The Cart Before the Horse by Jim Hart

After an author’s book is just released, literary agents are often asked “what can I do now to promote my book?” The honest (and cruel) answer is “you probably should have thought about that a year or two ago.”  

And yes, it may seem like a classic ‘cart-before-the-horse ‘scenario.

There are two great advantages about getting your marketing plan ramped up and in place before your book is even picked up by a publisher.

1) If your marketing plan in your proposal is strong, and you’ve listed not just what you’d like to do, but what you’ve actually done and know that you will be able to do, then the acquiring editor who is looking at your proposal will have a greater reason to continue reviewing your proposal. We have been told numerous times that an editor often goes straight to the marketing section of the proposal before even reading the samples. That’s how important this is. And to be honest, the strength of a proposal’s marketing section carries a lot of weight in my own decision process when considering a potential client.

2) When your book is finally published you don’t have to wake up in a cold sweat wondering how you’re going to promote your book. (You’ll have plenty of other reasons to wake up in the middle of the night!)

So though it sounds backwards, you should begin setting up your marketing campaign before your book and proposal are even finished. 

So where to start?

Be active, or more active, on social media. Which ones? There are many opinions on which are the best. I’ve found that as soon as Facebook is identified as the best social media platform to market your book, then it’s announced that now Pinterest is where you need to focus. Or Twitter, or Instagram. My current opinion is pick two and dominate them before moving on to other sites.

Setting up a professional looking web page is a great investment, in time, money or both. I favor good old fashioned blogging from a web page. Why? First, because it forces you write in a concise manner. 

Second, a great blog post will let your readers into your head and your life. It’s a direct link to where you are in the moment. The secret here is to connect and engage your readers. Your blog posts should elicit comments and begin a conversation. 

Third, a blog is where you can collect e-mail addresses from readers who will subscribe to your blog. Offer something in return for their e-mail address. Do you have a short story lying around that you don’t know what do to with? Format it into an e-book or a very nice PDF and offer it free. Or maybe write a week’s worth of solid devotions and offer that. 

Don’t forget that an audio-visual connection can be powerful and effective. YouTube channels are easy to set up. Podcasts are great as well. Periscope is a fun new app with Twitter that you should check out.

And then take it a step further, and start to make connections in person with local bookstores, coffeehouses, churches, libraries and book clubs. These are great places to hold an event like a book signing, a release party, or an author talk. Try to have as many opportunities in place as possible, and then list them, by name and location, in the marketing section of your proposal. 

Because there are so many options available, that’s why it’s time to start NOW to market your book.

So hitch up that horse right in front of your cart. You might get there faster.

The Weakest Link by Jim Hart

I recently read this in a proposal’s marketing section: “Marketing any book, particularly an author’s first writing, is where I believe an agent should play the most important part in publishing and earning their fee. Therefore, I expect that this area will be heavily focused on by the agent. This area needs to analyzed and discussed in greater detail.”

What this particular writer failed to recognize is that their marketing strategy should have already been analyzed, prepared and included in the proposal that was in my hands.

While the entire proposal should be strong, this is one section that should not be the weakest link, and the responsibility to create a realistic marketing plan begins with the author. A literary agent will certainly jump in with thoughts that will strengthen any section of a proposal.

Last week I was looking at a message board and found this statement on a thread that someone had posted from a smaller publisher’s web page: This means that much of the promotion and marketing for your book will be on your shoulders. Therefore, we ask authors to present a marketing plan for each book we accept. We will support your efforts as much as we can, but it'll be a while before we can cover a world tour. In reply one person posted: “I don't like when publishers ask authors to create the marketing plans. That's the publisher's job.”

This is another example of not clearly understanding the author’s role in creating a credible marketing strategy. The industry continues to experience change and competition for a shrinking amount of publishing slots is extremely fierce. Publishers are keenly interested in the details of a writer’s marketing strategy.

A weak marketing section will contain phrases like “I plan to create a web page for my book” or “I plan on contacting organizations that will host book signings”.

A strong marketing plan will contain phrases like “I currently have a web page for this book” (and a link is supplied) or “I have contacted, and have commitments from, these books stores, book clubs, churches, etc. (and provide a list of actual places). If possible, also note the anticipated size of the audience at each event.

Overall, it’s important to communicate what you now have in place, and what you are certain that you will be able to accomplish, not just what you hope to do.

While it would be great to include a ridiculously large number of social media statistics in your proposal, the reality is that not everyone has thousands of Facebook friends, or thousands upon thousands of Twitter followers. What can get attention, however, would be statistics like:

·         54% of my posts are re-tweeted

·         82% of my blog posts are commented on

·         39% of my subscribers leave a comment

As you become better at engaging your current followers and subscribers, there’s a good chance that you’ll see your social media numbers grow. Engaged social media readers are also more apt to attend a book signing, or other speaking engagements.

In a recent interview Zondervan executive editor Carolyn McCready said “The platform issue is very important, but it doesn’t have to mean that you are the pastor of a large church or a speaker for major women’s conferences. You do have to show that you are working hard to gain a following and that you have made progress in that arena. Speaking, blogging, writing for magazines and newspapers, leading workshops on your topic—all can be really important to a publisher. Then give us a marketable topic, and the reasons that it is—do your research!”  (link-to-her-interview)

One thing I picked up when I was learning to write proposals for a non-profit organization is that people give money to other people, rather than to an organization.  It’s important to have potential donors connect with you on a personal level if you wanted them to support your organization. You can’t discount the power of connecting with others.

But you have you to give people a reason to connect, and that’s through the strength of the content that you offer. Next Friday we’ll discuss some ideas on how to connect and engage on social media.

How have you been successful with connecting with, and engaging your readers?