Today, I was contacted by a self-published author looking for advice about how to get his books seen by the “right” peeople. For a self-published author, this is often about more than sales. It’s about sharing one’s passion and vision with others.
We used to look down on self-published authors (remember when we called this vanity publishing?) but Amazon’s CreateSpace and Smashwords now make it possible for more authors to publish and at a lower cost. It also means that if you have a niche publication, you have a better chance than ever of connecting with readers with similar niche interests.
The trick comes if you have a book you think should appeal to a wider group. How do you crack that code?
Today’s correspondent wanted to reach out to schools and libraries. Makes sense — these are big markets, and his books are for kids. At the same time, these are two markets that are already saturated with options. You have to have a very unique product in order to make it worth the effort for someone to sit down with you if you only have one or two titles. They can sit down with someone who reps for a major publisher and learn about hundreds. And they know the publisher’s reputation already, so they can better predict that the outcome of the meeting will be worth it for them. Publishers provide a valuable “shorthand” for you and for readers. If you’ve self-published a series of informational texts about cats, you’re competing with the big guns. That’s a well-established market.
Most authors — even those who work with established publishers — put a lot of sweat equity into their reputations and earn surprisingly little money from book sales. So the first thing to keep in mind is that very few people can quit their day jobs when they publish or self-publish a book. Humility goes a long way, and if you’re a children’s author, you have to recognize that no matter how awesome your idea is, you are never going to be as cool as Lemony Snicket. We used to ask our K-5 students for the names of authors they wanted to have as visitors. Dr. Seuss was always the top choice, and he isn’t even alive anymore. You’re competing with the dead. Welcome.
Established children’s authors often make their “real money” doing school and library visits. But this is a chicken-and-egg: they get paid because they published a book, but they continue to get published because their books sell well, which often happens because they’ve invested in community. If you’re self-published and new to the market, you don’t have this option. One option is to get to know your local “book jobbers” – these are independent consultants who serve as representatives of several publishers at once, and they pay sales calls to various schools and libraries. They get a portion of sales. Just keep in mind that if you have one or two titles, and they’re repping publishers who have hundreds of titles, they can probably make a bigger commission by pushing the other publishers instead of you, so think about how to make it worth their while.
Your best option may be to donate your time and build a reputation by word of mouth. You could:
identify influential bloggers and send them copies of your books. This may work, but these folks are inundated, too, so think about how you can distinguish your submission from the others they’ve received that day. Publishing houses have been known to “package” their book with swag, trinkets, special packaging, tasty treats, etc., to lure reviewers into picking up their book first from the pile. Include no more than one page of descriptive PR material — keep plenty of white space! — that tells why your book is unique. Some folks put sticky labels right on the book cover so it can’t be overlooked. Be careful to avoid too many gushing adverbs or hyperbolic language. You may think you are the next James Patterson or Katherine Paterson, but unless James or Katherine agree, it’s a rookie error that can scream “amateur” at a moment you need the reviewer to feel differently.
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volunteer to give presentations at local schools, faculty meetings, PTA meetings, literacy organizations, libraries, community centers, day care centers, bookstores, fire stations, scout meetings, festivals, after-school groups, church youth groups, 826 writing groups, etc. Most of these organizations need to fill their programming calendar and have tiny budgets, so gracious volunteering is the name of the game here. While talking about your artistic process is one route to go, another option is to try to connect your book to a larger initiative. If your title is Sally Builds Arguments with Evidence For Fun, then maybe your talk is about the Common Core State Standards. If you wrote a book about recycling, maybe you host a crafts night where kids make stuff out of recycled materials. Ask for a table so you can do a book signing afterwards, and if you’re well-liked by your hosts, ask them for a testimonial for your book jackets, promotional bookmarks, or websites. Your local network will eventually expand. When your schedule fills up to the point that you are consistently turning down gigs, that’s probably a time when you can start to charge for your presentations. It will take a very long time before that happens. Contact the local media when you’re doing these gigs and prepare a press release that they can use (some local papers even publish exactly what you submit, as they are short-staffed). Start a TalkWalker or Google Alert for your name so you know when online venues are talking about you. Add those to your blog or website.
write for journals. At both the state and national levels, there are numerous journals dedicated to librarianship or subject-area teaching. State-level organizations — such as your state school library association, library association, or National Council of Teachers of English affiliate — often have newsletters or journals for which they are seeking content. Offer to write a piece. Again, think about how you can extrapolate from your book to larger issues in the field. Search these organizations’ websites online and contact the editor before you start writing. In some areas of the country, there are even county-level organizations. Start small. Remember humility.
speak at state conferences. Those same organizations also have annual or bi-annual conferences. Scour their website for their call for proposals and submit a concurrent session proposal. What can you share with elementary teachers that would help them be better writing teachers for their kids? How can you better help a social studies teacher teach Constitution Day? When you find a call for proposals, be sure to put it in your calendar as an annual recurring event so you remember to check again in following years. Look carefully for guidance on whether or not you can sell your books at your session; some allow it, and others have special author signings or booths on the exhibit floor. Even better, volunteer to staff the event. Volunteers are always in demand, and you can chat with folks and get to know them — half the battle. It shows you’re part of their team, that you care about kids/instruction/literacy/books/libraries/schools as much as they do, just from a different perspective.
join listservs. Listservs — email groups — are much-maligned as old-school but are still remarkably active. Listen in on conversations between educators and librarians about what they’re looking for, and participate as a colleague in conversations even if it’s not about your book. (You might get ideas for future titles, learn about other conferences to attend or present at, and identify some new bloggers and other influencers.) Some listservs, like LM_NET and CHILD_LIT, are free to join. Most state and national organizations have listservs as well that are a benefit of membership. Even better, join those organizations (not free).
join “Skype an author” lists. Skype’s free videoconferencing means you can reach out to schools around the country without leaving home. Google “Skype an author” to find a series of lists you can join. A free 20-minute visit is the norm. Teachers love having authentic practitioners connect with their classroom, but in an era where they’re often buying their own wastebasket (no joke, I had to buy my own in my first teaching job, as well as chalk and an eraser), paying for an author can be a near-impossibility.
Many of us become writers because we had childhood visions of living in a Victorian home with a little writing garret or geranium-bedecked covered porch, writing in blessed solitude. We dreamed that our words would leave our homes, be bound in paper, and be trumpeted to the world, all without us actually having to talk to anybody. Now we’re in a world where networking and people connections are more important than ever. Want to be heard? You gotta hustle.