes it required to read your post, I now feel like I'm up to date.
Thank you for mentioning my Amazon Ads management service in your excellent article. Amazon Ads can be a very effective way to reach new readers. Many of our author clients are seeing 50% of their total orders and KENP page reads coming directly from Amazon Ads, and a boost in organic sales and series read-through. Well-targeted Amazon Ads are an important part of a successful book marketing plan.
This is excellent. As an aspiring author on the cusp of getting my manuscript ripped apart by various species of editors, I can say the sheer amount of information and the number of information domains is overwhelming. Not just what do I need to learn, but what even are the categories of things I need to learn. Concise, no BS, summaries like this are invaluable. Keep it up.
Thank you and I am grateful for your information. Will send this information on to some of my writers who have no idea of what it costs. Well done, you!!!
Thank you for this clarification. It helps me understand why publicity is so expensive and where the money goes. I agree about Substack being for everyone—the more the merrier!!!
Thanks,. This was useful re the publicity work. Very depressing. Don't we all just want to write and put our stuff out there? But why would someone buy it unless they know about it? The costs sound more than I can handle, being a senior on a fixed income. It turns out that everything I know and think is too expensive. Oh well...I shall keep writing, because I need to keep writing.
This info is so helpful! Thank you for sharing!
5 to 10 years with time off for good behavior
https://open.substack.com/pub/marlowe1/p/the-enormous-radio-the-stories-of?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=sllf3
I'm sharing this post far and wide. Even those of us who know the time, effort, experience and resources we bring to clients, numbers can feel startling. Thanks for breaking it down the way you did, Kathleen.
Kathleen - this is amazing. Long before my book was published last month I decided to hire two publicity firms because they didn’t conflict and did very different things. One dealt with Amazon ads, goodreads and speaking engagements. The other dealt with conventional publicity, podcasts and helping me place op-eds that I would write based upon my books themes. I thought the conventional book publicists did an amazing job. The verdict is still out on the other but they did find a couple of potential markets for my book that might yet pay off in a big way. In general, I don’t know how authors publicize their books without hiring a firm. I’m lucky; I could afford this but I also didn’t have the time to do everything myself, so I really had to hire someone. Thank you for this newsletter; it is amazing and I am glad I found you!
Hi Maura, thank you so much!
This is such great insight, Kathleen! What do you think of tools like Storiad and Propel? And I wonder should authors consider what constitutes a win when setting out on a publicity campaign if nothing can be guaranteed? Would minimum expectations still be reasonable, say 3-5 podcast appearances, X number of blog posts and reviews, etc?
Great questions!:)
Kathleen, you tell it like it is. Going back a few years, I did my own publicity. Wouldn't recognize the game today--so many changes and new obstacles.
However in the ten minutes it required to read your post, I now feel like I'm up to date.
Thanks for the refresher.
Thanks for breaking this down. It's so helpful.
Thank you for mentioning my Amazon Ads management service in your excellent article. Amazon Ads can be a very effective way to reach new readers. Many of our author clients are seeing 50% of their total orders and KENP page reads coming directly from Amazon Ads, and a boost in organic sales and series read-through. Well-targeted Amazon Ads are an important part of a successful book marketing plan.
You’re welcome! I’ve been recommending you to clients.
This is excellent. As an aspiring author on the cusp of getting my manuscript ripped apart by various species of editors, I can say the sheer amount of information and the number of information domains is overwhelming. Not just what do I need to learn, but what even are the categories of things I need to learn. Concise, no BS, summaries like this are invaluable. Keep it up.
Thank you and I am grateful for your information. Will send this information on to some of my writers who have no idea of what it costs. Well done, you!!!
This is super helpful. Thank you for sharing your expertise and wisdom in these posts—it is greatly appreciated 👏🏻👏🏻
Thank you for this clarification. It helps me understand why publicity is so expensive and where the money goes. I agree about Substack being for everyone—the more the merrier!!!
Excellent, Kathleen. thank you. I’ll be sure to share.
This was great information. Thank you for the transparency.
This is extremely helpful information! Thanks for sharing!