There was a shocking bit of publishing misinformation making the rounds a while back. It had to do with the number of books an author could expect to sell. We all know that not every book is going to be a N.Y. Times bestseller, but newly published writers are certainly angling to sell more than, say, a dozen books. But the number 12 started popping up, as in nearly 50 percent of new books published will only sell 12 copies. Twelve? Not even a baker’s dozen? Oy!
The number 12 might be fallacious, but the truth is that it’s hard to get books into readers’ hands. People are busy. Reading takes concentration. We’re all easily distracted. Of course, once you find yourself in the throes of a fabulous book, suddenly you’re not so busy, you only want to concentrate on the book you’re reading, and every distraction is a distraction away from what you really want to be doing, turning pages, or swiping, as the case may be.
On Monday, August 19, at this summer’s Islanders Write, Elisa Speranza will give a free workshop (all the workshops are free; in fact, the entire event is free) which will help writers understand the ins and outs of promoting their books and help them to make a plan on how to embark on a publicity and marketing campaign, so they’ll never have to worry about the number 12.
Speranza is an Oak Bluffs summer resident who has worked for decades in marketing and strategic communications. In 2022, her debut novel, “The Italian Prisoner,” was published. It is a wonderful work of historical fiction that takes place in New Orleans and Italy during World War II. I recently asked her to answer a few questions about how as a first-time novelist she got word out about her book.
I think of “The Italian Prisoner” as a self-published success story. Most importantly, the book is beautifully written. But there have been many beautifully written books that haven’t found readers. What are the three most important things you did as a first-time author to get word out about the book?
Thanks for your kind words!
- I put together a strategy and a nerdy spreadsheet to help plan and organize my launch effort.
- I developed an author website, including everything anyone would want to know about the book, the true historical backstory, and my journey as an author.
- I spent a lot of time building a mailing list of everyone I’d ever known! Work colleagues, high school and college friends, family — everyone and anyone. I was surprised at who responded to my launch emails and showed up at my events. Social media is important too, but there’s no substitute for personal outreach.
Every book project is different, and the truth is, if people knew exactly what worked to get books into readers’ hands, we’d all have bestsellers. That said, there are definitely a few things that writers should be thinking about prior to publication of their book. What are two of those things?
- What are your goals and objectives? How will you measure your success? For me, it wasn’t just sales, it was certain podcasts, lit fests, book clubs, and other authors acknowledging the book.
- Who is your ideal reader? (And no, it’s not “everyone.”) I’m speaking from the point of view of selling fiction, but my memoir, self-help, nonfiction, and business book author friends would likely agree. Take the time to think about target audiences, and it’ll help with both how and where you publicize the book.
I love this idea that you’ve talked about, which is the importance of becoming a good “literary citizen.” Can you explain what that means, and why it’s important?
To me, it means supporting other local authors, attending book festivals and events, getting to know booksellers, librarians, and other literary boosters — before your book is even out in the world (or even before it’s finished). Be generous with your public praise of other authors, tag them in social media posts, review them on Amazon and Goodreads, and suggest them to friends and book clubs. Be genuine, though; don’t be a faker. I’m a big believer in making deposits into the Karma Bank. You reap what you sow!
I took a “throw things at the wall and see what sticks” approach to promoting my new novel, “Morning Pages.” I now realize that there are surely more effective ways of publicizing a book, because there’s a lot of stuff building up under my wall. I would now recommend people have a multi-tiered publicity plan when their book comes out — and sure, throw some stuff at the wall, but to also be intentional. You have a lot of marketing experience; what are your thoughts on the balance between traditional approaches to getting publicity to trying unconventional ideas?
Great question. I did a lot of trial and error with “trendy” book publicity too, then realized my marketing and strategic communications background provided the tried-and-true tools I needed. Networking, visibility, targeting, personal connections, word of mouth — sometimes the simplest approaches are the most effective. The most important thing to remember is people can’t buy your book if they don’t know about it.
Islanders Write is sponsored by The MV Times, and will be on Monday, August 19, at Featherstone Center for the Arts. Kate Feiffer is the event producer for the event, and the author of the new novel “Morning Pages.”
