Always Learning

The world of book publishing is ever-changing. What was effective five years ago to reach readers is different today.  These changes aren't new.  I encourage you to locate and read former Simon and Schuster Editor-in-Chief Michael Korda’s Making the List, A Cultural History of the American Bestseller 1900-1999. Publishers, editors and agents are always trying to pick books and authors which will sell enough copies to make the bestseller list.         

"The bestseller list is full of surprises, too. Publishers have always bemoaned the fate of the dreaded “first novel," but the bestseller lists are full of first novels by unknown authors that sold hundreds of thousands of copies--even millions of copies--and made their author, and publisher, rich and famous; Margaret Mitchell's Gone With the Wind is the example that comes to everybody's mind," Korda writes (p. xiii) And a little later, "Editors cling to the advice that's always worked for them, when dealing with authors--'Concentrate on story, story, story!' 'Show, don't tell!'" (p. xxv) 

Now as an acquisitions editor, authors often want me to predict whether their book will be a bestseller. While I can recognize a well-written book, I learned years ago it is unwise to predict which books will bomb and which will become bestsellers.

As we tell our Morgan James authors, every bookstore buys books based on their perception of what the author is going to be doing to promote the book. We have a system established to regularly take the reports from our authors and feed it to the bookstores to keep our books selling in the stores. I recommend every author find out how to report their regular activity to their publisher.

My watershed moment as an author came at Mega Book Marketing University in 2007 (now called Author 101 University). I attended as a literary agent and listened carefully to each session. I had written over 55 books with traditional publishers yet I was doing almost nothing to promote my books. Yes I had a personal website but I had no teleseminars, a few entries in my blog and no twitter followers. I decided to change and take action. I became actively involved in the promotion of my books and building an audience of readers with a newsletter and regular communication. I would not delegate or outsource this activity to a designer or a webmaster but I did it myself. I've built a large digital footprint--and here's the good news: you can do it too.

Every author is surrounded with opportunity (even if you don't know it). The activities to build an audience don’t have to consume your life or prevent your writing--but you do need to take consistent action. I am constantly learning about publishing, bookselling and marketing. There is always more to learn and I will never figure it all out.

Here are nine principles as I've engaged the market (and expanded in Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams):

1.   Always be prepared.

2.   Decide to be consistent.

3.   Decide to be generous and help others.

4.    Count the cost of new activities.

5.    Gain knowledge before you leap into an activity.

6.    Look for ways to automate.

7.     Be open to new tools.

8.      Don't neglect old fashion print tools.

9.      Create a clear goal for each new tool.

I wish I could say that I have it all figured out--but I don't. I'm still growing in my daily knowledge of this publishing business. I wouldn't have it any other way because I have chosen to follow my passion for the printed page every day. I know books change lives. Many years ago, reading a book changed my life.

What principles do you use to engage the marketplace? 

Keep Experimenting to Sell Books

I've never met a book author who didn't want to sell more copies of their work. It doesn't matter if they are published through one of the largest publishers or Podunk Press (I don't believe there is such a small publisher named Podunk Press but maybe since there are many of them).

I've interviewed more than 150 bestselling authors and spoken with hundreds of other authors. If you bring up the topic of selling more books, almost every author has a story about something they tried yet failed to work. Often these stories are filled with the author blaming someone else for the lack of sales. They blame:

• their publisher
• their publicist
• their agent
• their editor
• the wrong title
• the wrong cover
• the missing endorsements
• _____ you name it

It's rare that I hear the author blame the real culprit: themselves. Yes, it's hard to admit but it is the first step toward selling more books and understanding who bears the true responsibility for selling books—the author.

In Jack Canfield's bestselling title, The Success Principles, How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, he begins the book with some fundamentals for success. The first principle is: Take 100% Responsibility for Your Life.

For book authors, you can easily take the word Life and substitute Book: Take 100% Responsibility for Your Book. It's amazing how your attitude will shift if you take this simple step.

Many authors long to have their book appear on the bestseller list. For some authors they equate getting on the bestseller list as their benchmark of success for their book. Over ten years ago, I read Michael Korda's Making the List, a Cultural History of the American Bestseller 1900–1999. Korda at the time was the Editor-in-Chief at Simon and Schuster, one of the largest publishers. If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it.

In the introduction, Korda writes, “The bestseller list is therefore neither as predictable nor as dominating as its critics make it out to be. Plenty of strange books get onto the list and stay there for a long time…at least half of the books on any given list are there to the immense surprise and puzzlement of their publishers. That's why publishers find it so hard to repeat their success—half the time they can't figure out how they happened in the first place.” (Page xv) I love his honesty. There is no magic bullet and it is different for every book. The author is key.

Some books start slow and steadily sell then catapult in sales. Other books begin strong then sales drop to nothing. There is no consistent pattern.

My encouragement is for you to keep experimenting with different methods to sell your book. Each author has a different experience.

Yesterday I spoke with an author who had sold 8,000 to 10,000 copies of his self-published books. He had held over 300 book signings for his book. For many authors book signings have yielded almost nothing but not for this author. He regularly speaks at schools and service clubs and even AARP meetings.

If you aren't speaking much as an author, I encourage you to get a copy of Barbara Techel's Class Act, Sell More Books Through School and Library Appearances. This book gives step-by-step help and is loaded with ideas where you can take action.

What proactive steps can you take to learn a new skill or try some new way to sell books? It doesn't matter if your book is brand new or has been in print for a while. Keep the experimentation going until you hit the elements which work for your book.

Answer The Obvious Questions

At every stage of the book purchasing process, readers come with some basic questions. Are you answering them? If you have a book proposal or a book manuscript, you are attempting to catch the attention of a literary agent or an editor. Or when the book has been contracted and you are finalizing the text to turn in your manuscript, have you answered the obvious questions of the reader?

Often as writers, we are focused on crafting an excellent story or an excellent nonfiction book. At some point in the process, we need to return to the reader and make sure we've answered the obvious. Steve Weinberg raised this issue in his recent Soapbox column, "Another Eisenhower Biography?" in Publishers Weekly. I know Steve because we are members of the American Society of Journalists and Authors. Steve was reviewing a forthcoming biography on President Dwight Eisenhower from Michael Korda. In this 800–page book, Korda praises another biographer of Eisenhower but doesn't tell the reader why he is adding to the literature on the former President.

Weinberg explains the reason for his question, "I'm also assuming the role of consumer advocate. I think of my mother, an avid, 83-year-old reader who is unlikely to consume more than one biography of Abe or Marilyn or John or Jesus, given her philosophy of so little time, so many more books to devour. My mother wants to know why the new one is ostensibly the best choice for her."

Ultimately the reader wants to make the best possible choice for their limited reading time--and it's up to the writer to make sure the convincing answers are somewhere in the text of the book.