Hello! Is Anyone Out There?

 

Terry here, lamenting the answer to this week's question: Having one’s book rise above the crowded marketplace is difficult. What have you tried to get yours noticed — what has worked and what has not? 

 As far as I can tell, nothing I’ve done has ever worked to raise my books “above.” I am a solidly midlist writer (or lower than midlist), who has never “broken out.” That’s not to say I haven’t had some local and minor success with sales. But I mean I sold “tens of books.” Rising above means selling hundreds, or thousands, of books. 

Oddly, someone told me that most people think I’ve made a lot of money from writing because I’ve had ten books published (#11 is coming April, #12, sometime in the fall.) But as any midlist writer can tell you, being published in the lower echelons is largely a vanity undertaking. I love being in the spotlight, love doing events at bookstores and book clubs. I enjoy being on panels at conferences, which gives me the illusion of “success.”

But it doesn’t make money, and the only way to make money in the writing game is to get noticed—big time. 

 One would think that touring the country for a book tour would get some notice. (By the way, touring is on my dime. Publishers don’t pay anything for midlist writers to tour. And it’s expensive! Flights, hotel rooms, ground transportation—all obscenely expensive—and without much to show for it, except ego boosts.)

I have routinely publicized bookstore tours on social media and in newsletters. And sometimes I’ve sold quite a few books at bookstore events. But those were usually in bookstores in the Bay Area, where I lived—friends and family! One little breakout was a reading in a wine store, where I sold a lot. Also, I have sold a number of books in Texas, where my books are set. But no matter how many books I’ve sold at these events, it’s small potatoes in the larger scheme of “success.” 

 I’ve had more success at drawing people to book club talks and libraries. But bottom line, no book “events” have ever moved the needle to permanent best-seller status. 

 I have always been with medium-size presses, and they don’t budget much for author publicity. I’m usually on my own paying for any publicity. Occasionally I’ve wheedled a publisher to pay half of an ad. And occasionally they’ve sprung for an ad when several of their authors are being promoted. But it’s rare. 

 Some authors do break out of the pack of midlist doldrums, and it’s usually because they are picked up by a large publisher—one that’s willing to put money into promoting and publicizing. 

 The only thing that ever really got my books noticed was when a widely-read author, Carolyn Hart mentioned my first book as her favorite of the year. That created the coveted “buzz.” And for one shining moment I had great book sales. But as so often happens with series, the first few sell well, and then sales drop off. 

 How about awards and good reviews? Do they affect sales? My first few books were finalists for awards, including the Strand Critics Award and the Left Coast Crime “Lefty” awards.

The fifth book won a critics award from the now defunct RT Reviews. Have the awards garnered sales? I don’t think so. 

 All of my books have garnered terrific reviews, including starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and Library Journal. It’s exciting to get those great reviews and I holler about them on social media. But have those reviews resulted in being noticed? Not that I can tell. 

Happily, I do have a loyal fan base, to whom I’m very grateful. They email me, rave about my books on social media, and tell their friends. They buy multiple copies. And that, as far as I can tell, has been the only thing that works—word of mouth. 

One problem I have is that the books are set in small-town Texas. Regional. As Library Journal, said, “The Samuel Craddock series may be the best regional crime series around today.” But even in Texas, I don’t think that resonates with book buyers. I was on TV in Dallas, I’ve had long reviews in the Dallas Morning News. But nothing has ever sparked the buying public to buy my books by the carload. 

 I have high hopes that my new series, a thriller series set in various places around the globe,

might be more generally read. But the question remains, how do you get “noticed?” Bottom line: I haven’t figured it out.