Category Archives: Business

Fishing for friends

A guest post by Kim May.

One of the most important skills a writer can develop has very little to do with writing. Nonetheless it can open doors into the professional realm that wouldn’t be accessible otherwise and can provide vital insight to the industry. So what is this pivotal skill?

Networking.

Since most writers tend to be introverts who loathe departing from their sanctum of creativity, this skill can be one of the hardest to develop. Be that as it may, it’s still important to know how because of the reasons I listed earlier. The old saying “it’s not what you know but who you know” is just as true in publishing as it is in other fields. Think of it this way, a fisherman doesn’t expect the fish to swim up on shore, walk on fin tip to the market, and place themselves on a bed of ice. They have to get in their boats, sail to where the fish are, and cast their nets.

So, who should you network with? Everyone. Whether you’re at a book signing, a seminar, a convention, or at church, everyone you meet is a potential reader. That doesn’t mean that you have to walk around with copies of your book(s) stuffed in your pocket but it does mean that you shouldn’t be shy about your involvement in the craft. If no one knows that you write, no one will anxiously await the release of your novel. Of course, the most valuable connections you can make are with those in the industry: editors, agents, bookstore events coordinators, and authors. But that doesn’t mean that you can afford to ignore the lady that shows up to every bookstore event or the man at the bus stop reading that book you love.

There isn’t a secret Jedi technique that you need to master in order to be good at networking. I find that the best way is to just say hello and start up a conversation. If you’re nice, and personable, chances are they’ll want to read your book. It won’t matter if you’re book is Wheel of Time erotica, and they’re a retired nun. If they like you enough they’ll read it anyway.

Don’t have a published work to promote? Promote yourself instead. It’s never too early to build an audience. When someone asks what do you do for a living or what have you been up to lately, tell them “I’ve been writing a book. It’s about (insert pitch here).” If they’re interested, give them a business card so they can follow your blog/website. That way they can run out and buy your book the second it’s available.

The one thing you don’t want to do is to go on and on about yourself for half an hour. There’s nothing wrong with sharing your experiences, and desires for your career. Where it becomes burdensome is when every turn in the conversation is directed by you, for you, so you can talk more about you. There’s a fine line between promotion and bragging and once you’ve crossed that line there is no going back.

Once you’ve made a good impression, don’t let it end there. Maintain that relationship. Say hi to them when you pass them on the street. If they invite you to an event, take them up on the offer because you don’t know who else might be there. I’ve lost count the number of industry folks I’ve met while at the movies or out to dinner with someone I met at a signing. If I hadn’t made that initial connection, I never would have met the people who have become an important part of my life.

So you see? It’s worth leaving your sanctum, and saying hello to a complete stranger. That person may be the agent who gets you your first sale, or the future admin of your fan page, or your biggest fan. But you will never find out if you don’t make the first move.

Guest Writer Bio:
Kim MayKim May writes sci-fi and fantasy but has been known to pen a gothic poem or two. She works at an independent bookstore and dog/house sits on the side. A native Oregonian, she lives with her geriatric cat, Spud, and spends as much of her free time as she can with family and friends. She recently won The Named Lands Poetry Contest. If you would like to find out what she’s working on, please visit her blog.

Marketing Your Books, or How to Hope You Know What You’re Doing

A guest post by Leah Petersen.

physicsoffallingI jest, because there are a lot of people who have paved the way ahead of you and they’ve got some good advice. I’m probably not one of them, but just in case, I’m going to talk about contests.

Is this a good way to market your book?

I’ve run contests on my blog, on Facebook, and on Goodreads. I promote all of them on Twitter. So, I’ve done this a bit.

Contests can be a great way to build buzz for your book. When I ran the Goodreads contest for Fighting Gravity I had hundreds of people enter within only a few days. Before it was over, nine hundred people had entered the contest and several hundred of them put my book on their Goodreads shelves. When I ran it again, in advance of the release of Cascade Effect, almost eight hundred people entered.

When I ran the contest for Cascade Effect, the numbers weren’t so impressive. Just shy of four hundred people entered that one, but, also, it’s a second book in a trilogy. So unless you’ve read or are planning on purchasing the first, there’s much less incentive to enter a contest to win the second.

The blog contests and Facebook promotions of contests had smaller audiences and got less notice. The Goodreads contests were much more visible and, I think, successful. They were also very easy to set up and administrate. Marketing your book is a lot of work and you’ll be spending a lot of time on it, so ANYTHING that’s easy is very welcome.

Now, did I sell more books from this? Well, I’m not self-published so I can’t see my numbers in real time to say whether or not purchasing peaked after a contest or not. I do know that a lot of people heard about my book that may not have otherwise.

Long-term success as a writer is at least as much about getting people to hear about and TALK about your books as it is about selling any one book.

So, yes, I’m very glad I ran contests, and I’d invest in them again. (The contests themselves were free, but I had to provide the books and the shipping.) It’s a great way to get your book out there and in front of readers.

Best of luck to you!

Guest Writer Bio:
LP-bald-headshot-237x300I’m a sci-fi and fantasy author, the first two novels in The Physics of Falling trilogy, Fighting Gravity and Cascade Effect are available now! I pride myself on being able to hold a book with my feet so I can knit while reading. I live in North Carolina. I do the day-job, wife, and mother thing, much like everyone else. You can also find me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/LeahPetersen

Steamed Up Anthology Virtual Launch (Marketing in Action!)

 

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It was the better part of a year ago when I signed up to organize a Fictorians month around the topic of “Marketing and Promotion.”   At that time I was still unpublished, in the phase of my career where I sent out submissions and hoped for the best.  I’d chosen the Marketing and Promotion topic in the hopes of gaining knowledge for that far-off time when I’d have something of my own to promote.  Little did I know that by the time October 2013 arrived, I would have it…

So here’s an opportunity to see a Virtual Book Launch in action.  Tomorrow, Sunday October 27, myself and other contributors to Dreamspinner Press’ Steamed Up Anthology will be on the Dreamspinner Press Blog to celebrate a virtual book launch.  We’ll be providing background on our steampunk stories, excerpts, chat and more!  Visit us at http://dreamspinnerpress.com/blog/

My contribution to Steamed Up is “Ace of Hearts”:  All Aeroplane Mechanic First Class William Pettigrew ever wanted was to fly, but due to an old eye injury, he can only maintain the aircraft and fantasize about the pilots. When Captain James Hinson,  war hero and dirigible flying ace, joins the squadron, William catches his eye. But William lacks the confidence to see James’s overtures as anything but friendly interest in his innovations. Then James is shot down over enemy territory, and for William that changes everything. The time has come for him to choose: believe in himself and fly or lose forever the man whose heart he hopes to win.

Join me in celebration of an era of zeppelin aces, clockwork cavalry and mechanical marvels…in an age of high adventure!

Steamed Up is now available in paperback:

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4324

or Ebook:

http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4267

Hope to see you there!

Conventions as Marketing, Part II, or Every Day is An Interview

I wanted to follow-up on Quincy Allen’s great post of October 15, 2013 about the value of active convention attendance on your marketing plan. The post is particularly timely as I’m packing my bag for World Fantasy which will be held in Brighton, England from October 31 – November 2. Quincy shared how his career had been enhanced by his decision to attend conferences. Like Quincy my successes in writing can be traced back to my decision to attend a conference. But that’s only a part of the story. Showing the is the easiest part. What Quincy did, and I recommend you do, is he was an active participant in the conferences.

Taking a convention from being a fun event to being a professional marketing tool is hard work. We attend writers’ conferences or seminars, to market our writing, and to meet other writers, agents, publishers and editors. For ease of reference, I’ll refer to agents, publishers and editors collectively as “agents.” You cannot sit in the seminars and only interact with the group of people you came if you are marketing.  Every day of a convention is an interview. Every moment of every day is an opportunity for you to help or hurt your career. So how do you ramp up your marketing potential at a Con?

Before the Con: do your homework.

One of the things I love about World Fantasy is it posts a list of attendees or “members” so I can see if my dream editor or agent is going to attend. This year WFC also has a separate list of attending publishers so if you don’t know that Jane Doe is with XY Literary you can see that XY Literary is attending and investigate further. Conventions are often crowded. Decide in advance who you’d like to make a connection with, why, and how.

I wanted to talk to Peter Beagle because I love his stories and since he was a Guest of Honor that year . How was I going to meet to him? Because he was scheduled for a reading, an interview session, and to attend the banquet I knew where and when I could find him, but I also asked my friends if anyone knew him. One of the founding Fictorians did and she introduced me. Ask your friends and colleagues if they know the person you want to meet. Chances are that one of them does. A personal introduction will usually take you a lot further than cold calling on someone. If the person you want to speak with is not giving a lecture or otherwise booked to be in a specific place be prepared to check the Con Bar – regularly.

If you are planning to pitch a story make sure it’s finished. “Finished” does not mean the first draft is complete. It means you have done everything you can to make the story as compelling and as free from typos as you can. Prepare your pitches. Ace Jordyn attended last year’s WFC with a list of the people she wanted to meet, and pitches prepared for each work and each person. Amazing, really.

At the Con:  Be professional and bold.

I’ve written about this before so I’m not going to delve too deeply here. Appearances matter. If you want to be taken as a professional be dressed as one. Does that mean you have to wear a suit? No – unless that’s your brand. Look at just about any New York Times best-selling author’s website and you’ll see what I mean. Lisa Scottoline, a retired lawyer and writer of legal thrillers, wears suits. She wore one when she was instructing at the Seak, Legal Fiction for Lawyers convention where I met her. Because of who she is and what she writes the suit is part of her brand. Neil Gaiman and Brandon Sanderson don’t wear suits.  In fact, I would guess that the bulk of professional writers don’t wear suits. Still, they all look professional. You should too.

Act professional. Don’t interrupt, don’t be rude. Enough said about that.

Go boldly.  Follow-up on your plans. Go to the places the people you are looking for are likely to be. Talk to them when you find them. If you can’t find them, ask other people if they might know where Jane Doe is. You must approach strangers at a convention. You must ask friends to introduce you to people you don’t know, but want to. At least one agent has said that she only signs people she’s met at a convention, and the agent doesn’t wear a name tag. She, like every other agent, wants to see you’ve done your research and that you’re passionate about your work. After all, if you’re not excited about and willing to sell your work, why should she be? Sitting in a corner watching the con go by will not result in publication.

Strike while the iron is hot. If you are engaged in a genuine conversation and someone asks what you are working on. Tell them.

After the Con: Follow-up.

Oh lucky day! You spent three hours talking to your dream editor at the Con Bar. So, now what? Follow-up with that person just like you would do at any other networking event. Send her an e-mail saying you enjoyed meeting her at the Con. Make the e-mail specific so that if you drinking a purple girly drink remind the editor so she, who met hundreds of people at the Con, has the opportunity to place you. If you were asked to submit to the editor do so now. It not, just thank her for her time. At minimum, follow the editor’s twitter feed or friend her on Facebook. Comment honestly on posts. If she posts something you find interesting you should comment on it. If not, you shouldn’t. You are trying to maintain and forge a genuine connection with her.

Don’t forget your friends. Remember all those people who helped you research and introduced you around? Thank them as well.

Conventions are one of our most powerful marketing tools if used correctly. Meeting someone at a convention may make the difference between a polite “no, thank you” and a sale. Treat every convention like an extended job interview because that’s what it is. Your primary goal is to form honest and lasting connections with the people you meet. Succeeding at that goal leads to success.