“Isn’t that the publisher’s job?”

I thought I’d start off the week (and the month) with a little bit of a missive. I don’t tend to “write” much here on the blog, preferring instead to post what I hope are useful and instructive videos, audio interviews, etc. But my first love is and always will be the written word. So I’m dusting off my keyboard here to write a few words about something that’s been nagging at me for a while now.

Two things spurred me to write this entry today.

The first…

…was a forum post I happened to stumble on a few weeks back. It was a “writer’s” forum where authors — published and unpublished, it seemed — could share experiences, advice, and just generally converse on what it’s like living the life of a writer.

Somewhere buried in this forum was a discussion about book marketing. This alone made the experience unique, as precious little hard drive space seems to be dedicated to actually selling a book once it has been written.

After a brief exchange related to a particular marketing strategy, one of the authors and forum members piped up to say something along the lines of: “I thought it was the author’s job to write the book, and the publisher’s job to market it.”

The second…

…is Terry Whalin’s great blog post from last week — “Find a Need and Fill it”

Funny thing is, most of Terry’s very informative post isn’t even about this particular topic. But he does touch on it right up front, and that’s what finally got me to put pen to paper here on the blog.

In commenting on a recent Twitter post from Penny Sansevieri, Whalin made a great comment about authors who expect their books to find an audience — to SUCCEED — while at the same time expecting fortune to smile on them through some unique combination of luck, divine intervention, or an Oprah invite.

Here’s the relevant portion of Whalin’s post. Tell me if it doesn’t make perfect sense…

New books are continually entering the marketplace. It is one of those realities of the market which every author needs to know about and acknowledge. There were over 400,000 new books published in 2007 which is a lot of books when you consider the typical big box bookstore only has 10,000 to 15,000 titles.

I was amused to see Internet marketing expert Penny Sansevieri’s tweet about an email from an author who proclaimed, “I don’t need to market my book because people will just find it.” Right. It’s like throwing a party when you don’t send any invitations then wondering why no one came to it. (As a complete aside, I encourage you to sign up for Penny’s free newsletter. Why? To confirm your subscription, you receive a seven-page list of Top Author Marketing Experts Confidential Contacts. A free resource for every author or would-be author.)

With the volume of books coming into the market and places like magazines and newspapers cutting back on their review space, it is increasingly difficult to get readers–and reviews of your books. Here’s where I’m going to with this post: that situation creates an opportunity or a need which you can fill–even if you’ve never been published or are much published. How are you supporting good books that you discover? Are you telling other people about these books (even if you don’t get paid for that proclamation)? It can pay off for you.

Now, far be it for me to come into a discussion like this with guns blazing, but Terry and Penny are exposing a fundamental truth that practically compelled me to start this site in the first place. You’ve probably heard the old saying that “the baker doesn’t know how to run the bakery.” It’s a shame, but in my experience most authors not only don’t know how to market themselves and their books, but THEY DON’T WANT TO.

It’s easy to get caught up in the dream — to rely on the old cliche of the writer toiling in obscurity until the world finally catches on to his or her genius, as if by accident, and elevates them to exalted status.

Here’s the reality IMHO…

No one cares about your book more than you do. Not the publisher, not your publicist, and certainly not the general public.

You have to make them care. After the writing is done, your job isn’t over. It’s just beginning. The real work is in getting people to care about what you’ve written. And that will NEVER happen without some good old-fashioned get-your-hands-dirty marketing. If you wait to be “discovered,” it won’t happen.

What Barack Obama Can Teach Authors

No matter which side of the aisle you happen to be on, no one can argue that Barack Obama was able to engineer one of the most stunning marketing campaigns in recent political history.

But how did Obama’s “movement” start? It started with grassroots campaigning — i.e. MARKETING.

How many speeches to audiences of five, 10 or 20 people in Iowa do you think Obama had to make before he was “discovered” by voters?

Obama’s remarkable fundraising base and much-coveted email list was developed first by grassroots marketing, then by word of mouth, and finally by a brilliant use of technology and social marketing run by none other than Chris Hughes, co-founder of the mega-successful “meet up” site Facebook.

Everything is Marketing

I may be running the risk of rambling here, but I want to make sure my philosophy on all this is clear, as well as why I believe I’m absolutely right on this point.

EVERYTHING IS MARKETING.

Everything.

Authors, bakers and candlestick makers ALL need to market themselves to be successful. Put yourself in your publisher’s shoes. Why would I dedicate limited time and resources to promoting your book if you haven’t first proven to me that you’re going to hold up your end of the bargain?

Prove to me first that you’re willing to work tirelessly to make your book a success. Show me — really SHOW ME — that you’re as dedicated to this process as you tell me you are, and then, maybe, we’ll talk about what I can do for you. Because the bottom line is that no publisher is going to carry you through this process. It’s your book, not theirs. They expect most of the titles they publish to die a quiet death. That’s just the law of averages.

If yours isn’t to be one of those — if yours is going to be one of the ones that breaks out, finds an audience, and beats the odds, it’s going to be 99.9% because of the work YOU did to bring it to the world.

Is it worth it? Is it worth all the work? This may not be how you imagined it would be. The reality is probably not like the dreams you had when you first sat down to write your book.

The question I would ask myself is this: If my book was worth writing, isn’t it worth doing the work required to make sure someone actually reads it? If your goal is to touch as many people as you can with your book, then no amount of effort should ever seem like too much.

This is what it’s all about, guys.

Don’t throw a party and neglect the invitations.

Tagged with: How to Market a Book • promote your book

Filed under: How to Market a Book

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