Marketing Lessons Learned at the 2016 Steel Pen Creative Writers' Conference

The 2016 Steel Pen Creative Writers’ Conference was held this past Saturday, and all of the sessions were fantastic. Since the November blog theme is marketing, however, this post will focus on those parts of the conference that addressed that issue.

The second session of the day included a workshop on “Marketing Your Book” presented by Carla Suson. Here are a few of the highlights.

·       Have a marketing plan in place before your book comes out. The plan shouldn’t be limited to what you are going to do but should also say when you are going to do it. For example, schedule when you will send galleys to major reviewers.

·       Before the book launches, gather information on potential publicity outlets. This includes radio shows, newspapers, newsletters, magazines, niche markets, e-mail lists you have gathered from your website or from book fairs, and blog tour sites.

·       A website is essential. If you only plan on writing one book, the website should be for that book. If you have multiple publications, the website should focus on you with your books included as secondary information.

·       Choose your social media deliberately and post information selectively. Social media is good for celebrating milestones, achievements, and connections but hard sales tactics backfire.

·       Identify the national days and months that relate to your book and put them on your marketing calendar. Then write a relevant blog post for each one. See the note below for some examples.

Keynote speaker Cathy Day talked about literary citizenship, where writers benefit by cooperating rather than competing. Be interested in what other people are doing. Interview other writers for your blog or an online or print magazine. If you want authors to recommend and review your books, then you must do the same for them. If you want to be published in print journals, become a subscriber. If you want people to buy your books, then buy books yourself. As Cathy Day kept repeating, be interested in what other people are doing. Or, to sum it up in words she didn’t use, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

IWC expects more great marketing advice at next year’s Steel Pen Creative Writers’ Conference.

See you there.

__________

You can find a list of national days and months at www.nationaldaycalendar.com, and something is sure to apply to your projects. Are you writing a romance novel set at a lighthouse? August 7 is National Lighthouse Day. Did you publish a children’s picture book about friends splashing in puddles after the rain? January 11 is National Step in the Puddle and Splash Your Friends Day. And we can all celebrate National Books Lovers Day (August 7), National Get Caught Reading Month (May), and National Book Month (October).

Marketing Resources for Writers

You’ve published a book, and now you want to market it, but you can’t figure out how. So where do you go for marketing advice?

Books are always a good place to start. Here are a few suggestions:

·       Sell Your Book Like Wildfire: The Writer’s Guide to Marketing & Publicity by Rob Eagar (Writer’s Digest Books, 2012);

·       Guerrilla Marketing for Writers by Jay Conrad Levinson, Rick Frishman, Michael Larsen, and David L. Hancock (Morgan James Publishing, 2010); and

·       Publicize Your Book! by Jacqueline Deval (TarcherPerigee, 2008).

Much as the IWC loves books, though, they can get out of date, especially when it comes to today’s fast-moving technology. The Internet is usually the best place for current advice on social media marketing. Here are some relevant online articles:

·       “Marketing Advice from a Publishing Pro: Jane Friedman Shares Her Best Tips,” at http://www.socialmediajustforwriters.com/marketing-advice-from-a-publishing-pro-jane-friedman-shares-her-best-tips/;

·        “5 Marketing Strategies for Writers Who Hate Promoting Their Own Work” by Hugh O. Smith at http://thewritelife.com/marketing-strategies-for-writers/; and

·       “Marketing for Writers: 19 Top Writers On Their Greatest Challenges” at http://becomeawritertoday.com/marketing-for-writers/. Some of the authors who were interviewed spout generalized platitudes, but Ellie Campbell and Jennifer Foehner Wells give specific advice, and a recurring theme among the writers is that the best advertisement for a first book is a second one, so keep writing.

Then there is that third, often-neglected, resource, which can be the most helpful of all. If you have friends and acquaintances that have successfully marketed their books, ask for their advice and help. No approach works for everyone, and the best plan will consider both your personality and the nature of your product. The author of the marketing book or blog doesn’t know you. Your friends do.

In the end, trial and error is the best way to discover what works for you. Even so, you need ideas, and books, the Internet, and friends are a good place to start. So listen to their advice.

Then get out there and market.



Marketing Advice

Looking for ways to market your book? Here is some advice from author and IWC member Meggie Tolkland.

• Consider selling your book on craigslist. It's free! The best times to post your book are just before people get paid--i.e., Friday mornings and the 15th and 30th.
• Promoting your book on social media? Make your posts just after breakfast, when most people are checking into Facebook or Twitter to start their days.
• Put book club discussion questions on your website--it's a great tool for marketing your book to book clubs.
• Having difficulty reaching editors or reporters? Try contacting freelancers. They get bombarded less.
• LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads, and Pinterest are all ways to market your work through your existing social network--and they're free!

Learn more about Meggie and her current book on the IWC's author, speaker, and store pages. Or visit her website at www.tolkland.com.