I followed your advice on pitching to the media for my Valentine's Day promotion and emailed many local radio and print outlets. This is for my memoir, "Art & Love: My Life Illuminated in Egg Tempera." Now, given the limited time until V-day, I'm in a quandary about what steps to focus on next. Should it be podcasts, social media posts, bookstore and/or library presentations or other? Of course, my Substack is a given. What is the priority and how soon should I follow up with the media? Thanks Katherine, so generous of you to help us inexperienced indy authors!
I'd focus on podcasts and social media posts because we are only about a month away from Valentine's Day. That makes it hard for libraries and bookstores to promote an event.
I mean, results matter for an excellent campaign. I think other elements are how well you collaborate with marketing and publicity people, marketing efforts within the publicity campaign, creativity, etc. An excellent campaign leaves no stone unturned.
My NF book comes out in June. I think I have a low-lift idea for a preorder giveaway. But I have this one fairly straight-forward Q: Should I build I one-page site for the book?
I don't love playing around with that sort of thing at all. But I'd like to make an author website featuring the book that I can send people to. I also don't love the copy my publisher put on Amazon so I want something better for people to look at before they buy.
I'm feeling conflicted about spending my time and brain power on this. Is it worth it to use Bookbub or Tertulia or even Carrd?
Hi Liz, you need a landing page for the book somewhere. I like Tertulia because it is inexpensive and easy to use. A website is the anchor for all the information about your book and where to buy it.
In a market where memoirs by non-famous writers can be a tough sell, what are the most effective things an author can do, beyond writing the strongest manuscript possible? I’m agented and have published related pieces in the NYT, Salon, and elsewhere. One of my essays went viral twice and I have about 12K followers. The memoir traces my path from an abandoned Hong Kong newborn to an adult trying to reckon with the past and stop generational trauma. I’m also a James Patterson "Go Finish Your Book" grant recipient and have received support from PEN America, Bread Loaf, and Sewanee. What can I do to increase my chances of getting a book deal, like being more active on social media or appearing on podcasts? Anything else? Thanks so much.
You've been doing all the right things. Something to think about is who the audience is for your memoir, and what kind of content they'd like. Maybe you can create an Instagram carousel with text on the photos — use it as a visual storytelling tool. You don't want to do podcasts now. It's too early.
Yvonne, has your agent shopped the book yet? Sounds like you've already been doing so many of the right things--I'm curious about your agent's advice and their role if they've already committed to representing you.
Question: What are downsides of self-publishing ( KDP) a completed manuscript --IE--parking it on Amazon while I take the necessary time to find appropriate representation from Agents/Editors/ publishers. The book in question ( The Water Above) has also been serialized on Substack ( 25 chapters) .The book is a memoir of a Vietnam Vet who , after being released from a neuro-psychiatric ward spend 4 decades providing humanitarian assistance in the Levant during times of war and poverty.
I wouldn't park it on Amazon unless you think sales will really take off. The downside is that they'll ask for sales figures of the self-published version, and if they are low, it's easy for them to pass. If you are serializing it here, they will ask how many subscribers you have, etc.
Thank you. My problem is that to get the representation the book deserves ( according to available cognizanti ) it would take ages for an emerging writer ( I have been published by a trad publisher) to get a finished book to market ( a couple of years)...but what I am hearing you say is that metrics --even as it lies in wait mode--could damage my pitch to agents/editors etc.
I followed your advice on pitching to the media for my Valentine's Day promotion and emailed many local radio and print outlets. This is for my memoir, "Art & Love: My Life Illuminated in Egg Tempera." Now, given the limited time until V-day, I'm in a quandary about what steps to focus on next. Should it be podcasts, social media posts, bookstore and/or library presentations or other? Of course, my Substack is a given. What is the priority and how soon should I follow up with the media? Thanks Katherine, so generous of you to help us inexperienced indy authors!
I'd focus on podcasts and social media posts because we are only about a month away from Valentine's Day. That makes it hard for libraries and bookstores to promote an event.
Thank you Kathleen, that is very helpful advice!!
Hi Kathleen—Putting results aside and just focusing on efforts, what separates an excellent publicity campaign for
a thriller author’s novel from just a good one?
I mean, results matter for an excellent campaign. I think other elements are how well you collaborate with marketing and publicity people, marketing efforts within the publicity campaign, creativity, etc. An excellent campaign leaves no stone unturned.
My NF book comes out in June. I think I have a low-lift idea for a preorder giveaway. But I have this one fairly straight-forward Q: Should I build I one-page site for the book?
I don't love playing around with that sort of thing at all. But I'd like to make an author website featuring the book that I can send people to. I also don't love the copy my publisher put on Amazon so I want something better for people to look at before they buy.
I'm feeling conflicted about spending my time and brain power on this. Is it worth it to use Bookbub or Tertulia or even Carrd?
Hi Liz, you need a landing page for the book somewhere. I like Tertulia because it is inexpensive and easy to use. A website is the anchor for all the information about your book and where to buy it.
In a market where memoirs by non-famous writers can be a tough sell, what are the most effective things an author can do, beyond writing the strongest manuscript possible? I’m agented and have published related pieces in the NYT, Salon, and elsewhere. One of my essays went viral twice and I have about 12K followers. The memoir traces my path from an abandoned Hong Kong newborn to an adult trying to reckon with the past and stop generational trauma. I’m also a James Patterson "Go Finish Your Book" grant recipient and have received support from PEN America, Bread Loaf, and Sewanee. What can I do to increase my chances of getting a book deal, like being more active on social media or appearing on podcasts? Anything else? Thanks so much.
You've been doing all the right things. Something to think about is who the audience is for your memoir, and what kind of content they'd like. Maybe you can create an Instagram carousel with text on the photos — use it as a visual storytelling tool. You don't want to do podcasts now. It's too early.
Thanks for your great advice!
Yvonne, has your agent shopped the book yet? Sounds like you've already been doing so many of the right things--I'm curious about your agent's advice and their role if they've already committed to representing you.
Question: What are downsides of self-publishing ( KDP) a completed manuscript --IE--parking it on Amazon while I take the necessary time to find appropriate representation from Agents/Editors/ publishers. The book in question ( The Water Above) has also been serialized on Substack ( 25 chapters) .The book is a memoir of a Vietnam Vet who , after being released from a neuro-psychiatric ward spend 4 decades providing humanitarian assistance in the Levant during times of war and poverty.
I wouldn't park it on Amazon unless you think sales will really take off. The downside is that they'll ask for sales figures of the self-published version, and if they are low, it's easy for them to pass. If you are serializing it here, they will ask how many subscribers you have, etc.
Thank you. My problem is that to get the representation the book deserves ( according to available cognizanti ) it would take ages for an emerging writer ( I have been published by a trad publisher) to get a finished book to market ( a couple of years)...but what I am hearing you say is that metrics --even as it lies in wait mode--could damage my pitch to agents/editors etc.
Correct.