Report #3 on Book Promotion
Some other ways to get the word out, even if you’re NOT famous …
Number one, personal appearances. If you don’t follow Jed Hicks (@jjasonhicks) on Instagram, start now. Jed is the author of several massive fantasy fiction epics, including RUINWASTER’S BANE and THE EARTHMIGHT WAR. These works are not backed by a giant publishing house but—here’s the key—they look like it. And Jed promotes them like it.
Jed hires the best-of-the-best to design his book covers. He books himself into festivals. He arranges book signings. He shows up with a giant “Meet the Author”-type poster, a superbly put-together version of his book’s cover that looks like it came from Simon & Schuster. If you stumbled into the bookstore cold, you’d see Jed’s setup and think, “Holy cow, Ernest Hemingway must be here!”
Jed photographs his signings and festival appearances. He films them. Then he posts these on social media. He produces “box mailers” for his books that look better than anything from St. Martin’s or Penguin Random House.
In other words, Jed is single-handedly creating his own brand and establishing himself as its face.
I wish I had his self-promotion gene!
I have another friend, also a just-starting fiction writer, who takes a different but equally smart tack.
My friend has sought out book-reviewing sites on social media. Most of these are small, but their readerships are passionate and they love books. He also, through his day job, has contacts in fields other than writing. He has reached out to these sources and gotten them to review his book. He then posts these (some are video, others via written word) on IG, Facebook, etc.
The reviews pop up everywhere. They’re all raves. Many, of course, tell aspects of the novel’s plot and characters.
In other words, my friend doesn’t have to appear himself or sell himself. His friends and reviewers do it for him.
Of course this takes legwork and lots of “reaching out.” But it’s free and it works.
A third way of getting the word out is premium box mailers. Diana and I learned his from Jack Carr, the bestselling thriller writer. Jack (and Jason noted above) will send out signed copies of their newest books in super-well-designed boxes with a bunch of extra goodies inside. Diana and I did this too, for A MAN AT ARMS and THE DAILY PRESSFIELD. We sold the books that way as well, at a premium price, through our site, www.sassmediallc.com. We sent box-mailers free, as gifts of respect to friends, but also to people who had followings in areas that the books were aimed at.
We’ll be doing this for THE ARCADIAN as well, but with a special twist. Because THE ARCADIAN is a follow-up to A MAN AT ARMS, featuring the same hero, we’ll send out a “two-pack,” with a Diana-designed sleeve that tells the story of the link between the two books.
The payoff of sending out box mailers is the recipient may do an “unboxing” on his or her social media. In other words, they’re helping get the word out and doing it in the best possible way, as a recommendation from themselves, not from you.
More “reports from the trenches” to come!
DO THE WORK
Steve shows you the predictable Resistance points that every writer hits in a work-in-progress and then shows you how to deal with each one of these sticking points. This book shows you how to keep going with your work.
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A short book about the writing of a first novel: for Steve, The Legend of Bagger Vance. Having failed with three earlier attempts at novels, here's how Steve finally succeeded.
NOBODY WANTS TO READ YOUR SH*T
Steve shares his "lessons learned" from the trenches of the five different writing careers—advertising, screenwriting, fiction, nonfiction, and self-help. This is tradecraft. An MFA in Writing in 197 pages.
TURNING PRO
Amateurs have amateur habits. Pros have pro habits. When we turn pro, we give up the comfortable life but we find our power. Steve answers the question, "How do we overcome Resistance?"
Thank you, sir!
I admire how you keep the Fire alive, Steve!
This was great to read as I was just having a conversation about an art career. Getting in the mix oneself is key! Thanks!
Sending books to people with followings is the way.
What an interesting post, that these kind of gatekeeping-less promotion methods are possible now.
I must say, I now feel compelled to seek out RUINWASTER’S BANE and THE EARTHMIGHT WAR simply on the basis of those titles. I want to see what other extraordinary titles Jed has.
And I definitely want a ‘two pack’ of AMAA and The Arcadian. The visual euphony between the covers is visually very pleasing. Beautifiul.
Great stuff Steve & Diana. Thank you.
Peter
Great ideas. NTS.
Thank you.
🍃🌸🍃
Taking notes, thank you.
I was in Girl Scouts growing up and I hated the cookie selling season. Going cold to someone’s door, even in a small town where everyone knew me, and asking someone to buy from me. Couldn’t wait for it to be over. I’m feeling the same thing now, only it’s exponentially worse. I love my book and everyone who has read it so far does too–though most of them are friends, so what do they know… It’s always been hard to put my work out in the world but I learned to do it and I’m learning to do it again for this book.
I love all your suggestions, Steve, and will try to fold them in to my marketing strategies going forward. In addition, I’m trying something I used to do: over the years, I have created gallery postcards for exhibitions my friends and I have had. These are 4×6 postcards with an image on the front from the show and the pertinent details on the back. I created one for my book with an abbreviated version of my ‘elevator’ talk on the back and I’m going to send it to independent booksellers, craft and art suppliers and any other venue that seems to fit. The postcard is eye-catching, tells the essentials about the book, has a call-to-action and my contact info. I’ll send out email follow-ups but thought a physical card in the mail wouldn’t get lost as easily as just another blast in the inbox. We’ll see how it works. I ordered 100 cards and even if only 10 respond, I’ll call it a success.
Best wishes, Lin. I enjoyed your book. I found it engaging, insightful, and it heped me push past self- imposed lumits. Keep putting it out there.
Thanks, Jackie!
Postcards are great, Lin. I wrote sparkling thank-you notes on them (to anyone who helped with whatever it was), and almost always got a thank-you note back 🙂 They’re likely to get saved and displayed, too.
When my first book was published, the memoir of a marathon runner who had a half-marathon in our little town named after him, we had Katie (then seven) wear a sandwich board at the finish line with the book cover on the front of the board and the rest of the jacket copy on the back. It was SUCH a hit! That was a fun day.
P.S. I hear you on the Girl Scout cookie reticence! My parents bought up the required amount of boxes to keep us from going door to door and annoying the neighbors. To this day I equate “sales” with “annoying,” one reason I love this series of posts from Steve.
I don’t think I’m ready for sandwich boards yet. Working up to walking into a couple of local bookstores and shops. Cold selling is a steep curve for me.
Lin– your coiled basketry work is beautiful. Best to you on the book marketing–it’s the toughest part of the game.. Great idea on the postcard.
Thanks Brad!
Plato’s Dialogues, Marx’s Capital, and the Bible had no marketing promo or wizardry at all behind them. How does one explain their classic greatness?
Thank you so much dear Steve.
These are really the ways. The hard-ass ones. I like them.
Clarence brings another point to the table: what about the classics? We could locate other dynamics there.
Whishing you, Diana, the team, all friends, my love.