book-promoting

Book-promoting is the hardest thing about writing today, besides the shrinking audience of readers that we've all heard about.   Promoting a book is hard because it's the exact opposite from writing in many ways.  Writing is individual, so the writer can fully control the process, but book-promoting involves at least two people: writer and librarian, events coordinator, or bookstore manager.  And because these people are doing the writer a favor in giving her a venue and free publicity to try to sell her book to an audience, the writer is no longer in control of these transactions.  The events coordinator is. 

    And whereas writing is all about pleasing oneself, promoting one's book is completely about pleasing other people.  The first is all inner-directed; the second, outer-directed. 

   Writing has an inherent momentum and continuity; book-promotion is a stop-and-start hodgepodge of interruptions and dead-ends.  Events coordinators don't call back, so you have to start over with a new venue.  A few of these starts and stops, and you wonder what you've done with your day, whereas the writer has created meaning with the hours she's put in. 

    And finally, one never knows whether her promotional efforts have been rewarded.  When you get an invitation to give a book-talk, you rarely know why they called you.  It could have been because of the letter you wrote them three months ago, or it could have been from word of mouth, or the lucky sighting of a review or posting of a book-talk notice that you haven't even seen yet.  So very often, you don't have a sense that you're making any progress. 

    Therefore, the tipping-point I've recently experienced after a solid year of promoting my book (starting long before it was published), is not necessarily of my own making.  But I'm welcoming it with relief and gratitude nonetheless.  It's the point where I no longer have to reach out to events coordinators and publicity people; thankfully, they've started to call me.  So I can take a welcome rest from the chasing or "following through" mode.  In fact, I'm through making cold-calls to potential book-talk venues; I'm going to move on to new writing this Fall, and only promote my book selectively, in response to people who have called me.

   Because it's the opposite of writing and thus feels unnatural, the promotion I can trace back to my own efforts is something I'm inordinately proud of.  It's the hardest, most frustrating work I've ever done, so small victories really stand out. 

    But after the talk is finally scheduled, comes the enjoyable part of promotion, and most other writers I've talked with agree.  We love to talk about our book, love to connect with readers.  So book-talks are wonderful once I've gotten all the scheduling done, helped publicize the event, ordered and packed up books to take to it, and set up and tested the audio-visual equipment before the talk.  This last is always a nerve-wracking process, involving a precise sequence of steps which, if I get them wrong, I've got to call my husband to talk me through by phone as audience files in and takes their seats.  It's always just down to the wire when I start talking.  One time, the electricity failed completely, and I had to go to hand-outs, which I'd made up for just such a possibility. 

    Fiction-writers have an easier time, because fiction is better-suited to reading aloud than non-fiction.  Non-fiction writers are advised by book-marketers to talk about their books, while fiction-writers can simply read from their books and take questions at the end.  No need for slides, as in my case. 

    Because the last thing I want to do in this summer of book-promotion is relive its many frustrations by writing about them, I haven't blogged much.  When I'm not promoting, I'm in the garden digging my worries into the soil, or walking out the kinks in my back from hunching over the e-mail all day.  So it's been a long time between posts this summer. 

    I'm hoping things will change come Fall, with the advent of new writing and no longer chasing promotional venues.  My husband and I are taking a sail down-east to Penobscot Bay in a few days (from Sept. 3-14), and I trust the late summer winds to blow all the promotional obsession out of my mind, and I'll come back empty and ready for new work.  I hope the same new Fall spirit for all of you. 

             

Comments

[mss @ Zanthan Gardens]

I think book promoting would be a nightmare for the reason you give: one is inner-directed, the other outer-directed. If one is a meditative type of writer, it must be painful to turn outward to the business of selling oneself. The thing I used to hate most about freelancing was looking for work because it demanded a completely different set of skills than those I'd honed writing.

Congratulations on getting to the point where people are knocking on your door instead of you having to knock on theirs.

[Tabor]

It is marketing and sales and I have always hated being a salesman! I am not good at promoting, but perhaps if it was something I really believed in. I think credit is due for a good product as well. You can promote all you want, but I think it is that the book is rewarding to readers and thus, you are getting more callbacks! Nice to rest on your laurels for a while.

[Cowtown Pattie]

Have a nice time out on the Bay, and I am looking forward to the new writing you mentioned...

[joared]

Interesting observations about your book promotion experience. I found out even getting a new book release displayed in a book store can be challenging, seeming to best require 1:1 contact within each store.

I look forward to your next writing venture.