by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
Recently, there’s been a real change in attitude among some high-profile writers regarding promo.
And I’ll admit that it makes me a little nervous.
I was especially uncomfortable reading a post by J.A. Konrath last month: Konrath’s Resolutions For Writers. You’ll have to scroll down to the section entitled 2013 to get to it, but he says:
I have 10,000 followers on Twitter, but I only use it occasionally Facebook? Haven’t been on there in eight months. I witnessed the rise and fall of MySpace. I’ve opted out of Google+ because I saw no benefits. LinkedIn? I can’t even remember my password.
He goes on to say:
I haven’t blogged or Tweeted in months. I’ve been busy doing what writers should be doing: writing.
And guess what? My sales have remained constant.
Writer Dean Wesley Smith stated in a post in October called The New World of Publishing: Promotion:
Author promotion is worthless (except for selling to magazines or major publishers). Period. Best thing an author can do is write the next story and book.
As much as I’d like to think that I think we can completely back off on promo, it just doesn’t feel right to me. Maybe if I were as well-known as Joe, and had as many titles as Dean, I’d feel the same way. It’s very tempting to say we just won’t promote—that there’s no need. There’s just that little issue of discoverability.
When I have thirty books or more available for sale as ebooks, I might feel a bit more tempted to back off on promo because it would just be so darn hard to avoid coming across me on Amazon in the mystery section. But with a dozen books written (a couple of them not even out for a few months), I don’t think forgoing marketing is the answer.
I’d also love to stop doing other things I dislike—housework, yard work, and paying taxes…but I have a feeling it would bite me back later.
And ditching promo—even my own anemic, indirect form of marketing—would bite me back later, too.
I do think that these writers have a point. Dean Wesley Smith put provisos on his ban on promo…he says that publishers promote (you should promote when you have your publisher hat on, as a self-published author) and writers write. So promote like a publisher—not like a writer. He has ideas for doing this in his post.
I think we still, currently, have a responsibility to ourselves and our pocketbooks to do the bare minimum of promo.
What I think the bare-minimum is:
A website. You can probably stop right there as long as the site is updated fairly frequently, has your contact info/email address on it, buy-links, books, etc.
And…
One additional way to find you. This could be (not all of these…just pick what appeals):
A blog that you update at least twice a month (abandoned blogs look kind of bad. At least have a goodbye post and disable comments.)
A Facebook page
A Goodreads presence (Goodreads can be a sort of scary, dark-alley kind of place for writers, so just go in remembering that you may not want to poke around much.)
And…I do think an email address is an absolute necessity for writers. The readers should be able to reach us via email. We can even set up an email address solely for reader contact. Have it be a professional address (like your full name) and use a free email service like gmail.com, etc.
This being said…I’m not as uptight as I used to be about making sure my bases are covered on all the different platforms. If I don’t like a platform (Facebook comes to mind), I’m not going to force myself to post there a couple of times a week. But I will leave it up so that I can be be contacted there by readers or anyone else (very occasionally print media will contact me on Facebook for an interview.)
What are your thoughts on promo for 2013? Are you backing off a little? Or just being more forgiving with yourself for limiting your platforms (like me)? Or are you still going full steam ahead?
Image: PinkLadyBug from MorgueFile
In an ideal world, writers could just write, but these days it seems to be an impossibility unless you’ve already developed a huge base.
Elizabeth – That balance between putting forth energy for promotion and also focusing on writing is so difficult to achieve. I think most writers would rather not focus a lot on promo but as you say, it’s something that has to get done. I think you’re right that an author needs at least a few online places. I’ve had the most success with my blog and with Twitter. But it’s different for everyone.
If nobody (or hardly anybody) knows who you are, you have to keep your name out there. But I agree, it doesn’t (and shouldn’t) have to be ‘in your face, buy my book’ as promo. My sales fluctuate and seem to have no relation to marketing efforts. I’m a ‘set it and forget it’ kind of person.
Terry
Terry’s Place
Honestly, if you’re a famous writer, the readers will find you. But, if you’re not famous how in the world would the reader find the writer without some type of social media?
T
Interesting. I’ve seen other posts about this and writers seem to be coming to the same conclusion, too. I like your idea that you must have an email, probably should have a regularly-updated website, and then at least one other social media presence. As a reader, I like it when authors have that kind of availability.
In a few years when we’re all Rich and Famous Writers (right?) then we will need minimal promotion efforts, too. But now? I agree with you. Not in-your-face efforts, but we have to keep our names out there so people will know we have yummy books out there for them to read.
I’m definitely spending most of my time writing. I’m keeping up my blog, poking my head in at Twitter but I’ve seen too many authors put off writing so they can write a zillion blog posts for their tour when I’m not sure tours make a huge difference. I’ve seen books take off with no promotion and books not take off with huge promotion. That led me to the conclusion that writing more, improving my writing and getting more out there is more important than spending too much time on promotion. So in a way, I agree with them.
I’ve also seen authors sell a lot of books with promotion but it took a huge chunk of their time and they had connections in the traditional world…so that helped.
It can be very easy, when you no longer need a particular thing, to forget that others still do. Any advice which leads to a flat reduction in visibility for an author is a bad thing, in my opinion.
I’m struggling to come up with more ways to promote the one book I have, and sure, it’d be nice to just churn out a dozen books this year to flood the ebook market, but I simply have too many other committments to just focus on that. Not to mention they would probably be awful!
Social media gives me an easy way to stay visible, with a relatively minor investment of time each day.
I agree with you – no way I would back off now. Not established enough. I just stick to blogging, Goodreads, and Twitter, keeping a presence rather than actually promoting. Besides, no way I could write fast enough to churn out more than a book a year.
Totally agree with you, Elizabeth. I read that Konrath post as well and figured he is at a level where he can afford to back off and just promote, but it took him a really long time to get there. Most of us need to keep it up, especially with one million books now available on the Kindle. Not a time to stop promoting!!
Good post, Elizabeth. I jumped here via Porter Anderson’s tweet, so no doubt a presence is helpful!
It’s interesting. The pendulum swung so far the other way with the Amazon/eBook revolution and now seems to be settling back somewhere toward the center.
If you’ll permit me to share a bit of my story:
I self-pubbed an inspirational novel because I’m a speaker & my agent was a little too busy with higher profile clients. (Of course, they were ALL more high profile than me!) I needed a book for BOR sales.
Funny thing happened. Several months after the fact, I got a call from an agent who was referred the book by a friend & wanted to rep me. We’ll see where it goes, but here’s my point:
I hadn’t updated my blog or site in MONTHS. In fact, she hadn’t even been to them! She liked the book & emailed me through my contact info in the back. Whether we get a trad deal or even want one, is almost irrelevant. I found a fan & agent – not because of twitter or FB – but because I wrote a decent book.
So, I agree that our #1 job is to become better storytellers. Perhaps the Trad Publishers will recognize that all that publicity really is their job (They have the resources) & if they’d been doing it in the 1st place, we probably wouldn’t be having this discussion today.
Interesting topic…
But to an extent I DO agree. Social networking take SOOOO much time. Just blogging alone can take me HOURS to catch up.
But that being said, I still believe, we, as writers, need to stay connected. We support each other emotionally and especially CREATIVELY….
Most of us still need to keep promoting. And most of us will never get to Dean’s level, which means we’ll need to promote online our whole lives.
Laura–Me too. I like to be able to find writers online. Every once in a while I’ll want to contact an author (my kids will ask me to ask a YA author a question, etc.) Occasionally, I haven’t been able to find any evidence of them online, which always has the ability to shock me. :) Especially YA authors! I’d think an online presence would be a necessity for them, in particular
Laura–In a *way* I agree with them too, but only to the extent that promo can’t take the place of writing in any way. The most important thing we can do is write. But that promo…or maybe just that online presence…is also pretty important. I think sales can be a motivator for writers–shows that readers are interested in our work.
Jemi–Exactly.
Paul–Well put. :)
Well, and you have babies and a day job, too! Gosh, it’s a wonder you can do all that you’re doing now!
I like the way you worded it, Paul. Visibility. It’s all about being visible.
Margot–I think most of us really dislike promo. But it’s important. I’m with you…I like blogging and Twitter.
Alex–I’m thinking a TON of books and I might not worry as much with promo. Maybe double or triple the number of books I currently have out.
Terry–That’s what I think. The only thing that seems to affect my sales is a general presence online (nothing specific), and pricing (the free book promo.) So I’m ranked fairly high on Google for my name and my book names. And the sales don’t hurt, either.
Teresa–That’s what I wonder. Out of all those books, how can someone find ours, otherwise?
Carol–Rich and famous! Ha! Yes. :) That’s when we’ll back off of promo, for sure.
Karen–That’s what I’m thinking…too many other books out there for us to just disappear online!
Joe might also be really, really sick of promo. :) When I first met him at a conference (which he won’t remember since it was years ago and I didn’t do much more than say hi), he’d done that massive book tour–really knocking himself out to see how many bookstores he could get to. And he also did a massive blog tour in 2008 or 09 or so (even has a post here on my blog…way, way back in the archives.) So he might be ready to call it quits–and he’s a big enough name to get away with it.
Diane–Right. He does have a huge number of titles. Now, of course, I guess he’d make the point that he has that huge number of titles because he focused on his writing instead of promo. :) But I think we unfortunately have to do both (although we don’t have to be *aggressive* with the promo.)
Brian–Thanks to Porter for tweeting it and thanks to you for dropping by!
You have a good point. And I think that writing an excellent, stand-out book is *definitely* a good way to get discoverability on Amazon and at other retailers.
I think my concern is the fact that I’m a genre writer…a midlist genre writer at that. So there are gobs of good cozy mysteries out there. There are also some writers with decent backlists of traditionally published mysteries that they’ve got their rights back to.
To stand out…it’s tough. Running a free promo is one way of doing it (having the first book in a series stay free, for instance.) And I think just being present–not really doing promo, maybe, but being present, online, is another.
Your point about the pendulum swinging at different points in this digital revolution (before, during), is very interesting. Extremes of any kind (too much promo, too little) seem wrongheaded to me.
Most of the trad published authors I know are mystery writers, and many of them are arduous promoters–although many use old-fashioned promo methods that I question. (Well, I question them privately, of course.) I’m just not sure of the cost benefit of bookmarks, postcards, conferences, signings, etc. Too much money for gasoline. Some of them do really well on Facebook, though. I think cozy writers keep in touch with readers well, in general. But I do know some trad published authors who don’t seem to do any social media…and I wonder over that.
Thanks for your thoughts!
Michael–Oh, it takes a *ton* of time. Or, at least, it has that potential. I set a timer when I get online to make sure I get back off again. :)
And good point about the other benefits writers receive from being online–connectivity and support. We need it…writing can be a lonely business.
Hi Elizabeth!
Great post. I was chatting with Chris Brogan a few weeks ago and he made the point that social media sites like Twitter, Google+ and Facebooks should be OUTPOSTS for your main site/blog…pointing back to home base’s content. He even suggested removing FB, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn widgets from the main site/blog.
At first, I balked at this idea. But the more I thought of it, the more it made sense.
I think a robust blog is the best marketing a writer can do (second to writing great books, of course)–and then a friendly, chatty additional presence to humanize (I like Twitter the best, personally).
I backed off posting to FB over the holidays and my sales went UP. Go figure.
I think Konrath is cutting into his potential fan base by NOT posting much to his blog or social media sites…but that’s his choice. If we’re pushed against a wall and MUST pick one or the other, obviously writing books must be the priority.
Lastly, since most authors do social media VERY badly (Buy my book! Here’s an excerpt! Get it free!), they’re better off focusing on writing (and the craft) anyway…because they sure aren’t going to garner sales through their obnoxious, awkward efforts.
I love the fact you take some of the pressure of writers to promote. The Internet slams us with it constantly, and I know that personally I find myself afraid to let up at times, for fear I’ll backslide. I think those with a dozen books and an agent and a fan base have the luxury of being cocky about it. But I admit, I adore the thought of having multiple books out there that would keep my name still prominent on book shelves and give me time to “just” write.
I just started the social media thing- blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads. I thought I would hate it, but instead I love it! I try to look at it all as connecting, rather than promoting. That makes it a whole lot more fun, and keeps it from feeling like a time suck, but the W-I-P always has to come first.
Hope–I think that using a couple of platforms and letting the others slide is just fine. We do have to have time to write, and trying to keep up with Twitter, Google Plus, Facebook, blogging, website, and LinkedIn is impossible. Even 5 minutes a day on each of those platforms daily would wipe out a lot of our free time. Instead, we can just pick our favorites. That’s my plan this year.
Janet–Well, Chris would know! I certainly wouldn’t argue with him on SEO. That stuff makes my head spin, but what he’s saying makes sense (links in, links out). Although it would be a chore to remove it all..ha!
Well put–a “presence.” That’s all we’re talking about. Friendly, professional. No sales talk needed. Just being there.
Ha! Yes, it’s hard to figure out what works, isn’t it?
I definitely agree with you: if it’s a choice between either promo OR writing…yes, of course we have to write. But I can’t imagine a case where that would be true. Someone could at least update their website (plenty of free options of websites with WordPress or Blogger) or interact on Facebook or something…10 minutes a day. They should set a timer and get themselves right off again.
Excellent point! Yes, writers usually aren’t born sales people. I think our general awkwardness can translate over to determined, over-aggressive techniques.
You’ve written a great post that addresses a burning question for all writers. BUT what’s different for writers like me who are brand new, and writers like you who have less digital footprint, is that Konrath & Smith both have huge followings on their blogs.
They don’t need Facebook or Twitter because they have their own following on their own social media site. And they have the added benefit of reduced clutter.
You are on your way, as this post’s 21+ comments prove. Keep it up and you won’t have to rely on Porter’s tweets :)
As for me… a couple more years in the salt mines and maybe, just maybe, I can break out with my own followers.
Peace, Seeley
With apologies for the language, this reminds me of Steven Pressfield’s post yesterday:
http://www.stevenpressfield.com/2013/01/opportunities-are-bullshit/
The video of Harlan Ellison is, well, interesting. Sure, if you’re Harlan Ellison, you don’t need “exposure,” especially from a tiny division of Warner DVDs.
And if you’re JA Konrath, you don’t need marketing, at least, not much. I’ll bet Stephen King doesn’t burn a lotta cycles worrying about whether his marketing machine has the right formula for the next book, because the right formula is “put his name on the cover.”
I’ve done very little marketing since I started self-publishing 5 years ago, but this year, it’s my wife’s primary job. (Okay, I’m the lucky stiff who’s got a full time assistant who’s brilliant, hard-working, dedicated, and sleeps with me.)
For those who’d like a version of marketing that doesn’t involve a plaid polyester sports coat, grab Dan Pink’s newest book, “To Sell is Human.” Stupendous. It’s my guide for our ginormous marketing push this year. That, and Seth Godin’s Startup School, which has endless brilliant questions for any entrepreneur, including the one who’s an author first, and a reluctant entrepreneur only because they have no choice.
Bess–That’s the very best part–the sense of community and support from other writers. That’s the part of being online that I love. :)
Joel–Exactly. And the bigger names typically get more exposure than they actually need or even want.
Joe Konrath has done so much promo in the past that he’s got a terrific base. Yeah, he could coast on the marketing for a while, for sure.
I like your idea of outsourcing the marketing. :) Think my husband wouldn’t have the time for it, but there’s the teenage son…
Sales is a little scary to me. I’ll check out the book, though.
Seeley–Very true. When folks come to you, you don’t have to go out to them. Makes life a lot simpler, doesn’t it?
Thanks for coming by and best of luck with your blog.
Hi, Elizabeth. It’s been quite a while since I’ve been by. *slaps hand* :) Happy New Year to you and yours.
I work an 11 hour day job which I have to wake up for at 3 am. Late bloomer that I am, I’ve spend these few years writing little and promoting/social networking much. I’ve spent quite a lot of time lately coming to the conclusion that I will maintain my presence, but use my limited time to write more. I’m hoping that multiple titles will do what promoting hasn’t. We’ll see.
Thanks for posting.
-Jimmy
Happy New Year, Jimmy! Thanks for coming by. :)
Now that’s a rough schedule! I have a feeling you might find that the writing will take less time than the social promo. And you’re right–everything in moderation, right? That goes for promo, too. Otherwise we won’t have anything new to promote!
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Hi Elizabeth – finding that balance at the best of times is challenging …
Somehow I must include some form of social media into my blogging out put this year … and the new projects I want and will start on ..
I’m wondering how I’ll do – the need to be very methodical and organised springs to mind …
Good luck with your books etc in 2013 – cheers Hilary