How Much Publicity is Enough?

The answer is complicated.

Since tomorrow (Thursday) is my 53rd (!) birthday, I am writing a quick newsletter today. I still get excited about my birthday. I am a Leo, what did you expect?

Today’s newsletter tackles a tricky question: How much publicity is enough? Years ago, when I worked at Dutton, I launched several bestselling books. The publicity formula for each title was similar: a morning show, print reviews + features (People Magazine and NYT were preferred), NPR, a radio satellite tour, etc. The books would almost always hit the bestseller list—a good thing, right? Wrong. It wasn’t enough. We’d have a marketing meeting, and sales would ask what other publicity I could pull in. It was deflating to hear that after all the work I put into a campaign, it wasn’t yet considered a true success. Sales was concerned about “sell-through.” Sell-through = the number of copies sold versus the number of copies printed. The goal is to “sell through” the copies printed. Here’s an example: The first printing for Book X is 15,000 copies. In its first week, the book had great publicity and sold 5,000 copies. That seems great, but there are 10,000 copies left to sell; thus, the sales team is wondering what else can happen for the book. The idea in this scenario is to keep the book on the bestseller list for as long as possible. What about books that aren’t bestsellers? How does an author know when there’s enough publicity?

Some time frames are flexible

I was talking to a colleague last night and said, “These days, I care less about the pub date of a book and more about the contents of the book.” Meaning: I care about what I can/cannot make happen for a book more than I do about when it is released. Five years ago, I would’ve told you I only handle books at launch, and that would have been shortsighted. There are books where the author has an interesting background, so I know podcasts will want to talk to them. Other times, a book may have an evergreen topic. Fiction can be tough if the pub date is long gone and the author doesn’t have a platform and/or a background that lends itself to topical podcasts. That said, nothing is impossible (look at me, being an optimist!). The real question is, “How much publicity is enough to sell the book?”

Something I often tell authors is that we can promote a book, we can see how many clicks a link gets, but we can’t force a consumer to part with their money. It’s not that the marketing and publicity campaign isn’t working, per se; it’s that we are bombarded with so much stuff that we are thinking more about where to spend money. These days, people are very price-sensitive, so authors and publishers must exercise patience during publicity campaigns. Sales may not be brisk at the beginning, but who’s to say that won’t change? Again, it depends on the book and author, but in some cases, a book might gain traction and become a backlist title.

What do consumers want?

If a book’s sales are a bit slow out of the gate despite an abundance of publicity, it doesn’t mean authors/publishers should double down on those efforts. What should happen is a quick assessment of what happened in the months leading up to publication, at publication, and what is planned in the four weeks post-publication. To publish is to pivot, and to pivot means knowing the consumer landscape. If people are spending money on Labubus (below, will they also spend money on a book? We don’t know, but spending $90 of discretionary income this month may mean a consumer is tapped out of fun money.

What I’m getting at is that there are several reasons why publicity might not sell a book, and why piling on more publicity probably won’t help. Conversely, if people are reacting to marketing and publicity campaigns by purchasing a book, keep going, but be flexible. Sometimes what works in month two will not work in month three.

Time frames that matter

Someone will undoubtedly ask how to know if they should start promoting their book again three years after its initial publication. The answer is not a hard “no.” Instead, I’d ask why you think it’s a good time to re-promote your book and wonder why you stopped promoting it in the first place. Have you considered current trends? Is the book’s film/TV adaptation in production, and are there major stars attached? Is it a holiday book? Is the topic of the book being discussed in the news? If the answer is “no” to these questions, reconsider diving into re-promoting your book and think about what’s realistic.

Managing expectations

Every author wants their book to be successful, and that success means different things to everyone. Sometimes, it’s good enough to have a book published. Other times, authors want everyone to read their book—but their book isn’t for everyone. I’m aware that reviews give some writers a sense of validation, but—and this is therapy speak—it’s a dangerous endeavor to seek outside validation constantly. Launch weeks are a lot less exciting than many authors have been led to believe. Book tours are expensive, and crowds aren’t guaranteed. Heck, bookstores may not want an event with you. Should you take it personally? No, it’s business.

My advice for authors is to control what they can, even if it means doing a lot of legwork, and don’t expect your publisher to do everything, because they can’t and won’t. If publicity isn’t working to sell a book, it’s time to pivot your strategy (this also pertains to publishers). Sometimes, nothing sells a book, and that’s REALLY hard for an author. It’s also tough for agents, editors, and publicists. Publicists especially feel the post-publication crash: we go-go-go, and then it’s over. I stayed in bed for a week after Prince’s campaign was done in 2008. I was emotionally and mentally drained, didn’t want to talk to anyone, and didn’t want to start working on something new. I bet that sounds familiar to many writers.

How do you know when you’ve done enough publicity?

The short answer is that you don’t know when you’ve done enough publicity. You can decide you’ve had enough and take a break or move on to writing your next book. If, after months of publicity, your sales are still tepid and there is no upside to the author branding you’ve done, I suggest pausing all promotional activities and reassessing your needs and wants. Often, what authors want doesn’t align with what they need, and that is why consultations exist.

A rare scenario is when a book organically starts to take off on BookTok and its sales pop. We wish we could plan these things, but it doesn’t work that way. Sometimes, authors are well-positioned to reach out to creators, and they should act on it, but not before creating a strategy to do so. If a book takes off on BookTok and starts selling, it doesn’t mean the media will come on board, but they might.

The hardest part

Letting go of a book’s publicity campaign is hard. I think some authors go into free fall while others immediately get back to writing. Everyone handles the “end” differently, so it’s best not to assume one author must be gleeful while another is glum. Find your writer people and talk to them. Publishing is a tough business, and supporting each other goes a long way. You may think you’re at the end of the road with a particular book, but how can you be sure? Again, this is why consultations exist.

Only authors know when they’ll feel satisfied by a book’s sales. I’m guessing that most authors don’t know when to feel satisfied by sales, so I’ll leave you with this nugget: The sales of your book should always align with its first printing. If book Y’s first printing is 5,000 copies and 4,500 copies are sold, the author should feel satisfied. Even if book Y’s first printing was 2,000 copies and 1,500 copies are sold, the author should feel satisfied (and ask if a second printing will happen). The issue here falls with publishers who are afraid to tell authors their first printing numbers. That is ridiculous, and it needs to change. Authors must know what the first printing is, so they are aware of what they need to work towards in terms of sales. Will it bring up questions? Yes, but isn’t transparency better than keeping an author in a state of anxiety? I think so.

A COOL THING:

Brad Listi is a cool guy who has interviewed me a bunch on his Othrppl podcast, so it’s no surprise that he’s launching a great app called Deep Dive.

The What: DeepDive’s debut audio course, How to Write a Novel, is available for purchase. It features over 50 hours of never-before-heard conversations with more than three dozen of today’s most acclaimed contemporary authors, including Emily St. John Mandel, Steve Almond, V. V. Ganeshananthan, Melissa Broder, Porochista Khakpour, Hannah Pittard, Stephen Graham Jones, Kimberly King Parsons, Tiffany Clarke Harrison, Matt Bell, Deb Olin Unferth, Antoine Wilson, Vauhini Vara, Lydia Kiesling, Tod Goldberg, and many more.

The How: The course will be available on our website and through the DeepDive app, which will be available for both iOS and Android.

The Cost: $297 (It’s 25% off right now).

A Video Preview:

END NOTES:

Here are some links of interest:

Charlotte Shane (whose last book I loved) wrote about the mortifying ordeal of being published.

Vanity Fair is eliminating reviews.

The Associated Press is ending its regular book coverage.

A funny McSweeney’s piece about judging books.

Book Riot has a great feature about the best books you never heard of this summer.