Questions for Kate: How do I get my book published?

An occasional column for when someone asks me an interesting question. How do I get my book published? is probably the single most unanswered question from unpublished book writers. I've received several emails from unpublished writers asking for advice related to marketing your book to editors and agents (rather than marketing your book to book buyers and readers - the real subject of this blog). While I feel that to go into detail here and now would be off-topic, I know how it feels to chasing publication and only getting in return rejection letters. I have notes from a workshop I put together on the subject. Called 'Strategies and Tactics for Slushpile Mountaineers' it deals with how to professionally prepare and submit your fiction manuscript for consideration to publishers and agents. If you would like a copy of these notes, please email me. Tuesday tips will return in the new year.

Sunday interview: John Spencer

John Spencer is co-author (with Anne Spencer) of a number of books concerning the paranormal including The Encyclopedia of Mystical and Sacred Sites, published by Headline in 2002.

1. What kinds of marketing have you done as an author?

I think it's more publicity; I did interviews on TV, radio and in newspapers and magazines. I also did some signings etc. The marketing was done by publishers Hodder Headline.

2. What marketing did Hodder Headline do?

For earlier books they were very good; for example they got me into bookclubs where we were bookclub book of the month three times and sold 300,000 copies in hardback before going into paperback and foreign, but as the subject waned a little they lost interest and for this last book frankly I think they did very little marketing.

3. What essential things about marketing did you learn that you wish you'd known from the start?

I did get involved in the early days with actually attending marketing department meetings and giving talks to the sales force to 'beef them up'. Headline stopped that in the later years. I think it helped sales though when they were selling to chains and clubs to be able to say they had spoken to the author personally.

4. What did you learn during your experiences of trying to market your books?

That you need to seriously suck up to the marketing department head at your publisher!

5. What's the most successful piece of marketing you've done?

The bookclubs were our best publicity. In addition to the one I already mention, another sold around 70,000 copies in hardback and went to several successful overseas translations as the result of bookclub intros.

6. What advice would give for authors starting out with marketing their books?

As far as possible try and make yourself available for interviews and brush up on your TV and radio image techniques.

Rule 8: Who are you?

Most authors who approach me for publicity help, even if they are already published, are still labouring in the misapprehension that it’s all about the book. Yes, the book is important - to a degree - but what is going to sell it from a publicity point-of-view can very likely be enhanced, perhaps significantly, by you the author. If an author is not willing to 'tart themselves around a bit', then my heart sinks as it’s going to make my job of book promotion all the harder. Authors, like well-cellared wine, have a mystique. Make the most of it, like Harold Pinter did in his Nobel prize acceptance speech yesterday. You’ve got a synopsis of your book, and a blurb. You also need an author synopsis (your author bio) and a 50-word short version that show how you are different from the thousands of other authors out there. You need to define the key selling points of you, the author. What is it you bring to your book(s) which is unique? They say that dogs are often reflections of their owners. Your books will be perceived (quite rightly) as a reflection of you. Here’s my unique points, and their sub-texts: a) I’m young and enthusiastic --> aka you’ll see that pace and energy in my stories b) I have a sense of humour --> aka this is a story you’re going to enjoy because I write for entertainment purposes c) I’m obsessed by history --> aka my books might be historical romance but I have an honours degree in History from a prestigious UK university and I take my research seriously Can you list yours?

Wednesday round-up

I first met jay Dixon, this week's Sunday interviewee, when were both on a panel earlier this year for BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour discussing Georgette Heyer. It was a great discussion, but useless from a publicity point-of-view as I was edited down to one sentence, and I don't believe they mentioned our books. A useful lesson learned, however. Now I don't do anything without making sure I get a plug for the book. jay mentions the benefits she gleaned from publicity before her book was out, and I'd agree with this. Before your book is available its still interesting / new, as it is when it first comes out. As time passes, this fades. You can still market your book, but it's one less hook you've got at your disposal.

Tuesday tips: 5

Practical up-to-date advice for book marketers. Got a tip to share? Email me. Events: Author's talks can be nerve-wracking but by being prepared for the particular audience and tailoring your talk to suit them, you’ll find how generally receptive people are to authors. The key tips for successful public speaking are here. Materials: Have you created a sell sheet for your book? It’s not just for self-published books, your sell sheet can be a useful part of your press kit and a great one pager to send to bookshops etc. Some good advice about what your book sell sheet should contain here.

Sunday interview: jay Dixon

jay Dixon is the author of The Romantic Fiction of Mills & Boon 1909-1995 (1999, UCL Press). She has published numerous articles on genre fiction, romance, and the novels of Georgette Heyer. 1. What kinds of marketing have you done as an author? (a) Mainly by giving talks about the book at various conferences, both academic and writers'. I had been doing this for some time before it was published, so people knew about it years before it appeared. (b) I was invited on Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4 - this was a disaster, but presumably garnered some publicity. (c) I knew the owners of the bookshop Silver Moon in London and they did a window display for me, though I was unable to go in and do a talk/signing. (d) I phoned various newspapers asking if I could do an article on the book, but they weren't interested, partly I suspect because of the subject matter and partly because another book about Mills & Boon had been given a lot of publicity. 2. What marketing has your publisher done? Apart from putting the book in their catalogue and sending out review copiesto journals I had suggested, none. 3. What did you learn during your experiences of trying to market non-fiction? You need a lot of energy and time; and if your publisher isn't helpful you are often banging your head against a brick wall. Also, choose your subject matter wisely! 4. What's the most successful piece of marketing you've done? Giving talks at academic conferences, which told the people who taught the subject the book was forthcoming/published. 5. What advice would give for authors starting out with marketing their books? Put time aside to do the marketing before the book comes out. Put most of your energies into targeted marketing, i.e. if the book is set in a particular place, target that area. Use the Internet - just one mention on a relevant list can reach hundreds of people round the world.

Rule 7: Pins in the orange

The marketing savvy author learns and follows the golden rule of publicity – i.e. critical mass. To break through to create a buzz you need to reach a 'critical mass' with your publicity. Approach it like sticking pins in an orange. Each piece of publicity is a pin – it might sell some books, it might not but the goal is the sum of the publicity, not the individual parts. So try to approach your publicity from every which way, because: Enough pins = 'critical mass' to juice the orange = a buzz The idea behind creating publicity buzz for a book is to kick-start that crucial word-of-mouth so that people give a personal recommendation about your book to others. The book market is a sophisticated and emotive market. The book buyer has a wide choice of books all the time and he / she is looking for books which fulfil his or her personal tastes and needs. He / she may be seduced into a purchase outside his / her usual reading habits by special offers in the bookstore, or by chance discovery of a book with an appealing subject matter. However, in general books are more like other forms of entertainment such as films and music in that word-of-mouth (recommendation) is very powerful influencer. These recommendations may come from friends, family or colleagues, or they may come directly from the media. It's clear what every author dreams of - being the writer of the book which everyone is talking about. There are only so many books which will penetrate the national consciousness and become bestsellers each year but your book can penetrate the collective consciousness of smaller groups. Anywhere were people gather and talk is a place where you could buzz your book. What are the chances of everyone in your neighbourhood or workplace talking about your book? Do you belong to any clubs or societies? Do you have friends or contacts who can introduce you to a club or community they are involved with? Don't forget to consider online (Internet) communities. Identify your communities (the oranges) and then identify for each one all the little things you can do to penetrate their collective consciousnesses (the pins).