I've been a successful nonfiction author for nearly three years. In that time, I've released two niche books, and have two bigger books coming this year (The Girl Guide (May 2013) and Quiet Kids (Oct 2013) ). I've very proud of the work I've done in nonfiction, and even more pleased with the things I have learned along the way and how much those things impact me as a fiction author.
So, what were the things I learned?
First,
nothing replaces writing a good book! NOTHING. As new writers we spend a lot of
time fretting about our platforms and marketing. Sometimes we allow this
fretting to get in the way of writing – bad idea. This entire journey starts,
and continues, with a good book.
That said, a good book isn’t enough to get it in the hands
of readers these days. This means that we have to promote our work. Period. And
that is where the lessons I learned in publishing my nonfiction books can
really help all writers:
- Know Your Market.
Before you design a promotional
campaign of any form, it is important to have a clear understanding of your
primary and secondary markets. With nonfiction, most authors figured this out
when they wrote the “marketing” section of their proposals. Fiction authors
should go through this process too. Ask yourself who the book is for – teens,
children, adults? Who is the secondary market for the book? With Emotional
Intensity, the primary market is parents and educators. Psychologists and other
personnel involved in gifted education for a secondary market.
- Know Your Comfort Zone.
As with all forms of social
networking and marketing, it is important to know your own personal strengths
and weaknesses. Are you comfortable speaking in person to a large group, or is
Skyping or chatting more your thing? Do you like to cold call potential hosts
for tours, or does the thought of that give you hives? Knowing your comfort
zone is important. Don’t spent a lot of time doing things you hate – you will only make yourself crazy. Instead,
spend your time promoting in ways that you are comfortable with. In today’s
market, you are really only limited in terms of promotion by your own comfort
level. So, get to know what works best for you and your book. Then repeat it
over and over again.
- Set Clear Goals for Promotion.
I have a background in marketing in
sales (before my days as a psychologist), so the first thing I did was set
clear monthly goals for promotion. I planned one major event – blog tour, book
signing, speaking engagement – monthly. I’ve really tried to space out the
events to keep the message from getting muddled and maintain a regularly
presence. I have maintained these goals for both books
- Blog Tours and Book Tours.
These are both fabulous ways to
connect with readers. The important thing to remember – planning. With blog
tours, ask people in your particular niche to host a leg. If you are targeting
teens, for example, try to have a blog that is frequented by teens host a leg
of the tour. The same is true with book tours – market to both chain and
independent booksellers. Do your homework; know which stores are well connected
with your niche. A couple of other things to keep in mind:
·
Start early – proper planning of events is
really a key.
·
Know the expectations of the host. Ask questions
about how they envision your visit, or what they see as their role in the blog
tour.
·
Stay organized – use spreadsheets and other
organization tools to keep track of the places you pitched too, the hosts of
your tour, and any giveaways.
·
Send reminders to participants. We are all busy
and it is easy to forget things. Take on that burden and don’t be alarmed when
things get forgotten. Just be prepared.
·
Remember to follow-up with a thank you. There is
no substitution for good manners! Personal thank you notes go a long way to
letting your hosts know how much you appreciated working with them
- Other Venues to Connect with Readers.
I love doing Author chats. In fact,
my author chats are really the reason I have sold as well as I have. In
addition to in-person events, I am involved in webinars and events on
SecondLife. These are amazing ways to connect with readers and enable you to
“go global”. I cannot tell you how excited I am to host a global bookchat in a
few weeks.
Be willing to get creative and look
for new ways to connect your message to your market. For my newest book, 101
Success Secrets, I have created all new reader-experiences to bring to my book
chats. I can’t wait to see how they work out.
- Using Social Networking sites.
Promoting your message is about
creating buzz. In this day and age, it is easier than ever to create buzz on a
large scale. But, how do you separate yourself from all the noise out there?
That’s easy. Be creative. Do something unique and different – and then make
sure EVERYONE knows about it. For my niche, the message itself is unique to the
market. So my job was getting it to the right people. Utilizing niche-specific
social networking venues (#gtchat on twitter, participating in gifted groups on
facebook), I have been able to bring awareness to my message, and my books,
directly to those most likely to read it.
This same process applies to
fiction – if you are a YA writer, for example, utilize creative sites that
teens frequent, and find tie-ins for your specific project. Connect with your
readers – that is the key.
- You Are Only As Good As Your Last
Book.
Finally, people have short
attention spans. This means the message you have is easily replaced by the next
greatest thing out there. To keep your sales up and your message heard, it is
important to keep writing. Produce new content – either on a blog, or in a
newsletter. Respond in fresh ways to the questions readers have. And write new
books. This is how you cultivate a writing career – fresh content of the
highest quality.
In fiction, this really means KEEP
WRITING. If you want a career as an author, it is important to continually hone
your skills and continue writing.
Whether you are traditionally published, with a small press or going Indie, you will be doing some promotion for you book. Hopefully the little things I have learned with my nonfiction can help you in your endeavors!
