Atlanta
Writers Group
Feature
Article – October 2006
Fact or Fiction: “The
only reason to self-publish is because you can’t land a publisher.”
Every time I hear that,
I’ve gotta smile. The unspoken message, of course, is
that the preferred route is to land a publisher. Well, call me crazy, but I
disagree. For me, self-publishing was the first choice. I actually did
not pursue the conventional publishing route with any more than halfhearted
zeal. Given the subsequent success of the book, I have zero doubt that I could
have attracted any number of conventional publishers should I have decided to
go that route. But I knew pretty early on in the process that I wanted to keep
more control over the whole project, keep the rights to my work, and, most
importantly, keep most of the profits.
For over four years, my
first book supported me full-time. Not
“picking-out-chateaux-in-the-South-of-France” kind of money, but the book paid
all my bills (including an average of two book printings each year), allowed me
to still take some nice vacations, save a chunk of money and incur no new debt.
When your per book profit (after all expenses) is three, four, or five times
what you could make with a conventional publisher, you can be nicely profitable
with much lower numbers.
A few caveats. My genre –
non-fiction “how-to” – is, arguably, the easiest to self-publish (with straight
non-fiction second). Why? Not only is there an insatiable appetite for
information in the buying public, but also with non-fiction “how-to,” it’s
relatively easy to identify and pursue specific target audiences. Fiction is
harder to self-publish but for first-time novelists, it’s also far harder
to attract a conventional publisher.
Second & Third
Caveats
All this advice applies if
your goal is to have your book be a commercial success and if you have a decent
chunk of time to market your masterpiece. If neither is the case, you’d be
better off with a conventional publisher or in a POD scenario, where your
upfront financial obligations are far lower or nonexistent (as will be, in all
likelihood, your backend profits…). As for the time thing, though, if you’re
thinking – scratch that, fantasizing – that you’ll find a publisher who
will allow you to simply drop off your manuscript while they handle that whole
“icky marketing thingy,” think again.
Read a great article on
self-promotion by author Jessica Hatchigan (How to
be Your Own Publicist) in the September 2003 issue of The Writer
entitled, “Bestsellers are made, not born.” In it, she observes,
“Unfortunately, authors who receive modest advances for their books – and
that’s most authors – can expect scandalously little in marketing support from
most publishers. (One insider recently told me that many publishing houses
today, because their profit margins are so thin, don’t even bother to send out
review copies of their newbie authors’ books.)”
Most publishers these days want to work with authors who
come to them with, not only their book, but also a plan for promoting and
marketing that book. So, if I still have to do most of the work for anemic
royalty rates, self-publishing is worth a look.
The “shotgun” approach to
promotion and publicity certainly appears to be the order of the day with most
publishing companies. Mass e-mailed press releases to mainstream media outlets
seem to be the norm. And then there’s the often-mystifying approach for sending
review copies (and usually with little or no follow up…). I’ve probably
received a dozen unsolicited review copies over the past few years due to some
casual affiliations with certain associations or lists. The books arrive,
typically with nothing more than a brief cover letter, if that. Given that I
wasn’t expecting it and likely have little interest in it, the chance that I’ll
review it is mighty slim.
Never
Send It Unsolicited
Unlike the “shotgun”
approach to promotion taken by most publishing companies, EVERY single one of
the roughly 500+ review copies I have sent out over the past few years has gone
to someone with whom I had communicated in advance. Yes, that approach takes
more time, but yields far superior “bang for the book.”
As a self-publisher, you
have the luxury (arguably, a necessity) most conventional publishers
don’t enjoy: the ability to focus on your title and find the most effective
ways to promote it, as opposed to the pub company model: hitting only
mainstream media (already over-contacted), and indiscriminately sending out
review copies. By contrast, as a self-publisher, I go where the traffic is
lighter, the reception is warmer and the people speak my language. I say
there’s virtually no way you couldn’t do a better job than most
publishers.
The Goal: To Be Seen “Everywhere!”
A year or so back, after asking
a buyer where she found the book, she replied: “Everywhere!” Music
to an author’s ears. I kept hearing different iterations of the same
basic theme. One woman wrote: “I first heard about your book on
writersdigest.com, then on writerswrite.com, and finally on writersweekly.com.
After the third time, I figured I needed to see what the fuss was all about.”
Sounds like people need to receive multiple impressions before they take
action. Very useful information. How did I do it? Through the Internet, of course – the Great Equalizer for the
little guy.
Let’s
take my book as an example: The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency As a Freelance Writer in Six Months or Less – a
step-by-step “how-to” for establishing a lucrative full- or part-time freelance
corporate writing business. With all the downsizing of the past decade,
Corporate America is outsourcing plenty of writing projects at hourly rates of
$50-100+.
Okay,
so who’s my audience? For starters, how about any and all “wannabe” writers
looking to make a handsome living with their pen? Add
seasoned freelancers looking to diversify beyond magazines into higher-paying
work. Plus at-home moms and home-based business seekers
looking for a flexible, well-paying career from home.
Go to Your Market
To
land reviews (and interviews, blurbs, mentions, green lights to write articles,
etc.), go to where your various target communities hang out. Scour the Internet
for web sites, associations, newsletters, and newsgroups for folks in your
target audience(s). Visit these sites, find the “Contact Us” link and make your
pitch by e-mail. Make up one standard pitch letter, vary it slightly for your
different audiences, and “cut ‘n paste.”
Try
any URLs that sound right for your topic. Actual examples for me: writers.com,
freelancewriting.com, athomemoms.com, writing.com, homebusiness.com, etc. And
just simply repeat the process over and over and over again.
Mainstream Media?
Certainly you should pursue mainstream media (MM) coverage in addition
to your Internet contacts but know that the media is exponentially more fickle
than if you can zero in on your target audience via the above-described process
– where you’ll get a FAR better response. And that’s no surprise – I’d picked
groups that, by definition, would have an interest in my book. MM is just that
– mainstream, not focused.
Here’s
the reality: the chance that an unknown author will attract the attention of a
reasonably major-market newspaper is slim. Not impossible, but not worth the
return when a far better one is waiting. And btw, if you are going to pursue
MM, forget
the book editor. They don’t care (except to post event listings in their
calendars). Instead, figure out which editor – Food, Jobs, Career, Business,
Features, Computers, Lifestyle – a would be a fit for
your topic. Contact them and pitch, not the book, but an angle represented by
the book. They simply don’t care that you’ve written a book; they want to know
why the book is relevant now.
Your Web Site
A
web site is mandatory. Period. It’s the linchpin of
any Internet marketing push. Mine (www.wellfedwriter.com)
has sample chapter, table of contents, reviews, cover art, Q&A, sample
radio/TV footage and much more. Check out the “Attn: Media” link on my site,
which makes their job much easier (and hence, more likely to happen). Always
add your URL to your e-mail signature going out on every e-mail you send. You’d be surprised where interest in your
title comes from.
Landing
a publisher has never been harder, but thanks to the Internet, that’s no longer
your only option. Self-publishing is easier, more accessible, and more
lucrative than ever before. Isn’t it time for a raise?
Want to get published, and
make a living from it? Check out a free report “How to Turn One Book into a Full-Time Living” at www.wellfedsp.com,
home of author Peter
Bowerman’s August 2006 release, The Well-Fed Self-Publisher
(and powerful companion marketing guide, The Well-Fed SP Biz-in-a-Box). Bowerman is the
self-published author of The Well-Fed Writer and TWFW: Back For
Seconds (www.wellfedwriter.com),
multiple-award winning selections of Book-of-the-Month Club and others,
and acclaimed
“standards” in the field of lucrative commercial freelancing. Over 50,000 copies of his first two books in print
have earned him a full-time living for over five years.