And the best value for promotional investment is....by Cathy Ace

Do the costs to promote a book sometimes equal the advance you got for it, and does that make you question A) writing it or B) doing all that expensive promotion?

Welshcakes for the launch of a book set in Wales

This is a tough one to answer, because it needs to be answered in a couple of different ways. The question implies that an author promotes one book at a time. For me, that’s not the case. I write two series of books, with eight in one series, and the fourth in the other will be published in September in the UK, and January in the USA/Canada. 

If I take my next-to-be-published book as an example, then the only money I’ll spend, that’s specifically tied to that title, would be purchasing copies (I get five free, but they go to family) and mailing them to people. This costs me about $40 CDN each time, for each book; a hardcover book is expensive, even with an author discount, and then postage either within, or more usually beyond, Canadian borders is also a pretty penny for  a heavy book! Oh, and I usually pop in a little gift, something relevant to the book. On top of that are mileage costs as I drive to events for signings etc. There’ll also be one heck of a lot of what would be called “sweat equity”, if I were, say, improving my home. I’ll be organizing blog tours, trying to generate blog reviews etc. so it doesn’t cost me anything but time and effort. Per book, that’s about it…unless I choose to offer treats when I do a signing, which, being me, I usually do! That can add up, too. 

At Left Coast Crime with fellow members of CWC

So there are costs for each book launched, but the main promotional costs I bear each year are the costs which are spread across all my books. That would be maintaining and updating my website, providing books for competitions and draws, and attending conventions. The cost of my presence at conventions is so alarmingly high it has to be set against the promoting of all my books – past titles, new titles and even future titles. I need a website upgrade soon, too, and that’ll take loads of lolly. UGH! Oh, and new bookmarks – artwork and printing costs, oh my! Yes, it adds up, and there’s no question promotion can become expensive – but I believe if I’m going to write, I need to promote. So, even if the promotional costs eat up quite a lot of the income I get from writing, it has to be done. It more than ate up all the income from my books for years, and required a heavy top-up investment, too. Now it’s manageable.

That being said, I’ll tell you a secret. The best money I spend each year? My CWC membership fee! I joined Crime Writers of Canada (CWC) when I was first published (fair disclosure – I am now Chair) because I wanted a way to, for a relatively small annual fee, use their online presence to allow me to reach a massive number of people who visit their website – a group of people I wouldn’t be able to afford to reach without CWC. More than 5000 people visit their website each month, and I know folks found out about my work through that website, and then they met me because I organised events on behalf of CWC, and participated in them. Being a member of CWC costs me $130 per year. That’s just about the same as mailing three copies of a book. I think my CWC membership fee gives me the best value for money I can, or probably ever will, get. I will admit that the more I volunteer and do – on behalf of other members – the better the money seems to work for me; in other words, I have found that by promoting the CWC brand, and the work of other members, my own work has garnered more attention…as I said, best $130 a year I spend! 

(PS: did you know CWC has a free monthly newsletter that everyone can sign up for…full of news about new releases, events, and always with the most up to date version of Cool Canadian Crime…a catalogue of all books published by CWC authors through the year? No? Well, if you’re interested, you can sign up – did I mention it’s free? – here: https://gem.godaddy.com/signups/190284/join  And check out the whole website here: http://www.crimewriterscanada.com/

Cathy Ace is the Bony Blithe Award-winning author of The Cait Morgan Mysteries and The WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries (#4, The Case of the Unsuitable Suitor will be released in hardcover in the UK in September 2017 and in the USA & Canada on January 1st 2018).  You can find out more about Cathy, her work and her characters at her website, where you can also sign up for her newsletter with news, updates and special offers: http://cathyace.com/