The Business Of
Publishing Submitted By: Penny C. Sansevieri Congratulations,
you're published! But what exactly does it mean to be "published"?
Besides the fact that your work is finally in print and your
college alumni has asked to interview you for their newsletter
it also means fame and fortune, right?
Well, ok, maybe not on the level of J. K. Rowling, but at
the very least you can expect a call from Oprah, right? I
hate to be the one to break it to you but you're probably
not even on her radar screen. The truth about publishing is
really stranger than fiction and the truth is: getting published
is only half the battle. The other half is to keep your reality
check in balance so it doesn't bounce. While publishing is
all about creative expression, it's also about business and
it's those business savvy authors who will succeed in the
end. Now you don't have to be an MBA to be a keen business
person, you simply have to understand that the choices you
make relative to your books future should be based on strategies
that will enhance sales not just drain your pocketbook. So,
how do you do this? First, take a long, hard look at your
reader. At Author Marketing Experts, we always create a reader
profile for each book we promote. This reader profile will
tell us where to find buyers for the books we represent. Taking
this first step helps us sort through our choices when it
comes to book promotion and make decisions on behalf of our
authors that are sound and will help leverage sales.
There are times when it's a waste of resources to do a nationwide
radio or TV promotion. In fact, some of our programs don't
include any outreach to broadcast media. Why? Because as alluring
as it might seem to appear on the Today Show, what's the point
if your audience doesn't watch morning TV? And, if your audience
isn't watching this show, the chances are slim they'll even
consider you anyway. What? More rejection? Who needs it! As
you embark on or continue your campaign, ask yourself a few
tough questions. First, what's your ultimate goal for this
book? If it's just to give away at family reunions, that's
great! But then you'll probably want to nix any marketing.
If your book is an arm of your business and you have speaking
engagements lined up through the end of the year. You probably
don't need to spend a lot on marketing since most of your
sales will come from your speaking engagements (i.e. back
of the room sales). On the other hand, if you wrote this book
to grow your business or to leverage your credibility then
you will probably want to dial yourself into your industry
through enhanced media exposure. For fiction authors this
area becomes a little tricky. First, you need to determine
your long term goals. By long term we mean: do you want to
stay in this business or was this book just "something you
wanted to do."
If it's a hobby, then treat it as such but if this is going
to be your career, then you need to keep your message out
there on a continual basis, through venues such as author
events, talks, signings, print and broadcast media. Make sure
the choices you make, make sense for your book and aren't
just made because you've always dreamt of being on Oprah.
I've known authors lured into inappropriate marketing plans
by big, flashy names and promises of stardom, wasting thousands
of valuable marketing dollars and heading in a direction that
wasn't right for them. If you're serious about your work,
ready to let go of your muse and face the task at hand with
some business savvy, then you're really ready to get published.
Below are some guidelines that will help further your success!
1) Reader profile: create one of these at the beginning of
your marketing campaign and keep refining it as you move through
the process. Refine and redefine who and where your audience
is and how to get to them. 2) Time commitment: determine what
you can and can't reasonably do. If you have a full time job
it probably doesn't make a lot of sense to commit yourself
to forty hours of marketing a week unless your boss is on
vacation. 3) Investment: how much are you willing to invest
in your future?
Are you willing to invest money without seeing much in return
knowing that you are building a foundation or do you want
to see immediate monetary results? Most authors don't see
a return on their investment for a year or more. Are you committed
enough to yourself or your project to keep this investment
going? 4) Reality check: what's realistic for the industry
you're in? Are you latching onto a fad or something with more
longevity? Are you getting into a brand new market that will
require lots of reader education? Or are you trying to go
mainstream with a non-mainstream topic? While this is an admirable
goal, it can be like swimming upstream. 5) Budget: while we
encourage authors to invest in their future, we've also seen
a number of people go into heavy debt, quit their jobs and
even sell their homes just to promote their book. While that
kind of dedication is certainly admirable, remember that although
you have the potential to make a great deal of money it's
not going to be overnight. The lure here is of course that
"If I stick with it, this next sale will make me famous."
Well, maybe or maybe not. If you've been plugging away for
a while without any significant success get a professional
to give you some honest, constructive feedback about your
plan, your market, and your book. It might be that a poorly
designed cover is the reason you're not making sales, or a
topic that's fallen off of the public's radar screen. In the
meantime as you're waiting to hit the big time you'll still
need a place to sleep and Uncle Vinnie's couch will get old
real quick. 6) Burnout: we hear this term often, even to the
point of being overused.
What we're really talking about here is author burnout. We've
found that the average author only markets their book for
ninety days. That means ninety days of day and night marketing,
radio interviews at 3am and a book signing every weekend.
On day ninety-one they are so tired, so discouraged and so
broke they quit. You can avoid this by giving yourself realistic
goals and a realistic timeframe in which to complete them.
There's nothing in the world like seeing your book in print.
If approached realistically, objectively and with sound business
sense, it can be one of the most exciting times in your life.
About the Author: Penny C. Sansevieri: The Cliffhanger was
published in June of 2000. After a strategic marketing campaign
it quickly climbed the ranks at http://Amazon.com
to the #1 best selling book in San Diego. Her most recent
book: From Book to Bestseller was released in 2005 to rave
reviews and is being called the "roadmap to publishing success."
Penny is a book marketing and media relations specialist.
She also coaches authors on projects, manuscripts and marketing
plans and instructs a variety of courses on publishing and
promotion. To learn more about her books or her promotional
services, you can visit her web site at http://www.amarketingexpert.com
