Pour Creativity Into Your Marketing

 

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Hopefully every writer pours a solid dose of creative energy into their writing and their mansucript. Ironically it is in the writing where the bulk of writers put their energy. I understand and believe it is important to build a solid foundation in the writing and storytelling. You select a way to publish your book and get it into the world. 

After your book is available to others, then you move into a different area where you market or sell your book. To help in this process, I recorded a free teleseminar where I gave a dozen different ways to sell books (follow the link to check it out).  In this article, I want to call a different aspect of the writing business to your attention: creative marketing. 

In the process of marketing your book, it often takes some financial investment such as to hire a publicist or to produce marketing materials or any number of other aspects. What if you don’t have the money or your financial resources are limited? Keep reading this article because I have some ideas and examples which any of you can do if you take action with these creative marketing ideas.

Several years ago I learned about Publishizer which is a free fund-raising tool. If you follow the link, you will see Morgan James Publishing has their own branded version of it. In some ways, Publishizer is like some other fundraising sites like GoFundMe or Kickstarter. Publishizer is focused on books where you can use these other places for many different kinds of fundraising projects. Check this page to get more details about how it works. 

Before your book is published, you can use Publishizer to create different packages. Then you can use an email list or social media to promote those packages and gather pre-sales on your book or funds which you can use for creating the packages but also for marketing or anything else you need with your book. Several years ago I worked with Terri Levine who is a Morgan James author. Terri used this tool to create her campaign and as you can see from the website, she raised $12,500 using this system. 

I met Kirsten Pistorius through her children’s book submission to Morgan James Publishing. She wrote and illustrated a beautiful picture book called My Little Prayer Book: Inspirational Verses for Children. Her campaign is just starting and in pre-sales. I encourage you to look at it and if you can help her with some pre-sales. 

 

If you want to use Publishizer, I encourage you to carefully study the website to learn about the packages and pitches other authors have made for their books, then use these ideas for the creative marketing you will pour into your book.

Publishizer is not for one type of book. Terri Levine’s book was a nonfiction business book. Kirsten Pistorius has a children’s book and she lives in Zimbabwe. You can also use Publishizer for fiction. Debra McIntyre has published a historical novel with Morgan James called A Wishful Eye. Follow this link to check out Deb’s campaign which is also in process (which means you can participate in her campaign and get one of her packages). 

Using Publishizer is a creative way to turn your marketing into book sales and money. You can use this process in the early days of your marketing. 

Also you can use Publishizer after your book is already in the market to create a special sales campaign. Just like the regular program, you have to fill out a form and apply to Publishizer to use the tool for your campaign. Follow this link to the form if you want to create a special sales campaign. 

The key message I want to make with this article is there is not one path or one strategy to use with your book marketing. You can use several different strategies with your plans. It’s important to learn about these opportunities, then take action and use them effectively for your book. I hope I’ve helped open your eyes to some possibilities other authors are using--and you can use as well. 

If you have used Publishizer or have other creative ways you are marketing your book, let me know in the comments below.

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Three Reasons NOT to Create a New Word

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

This week a submission from some new authors crossed my desk. As editors, the title is the first thing we read. These authors coined a new word in their title. For every book or magazine article, the title is a critical part of the creative process. Your title is your memorable hook for the reader—and your editor or agent is your first reader in the publishing process.

I understand these authors were trying to be creative in creating a new word in their title. While there are probably many reasons for not creating a new word, in this article I want to give you three reasons:

1. Editors and agents will roll their eyes and reject. While the author will not see this roll of the eyes or shake of the head, it will happen. As an author, you have seconds to capture the attention of the editor and you want that attention to be positive and interested. Your title needs to draw the editor to read your work—and not veer off into “Why did they use that word?”—which leads someone away from your book.

2. If you decide to self-publish with your new word (and 1.6 million books were self-published last year), now think about your readers. They will also have questions about this unfamiliar word in the title. Can they pronounce it? Does it make sense? Many people will pass on reading more—which is not what you want to have happen with your book. 

3. Finally it is difficult to gain acceptance for a new word—especially as a new author. Do you have the visibility in the marketplace to coin a new word? Most new authors do not have a large audience and tribe and readers for their book. They should not go this route with their title.

A good title needs to be:

One to five words and something that draws the audience to read more. Why no more than five words? Because a title has to fit on the spine of a book. Most books are spine out on bookshelves.

Especially for nonfiction, your title will need an interesting subtitle. The subtitle needs to stress a benefit inside your book. For example, Book Proposals That Sell (Title), 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success (subtitle and reader benefit). Subtitles are not as important for fiction nor always used.

I understand I've been pretty negative in this article but please understand my motivation is for editor and reader acceptance of your title. I'm certain your intention is draw readers and interest instead of rejection. There are exceptions to these cautions. You can use a new word in a title—if you have huge visibility in the marketplace. My example is Morgan James author Bryan Kramer and his book Shareology: How Sharing Is Powering the Human Economy. Notice the little extra words at the top of the cover on this book: USA Today Bestseller. While I work at Morgan James, I do not personally know Bryan Kramer.  From my knowledge of publishing, I know a book like Shareology does not reach the USA Today Bestseller list without a great deal of effort from the author. Also notice this word is easy to pronounce and use.

Your title is a critical part of your submission. I encourage you to put a great deal of thought and energy into your title. I understand publishers control the title—but repeatedly I've found a well-crafted thought-provoking title will make it through the publisher consideration process and end up on the published book.

What type of energy do you pour into the title for your book? Have you created a new word? Let me know about your experience in the comments below.

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Look for Creative Solutions

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

 

This week I was working on a writing project. I have reference books related to it in various places near my desk to reach them and work on this project. One of the books I put precariously on the bookshelf above my desk. It fell and smashed into my keyboard. I checked out the book—which was perfect and went on without a thought.

 

This morning I got to my desk and realized the smashed book has broken one of the two supporting arms for my keyboard. I tried to get it fixed with some super glue, then tape and nothing was working. Normally at this point, I would get in my car and drive to my office supply place and get a new keyboard—but these are unusual times with social distancing and staying indoors. It forced me to look for a more creative solution.

 

Suddenly I remembered this keyboard was recently replaced. I am a hard typist and had worn out several of the the keys of that old keyboard but had not thrown it away (yet). I temporarily kept it propped in a corner of my office closet. I pulled out my old keyboard and checked out the little supporting arms. It matched the same one whch was broken. In a few minutes, I replaced the broken arm and my keyboard is working fine again. The solution didn't involve going anywhere and yet repaired my keyboard. I could have probably used cardboard or other materials to repair my keyboard but the replaced arm from my previous keyboard was a quick fix and something no one will notice when they see my office.

 

These days call for creative solutions to different situations. As another example, we have been staying outside of the grocery stores—even though we have some shops very near where we live. Instead I have learned to order groceries online from stores like Target. Also a local restaurant has changed into a online grocery store. We've ordered meat, vegetables and fruit from them. The cost is about the same as going to the grocery and the quality of the food has been excellent. It is another creative solution to this situation where we staying away from going inside stores.

 

Several things came out of these experiences:

 

1. You have creative ideas and need to tap into these ideas.

 

2. Use your writing research skills that you've developed to look for a creative solution.

 

3. The persistence that you pour into your writing can help you find a creative solution.

 

These days are different and yet you can find the way if you persist and look for it.In addition, I hope you are using this time to diversity your streams of income. There are many different ways to earn money as a writer, I encourage you to look at this article I wrote for Writers on the Move last week. Follow the various links in it to learn even more.

 

Let me know in the comments below what sort of creative solutions you are using these days.

 

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A Clarion Call for Innovation

In Eccelesiastes 1:9, King Solomon boldly proclaimed, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Yet our publishing world is always looking for the next bestseller. It's what I do as an acquisitions editor. I'm looking for a unique twist or a different combination of elements that will attract the attention of the book buying public. To be honest, this type of experimentation will often fail—but that doesn't mean we give up on innovation and continuing to try. We need to continue to write, propose, and search for such innovation.

This weekend, I've been reading Power House CAA, The Untold Story of Hollywood's Creative Artist Agency by James Andrew Miller. It's a new book that I learned about reading the trades. If you get this book, you will discover it is over 750 pages (large) and retails at $32.50. When I learned about this forthcoming book several weeks ago, I searched my local library to see if they were ordering it. Nothing. I suggested the library purchase the book. When you make such a suggestion and the library decides it is a good suggestion, then you are automatically put on the hold list to get the book when available. It's how I got this book (and a strategy that you can use as well occasionally to get books). It's hard to know from the title whether a book is something you will read or not.

Why am I reading through a huge book about these Hollywood agents?

1. Discover real stories about persistence and timing. In the past, I've written about how a lot of publishing is about being at the right place at the right time with the right stuff. I know there were lots of rights in the last sentence yet repeatedly I've witnessed this truth in publishing. If the “rights” don't line up, then you can't get the book published and more important than publishing—reach the right reader (i.e. sell books). It takes years and lots of money to make a Hollywood movie. Power House CAA includes a number of stories about screen plays that could not catch the right details and had been around different studios for years. With innovation, the agents at CAA put a different spin on the deal and the movie was made and became a huge classic hit.

2. Learn to pitch your material in a different way. Power House CAA gives the specifics about they formed relationships within the Hollywood community.  They learned to put together packages for movies and television shows. Because they represented the different element for a movie (actors, directors, book authors, screen writers and others), the agents would pull together the elements into a single deal which they sold to the studios. Before this innovation, each party negotiated their deal separately with the movie studios. Their experiences made the agents have huge deal making and earning power in the Hollywood community. The stories encourage me to continue to look for such innovation among my colleagues and the manuscripts and proposals which come across my desk.

Can you put something together that isn't normally combined and connect with the market in a new way? Can you begin to reach a new audience with that material? Maybe you reach them in person or maybe you connect with them online?

Innovation is possible but will require you to open those doors of opportunity and thinking to achieve it. If I can help you in this process, let me know.  As an acquisitions editor, I'm always looking and you can get my work contact information here.

Have my words stirred you to innovation? Maybe they have pulled you out of the rut of rejection and despair? If so, please tell me in the comment section.

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I'm Drawn To Creativity and Innovation

The dual covers on this week's issue of The New Yorker magazine were just a hint of the excellent content called The Innovators Issue. One of the consistent questions that people will ask me is about where writers get their ideas? One bit of insight into this question comes from reading about innovators. Just check out Malcolm Gladwell's article Annals of Innovation. If you are not a subscriber to The New Yorker (as I am), then get over to your local bookstore and pick up a copy of this issue. It's well worth it.

One of the details that is documented in this article is that people can have the same idea at exactly the same time. No one is stealing anything but the same idea can be proposed from two different parts of the country at the same time. I've seen it in the magazine and book business. Particularly new writers are worried about such things but the real question is who will act on their idea with excellence and be the first one to get it into the marketplace, then promote that idea to others?

I continue to see writers struggle to put together a good proposal--and other would-be book authors haven't even investigated the world of publishing to understand that for a nonfiction book they need a book proposal instead of a manuscript. I regularly hear authors complain and groan about doing marketing for their books--yet it doesn't take loads of effort. It does take consistency.

For example, last week I was on the telephone with an editor at a publishing house and mentioned my Book Proposals That Sell to see if this editor knew about the availability and focus of my book. As a former acquisitions editor, I wrote the book to get better proposals. I offered to send a review copy and he wanted to read the book. Notice I initiated the conversation, then followed up and sent him the book. It did not consume my day and only took a few minutes of effort. Will it pay off? I have no idea but in the big picture of sales for the book, I suspect it helps the overall efforts. You can do the same thing with your books or writing work. Look for innovative ways to incorporate these actions into the natural conversation of your life.

I've pointed to The New Yorker and this Innovators Issue as a resource for fostering your own creativity and innovation. I want to quickly look at three other resources. In some ways I feel surrounded with this theme.

This weekend my wife and I watched the DVD version of Enchanted. It is an incredibly joyful and innovative film. If you haven't caught it, then watch this version. Several months ago when it was in the theaters, I saw it twice and my wife caught it three times. Yes, it was that good. If you get this DVD version of Enchanted make sure you look at the bonus features and notice the team creative effort which was poured into this production. This point is emphasized repeatedly in the little clips with the actors and director. Here's another detail that I picked up watching this material. The idea for Enchanted was batted around the Disney Studios for nine years before it was completed. I would encourage you to locate and learn about creativity and innovation from this film.

Here's another resource for you to increase your information about creativity and innovation. If you are in the Los Angeles area or going there for the Book Expo America, I recommend you check out this one day workshop called Author 101 University. Why? It's a one-day workshop that will be crammed with innovative ideas for authors and publishers. If you are in the publishing community, I practically guarantee your head will be crammed with plans and ideas from these sessions. I personally know a number of these speakers and have listened to the others. These presenters know inside information about how to sell books in today's marketplace and you can personally benefit from a day at Author 101 University.

In my recent post, I mentioned a free 7-Question Author Profile Quiz. Another resource to foster your own creativity and innovation is to learn about the Virtual Book Tour Secrets. I recommend every author or would-be author or anyone in publishing can profit from just reading the landing page and following the various links. Virtual Book Tour Secrets is a proven method to sell books quicker, faster and with less human effort. To take this training you don't even have to leave the comfort of your own home. Whether you take the full training or only attend the $20 preview call (this link goes live in seven days so go there and bookmark it), you can get a creative and innovative boost from this session.

These types of opportunities to grow in your writing and knowledge about publishing abound--if you are aware of them. Today I'm celebrating how I'm drawn to creativity and innovation.

The Unknown City

Several years ago at an ASJA luncheon, I had the opportunity to meet lifelong New Yorker Pete Hamill. Whether fiction or nonfiction, Hamill writes about New York City.

I love the feeling in New York City with its rich heritage and diversity. It's fun for me to melt into the crowd and ride the subway to different parts of the city. I often purchase a seven-day unlimited pass to ride to different parts of the city. It's normal for New Yorkers but it stirs a sense of adventure for me to go uptown or downtown on the local or express trains.

Later this month, New York will be the host for Book Expo America. In honor of that event, Publisher’s Weekly included a stirring piece from Hamill about his city. Hamill writes, "Nobody truly knows New York, not even most New Yorkers. The city is too large, too dense and layered to be intimately known by anyone. I was born here, the first son of Irish immigrants, during the first term of Franklin D. Roosevelt. I grew up on the streets of Brooklyn, attended schools here, and worked for more than 40 joyous years as a reporter and columnist on the newspapers of the wider city." I loved how the heritage and memories of the long tradition of the city are woven into this article. I hope you will read the entire article.

How can you weave this type of emotion and detail into your own writing? Can you capture the sense of place in your nonfiction magazine articles? Can you take me to the place with your fiction? It takes continual creative work for each of us to find the right words for each piece of our writing. Many people aren't willing to do this work. Today I'd encourage you to lift your head and rise up beyond the ordinary in your writing. You can do it with the right amount of energy and effort. Let's learn from the example from Pete Hamill.

Nurture Your Own Creativity

"There is something delicious about writing the first words of a story," says Miss Beatrix Potter in the film Miss Potter. The film is based on the life of the bestselling children's author of all time (according to the movie credits), Beatrix Potter, who wrote and illustrated beautiful stories about Peter Rabbit.

Miss Potter shows how much Beatrix Potter's immediate family misunderstood the artist and storyteller. She was more interested in marrying for love instead of for social class or because she had reached a certain age. I was fascinated with this film and how it showed the creative process. As a young artist, Miss Potter was determined to get her book published and took her illustrations in person to various publishers in London. Finally she found someone who wanted to publish her stories. Her parents continued to treat her as a young unmarried woman living at home--yet outside of the family her fame and popularity skyrocketed in an innocent way.

The breathless scenery is enough reason to see Miss Potter but the acting and story will touch your heart. Renee Zellweger plays Beatrix Potter and I loved this story and what it reveals about the mixture of art and creativity and writing in a real life setting. Not everyone understands the writing life but the creator of this film did so and captured it well. Because of the innocence and simplicity of this story, the film has been modestly received. For example, in this part of Arizona, Miss Potter is showing at a single theater known mostly for artistic types of films. It may be hard for you to find but it's worth your efforts to track it down.

As writers, each of us have to find different ways to nurture your own creativity. Maybe it will be watching a good movie or reading a good book or having a unique experience. Find ways to engage in this process.