Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Location: Books & Such Central Valley Office
Weather: 68º and partly sunny
Yesterday I set up a brand new worst case scenario. Here it is: You have an amazing book burning a hole in your life. You have the material, you have the expertise but you have no platform– no built-in audience– where you can help market the book. What do you do?
I have to say, some of your comments were brilliant. Let’s look at the options I gave.
A. Throw in the towel. It’s hard to sell a book these days even when the author has a well-established platform. If throwing in the towel seems like a good option, I suggest you do just that. It takes real perseverance to make it as a successful author these days. If you can quit at the first roadblock, do it. It will save you a lot of heartache. If not, read on.
B. You find an expert or a celebrity who has a huge platform to co-write with you. While this may seem like a frivolous option, don’t count it out. In yesterday’s comment section Sally gave some real life stories about connecting with celebs for co-authoring. It’s certainly a longshot, but don’t forget that it doesn’t have to be a celebrity. Sometimes getting a named expert might help get your foot in the door.
C. You self-publish. This is one of those cases where self-publishing probably won’t work as a viable business model. Think about it. If you don’t have enough of a platform to help sell books for a publisher, how will you move books on your own without the publisher’s sales team and marketing? Self publishing is profitable when the author has a huge platform and can move books at his speaking venues and through his organization. But, with that kind of platform traditional publishers are also interested.
D. You begin to build a platform. As Amy said in yesterday’s comments this is the non-instant-gratification answer. I recommend you go back and read Lynn Dean’s wise comment as well– it takes time to build a solid platform. But Michael pointed out that while we are becoming experts on our subject, we are also building our network. Cultivate those connections and be sure to include those in the proposal. I’m just getting ready to shop an exciting book. The author is a philanthropist and has deep connections to many of the most beloved charities. She even donated a cancer wing to a hospital. Don’t you think those charities will all want to promote her book? Those connections are actually part of her platform.
When we think of platform we often think literally– the speaker’s platform– but these days that is only a small part. As Michael pointed out in his comment, social media has leveled the playing field. We all have equal access to millions of potential readers. Jump in and learn to use the medium. Make sure you are connecting with your eventual readers. One of my pet peeves is writers who spend all their time connecting with other writers. Yes, it’s fun when we share the same interests, but you need to find your readers, not other writers. Find ways to build your audience. Collect the names and email addresses. If you come to a publisher with a reader list of say, 7500 names and a vigorous e-newsletter and blog, they’ll sit up and take notice. (Don’t forget that website visitor numbers and e-newsletter numbers can be verified relatively easily. Don’t ever pad numbers.)
It might seems like slow work but it’s just like any business, you grow your “customer base” one person at a time. That’s what your platform is– a potential customer base.
So. . . let’s look at tomorrow’s worst case scenario. Here it is:
You’ve read nothing but edgy Brit-lit* your whole life. When you began to write you were told you had the perfect voice for edgy Brit-lit. You’ve written three complete edgy Brit-lit novels and you are now ready to seek an agent and get published. As you begin to put out feelers you find that the interest in edgy Brit-lit is right below inspirational techno thrillers.
What do you do?
*apologies in advance if any of you write edgy Brit-lit.
B. You realize that story is the important thing and you test a couple of new genres to see if you can fuse your voice and story-telling style with a more recognizable genre.
C. You put your manuscripts in a drawer , do the research on what is popular and immediately begin to write the genre that has been on the bestseller lists for the last eighteen months.
D. You self-publish all three novels.
E. You wait because you know tastes are cyclical.
Which of these would you do? Please feel free to comment, choose your strategy and tell us why. Again, if you have real world experience with this, please share.
This is my first time jumping in here at this blog, so here I go *splash*.
I think A, B, and E are all good and viable options. As part of building your platform, you want to be hanging out on the sites that enjoy your genre (although always be polite in your discussions, not desperate lol)
As far as option B, you might find you enjoy another genre and your story is even stronger in a new context. But the caution here is if you are not really passionate about that genre, I think it will come out in your writing.
Definitely not option C in my opinion because trends come and go. By the time you have done the research, that trend is gone. And once again, if you are not passionate about that trend, I think it will come out in your writing.
Option D is hard if you do not have an audience (then again, going back to option A, you might have a following because of all the sites you are a part of).
Which leads to E. Wait out the market and write what you’re passionate about. I like this one the best. And to add to it, continue to support blogs and sites that are passionate about your genre to spark that flame.
My real world experience lies in the self-publishing arena. And I agree with all the drawbacks. Totally.
I have an endorsement from a bestselling author on the back of my second novel who still believes in my work.
I have a variety of friends (ages 20-75) who love my work. I’ve had some excellent reviews of my second novel, but all the negatives you and many others have mentioned regarding the promotion of self-pubbed novels exist in spades.
I have five more completed novels waiting in stasis and am working on number eight.
One thing I will say about self-publishing is that the personal involvement in the production of the book is real treasure. The second outfit I used is made up of true professionals and produce a quality product (and require the book to be edited).
I admit I hadn’t tried very hard to get published when I chose self-publishing. Although the process was valuable and worthwhile, it would be better to have the promotional backing of a royalty publisher.
It’s not so much the quality of writing anymore that separates royalty publishing from self-publishing (as much as it used to be anyway). It’s the ability to market to the book where royalty publishing has the edge.
My real-life experience is in progress. My manuscript features an elderly female lead, which is evidently the publishing equivalent of edgy Brit-lit. It is in a drawer while I explore another story with a more contemporary tone. But, the little lady in my book keeps popping her head out of the drawer asking if I think we still have a chance.I’m thinking of sending her out a few more times while I work on something else.
Worst case scenarios are hard…and there’s so many of them in this profession. I’d probably go with B and E. See if my voice could fit in a viable genre, but I’d keep the manuscript in case Brit-lit rose it’s head again.
I’d also seek council from some of the professionals in the business. Many of the great conferences around the country offer wonderful opportunities to speak face to face with agents and editors.
Or I’d just read Wendy’s blog the next day to find her answer! : )
This one made me laugh out loud.
I say you do E with the already written books, and B with the next one you write.
But…I think there is an unhealthy tendency to blame the “hatred of a genre” for failures that should be attributed to weak manuscripts.
I tried to sell an MG novel in the CBA for a couple of years, and I was told that children’s books were a “tough sell” in the CBA. And yet, every year someone would sell a debut MG novel to a CBA publisher. So I knew that it was possible to sell MG novels. I just didn’t have the right hook/voice/skill/plot/endorsements/something to convince someone to publish MY MG novel.
I like to believe–though it may be a naïve belief–that you can sell any genre any time as long as your particular book is so good that the agents and editors can’t keep themselves from loving it.
You have to write with excellence. Write a story with a lovable character in a compelling conflict, with a deep theme, in a great voice, and you’ll probably sell that book even if it is in an unpopular genre.
Of course, I’ve never sold a novel. But that doesn’t mean I don’t know how. It just means that writing with excellence is easier said than done.
I believe this question has a completely different answer if we’re talking about Christian writers. If we’re taking the world’s perspective, then we can wax on about “the purity of our art” and “stubbornly refusing to change what we do or who we are.” We’ll still be unpublished, but we can take that approach if we want to leave God out of the equation.
If we are writing “purpose driven” books with the goal of honoring God and shedding light in a dark world, then it shouldn’t matter as much to us “what genre we are writing” as to “who we are reaching.” If the people you are trying to reach are seeking books within a particular genre or style, then this is what we should be adapting to in our roles as servant writers.
At the recent Mount Hermon Writers Conference it was a bit troubling to see people get so defensive about their particular genre and literally get mad that editors weren’t interested. The editors aren’t interested because people aren’t reading those genres.
We should never, ever, compromise on the core Biblical message we’re sharing. But as to how we present this message with art and style, I feel we need to approach this with humility and flexibility. Editors and agents are our partners in helping to get our message to the right people, and to as many of them as possible. It may require us to be “All things to all people” as Paul teaches, in order to accomplish this. I believe as Christians we should embrace this.
The good news is that Brit-lit will be back again, so hang onto the manuscript and it will be your Bestseller number 3 or 4.
There’s an important difference between a hobby and a business. For most of us, writing begins as a hobby–a passionate, persistent interest. We learn as we go. I’d chalk the first three stories of ANY genre up to learning experiences and tuck them lovingly in a drawer. If the plots are good, you can always return to them later.
Before I tucked them in, though, I’d take them to a conference or a crit group and ask a few knowledgeable people for their opinion. If they saw some spark in my writing, what would they suggest as my best career direction? If, as Sally says, my stories haven’t sold because there are weaknesses, the kindest thing I could hear would be the truth accompanied by advice on what skills I need to acquire. Think of it as developing a business plan as I move from “hobby” to “business.”
Then I’d give myself time to act on that advice with serious effort. Write another story, not chasing trends but with an eye to marketability.
B sounds like a good option, except if all I’ve ever read is edgy Brit-lit, then how would I have the first notion of how to write in other genres? There is work to do first, before B is a viable option. But, in my mind, it’s what to do while you are waiting out option E.
We write what we love to read. However, story is what matters. It’s a powerful thing, story – and we all must learn how to respect it, bend with it, and bend it in our hands.
However, I may opt for the unwritten option F which is to hang around Starbucks wearing an ascot, pounding furiously on my laptop and just LOOK like a writer. Latte anyone?
Personally, I’d go with B. I’d test other genres to see if my story might work in their contexts. This option seems to be the marriage between being true to oneself and accepting that publishing is a business. Books need to have saleability to be published in the first place, but writing what you love is important, too. This option is a nice compromise, imo.
I would have chosen E, but it’s too risky. You can never say if a trend will eventually resurface, because that’s all it is — a trend. Hammer pants might never come back in style. In the same way, edgy brit-lit might be gone for good. Who can say? Besides, even if the edgy Brit-lit trend did cycle back, it would already be too late for my ms. The trend would have fizzled. By the time I started contacting agents for round 2, edgy Brit-lit would be out, and they’d all be tripping over themselves signing the next Vampire book. Trend followers just can’t win in this business, I tell you!
P.S. Is there seriously a genre called edgy Brit-lit … or did you make that one up?
I’ve loved reading everyone’s comments. This has been an interesting series. Thanks, Wendy.
I actually can relate to this worst-case scenario. (Well, not the edgy Brit-lit.) I do think genres are cyclical, but here’s the rub–you wait or put it into a drawer, and just as soon as you do, your drawer-genre becomes a hit and you’re not the first wave going out. Too late. Or maybe too early.
Remember The Prayer of Jabez bestseller? Right before that hit book, I actually read a Prayer of Jabez book for review that was a bit longer and had modest sales. Then, Wilkinson’s book became a bestseller–on the very same part of the Bible. The other one was maybe 2 years(?) ahead of the curve. I can’t even remember the name of the author of the first one.
I think if you do C, you already are behind. I think it’s wise (if you really want to write) to try a combo of B &E. If you do D, you do that for yourself and only you can decide if you want to work on the marketing plan. (Ask Tom Clancy, The Shack-guy, and Jan Karon what they did–even though Tom and Jan didn’t self-publish, they had limited runs at first.)
But I think there are all these things involved–savvy reading and writing (your passions, of course,) the God-incident and being at the right place at the right time. At least that’s my observation. 🙂 This was fun to think about.
Outside of nonfiction, I think there is nothing wrong in finding a way to use the love of the genre you write and try and make it current. Switch it up. You might find you love it or are better at a different genre. If you’re shooting for a career that is – you might have to. And save the genre fail novel for later.