How on earth do you get anyone to buy your book?
Or: what happens in a marketing meeting with your publisher
As part of my #AuthorInsider Series demystifying a little of what the world of a published author is like, I am turning away from writing and editing today to look at marketing.
Marketing is far from my area of expertise – I like to think I just do the writing. But I have been trying to understand marketing. Because at some point as an author you have to switch out of your writing head ponder how to get anyone to actually read your lovely book!
In fact, arguably marketing is the most important thing a publisher can do for an author. Because you can have written the best book in the world, but if no one knows about it . . . no one is ever going to read it.
Chicken House Big Breakfast
I have promised to share the highs and lows of my author life in this newsletter and one of the annual best things happened this week. I had a great time attending the meetup my publisher (Chicken House) throws to shout about all the great books they are publishing next year.
I have a new book coming out on 4 Jan 2024 called The Floating Witch Mystery so this was my big chance to let a few people in the trade know about it.
I headed up to Foyles in Charing Cross Road to meet up with everyone at my publishing house (they are small and based in Frome). Loads of fellow Chicken House authors were there and I pretty much only get to see them once a year, so this is lovely and real high point of the year.
A meeting of book enthusiasts
I chatted to lots of booksellers, people from literary festivals and children’s book enthusiasts in general. And I do love talking about books!
I listened to a panel where a group of three authors talked in detail about their new books. There was the announcement of the winner of the annual Children’s Fiction Competition – a prize for the best manuscript, which is then published.
This is a prize close to my heart as winning it in 2016 set me on a path to becoming a published author. There was a new prize for the best of these manuscripts with film potential. There was even cake. It was a lovely occasion. I hope some people went away thinking they’d like to champion my book - or at least knowing about it.
It was the same week as I had a marketing meeting with my publisher about my own new book. So what have I learned about How on earth do you get anyone to buy your book?
How do you get people to champion your book?
I’ve learned my marketing team (Ruth and Megan) will be sending out copies of my latest book, which they received freshly printed this week. Copies are sent to places where there is a chance that someone will pick my book to review. There are so many to choose from and it’s no secret that review coverage in print media has reduced hugely in recent years and that this is particularly true of children’s books. So getting review coverage is tricky.
Pros and cons of a sixth book
My best selling book is still my first, The Last Chance Hotel. It is an incredible privilege to not only have written a bestseller, but one that continues to sell.
This was part of a three book series set in a world very like ours, but where a few very rare people have magic. Sorcerers do not always use their magic for good things, so there are magical detectives who ensure sorcerers do not get away with magical crimes committed in a world that does not really believe in magic.
Already having readers is a great place to start when publishing a new book. But it is still tricky to get people to hear about your new book and choose to read it.
The Floating Witch Mystery is the third in the series
Publishing schedules seem to have got longer, so it will be almost two years between my last book coming out and this one.
My target audience is children, who grow up all too fast, and thus many readers I’ve met over the years are no longer going to be reading middle-grade books.
Live Literature is an increasingly popular way to get children excited about books
Live events give children a chance to meet an author. If you believe reading changes lives (and I absolutely do) then anything you can do to boost reading effectively changes lives.
So going out to inspire children to read is part of the job of a children’s author that I really love. How can I do more of it? Can I increase my chances of being invited to speak at a literary festival. Imagine getting the chance to speak at one of the really big festivals . . . I can dream.
The pandemic caused many problems in publishing
In my marketing meeting it was tough to hear that literary events, such as festivals, have not really returned to pre-pandemic levels.
My new book series, starting with The Howling Hag Mystery, was launched in the pandemic. It was certainly difficult for me to do one of the main things an author can do to try to reach readers, which is to get out in person to events to tell people about your books. I am very lucky that I do get invited regularly into some wonderful schools and have spoken at three small literary festivals this year. But it is tough to get your name out there to do more.
Series or standalone? Which do readers prefer?
When thinking about readers and their tastes and what will get them reading, there is always debate about series books or standalones?
But does what you write make it easier to market your books?
There are many readers who love the fact that if they enjoy spending time in an author’s world, to know there are more. I once heard that children love coming back to a series book as it contains ‘a room full of friends’, which is a beautiful way to put it.
But on the other side there is difficulty of marketing your current book if it is part of a series that people may not have heard of. Is marketing a standalone easier?
Readers may feel they want to start with the first one. Which is great - but at the same time, your marketing is focused on people knowing about the latest one. The last thing you want is to put people off wanting to read this one, because they feel they need to do a mountain of reading first to enjoy it.
Thus it is easier to get more publicity for the first in any series than subsequent books. This just seems to get more and more tricky.
A bigger story to come out
My first series, The Seth Seppi Mysteries, are best read in the order I wrote them because I had in mind a bigger story that needed to come out over more than one book.
When my publisher asked me to write a spin-off series set in the same world I did not want any reader to think that they might need to go right back to enjoy the later books. So I have deliberately made sure my three Nightshade Mysteries can all be read as standalones.
Yet I feel because they are set in the same universe, readers still tend to think they should start with my very first book.
We discussed this in my marketing meeting. But to be honest, it’s a tricky one! I love the books. I have had so much fun writing them. If I am honest - considering everything - I probably do regret writing another series.
But there you go! You cannot live life backwards!
As an author all you can really ever have control over is writing the best book you can. I do feel The Floating Witch Mystery is my best book so far! I feel I have not only improved as a story teller and writer over writing six books, but think I have grown more confident in taking risks with my writing.
I love this story
This may all seem downbeat, but I think it’s important to be realistic on how tough it is as a children’s author at the moment, plus I want to be very honest here. At the same time, I do not want to finish on a note of doom and gloom!
I love the story and the characters and the setting and the huge challenge the children in the story face and have to work out how to fight back against very strong forces.
As an author there is a point where you have done everything you can on the writing side. And you just have to wait and see if it manages to find its way to readers.
Which is why I think this period – a month before your new book comes out – should be a time for an author to celebrate. But I know I am not alone in admitting it often turns out to be an anxious time when all the worst nerves come into play.
I remain optimistic that in a few weeks I will be sharing great reviews and good sales.
Here’s the book announcement that went out from my publisher also this week.
Please send all your positive thoughts beaming my way! And if you wanted to spread the word about my new book - that would be wonderful too.
If you would like to pre-order it that would be lovely too! And thank you because I know many of you already have.
Thank you for support of my books and writing. I shall keep you posted.
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Nicki
Insightful piece. Writing a novel is hard. Selling it is harder: even with a good team, like yours, behind you.