A Pipe, Patches on My Blazer, and an Ascot from James W. Ziskin

As writers, we are often told that promotion – publicity and marketing – is half the game. Are you aware of other writers’ promo influencing you?

I may have a defective memory, but I don’t recall many of the biggest-name authors facing the challenges we of the hoi polloi do to promote our books. Sure, they fly around the country and appear at pre-arranged, publisher-sponsored events, glad-handing and suffering through long interviews and ayto graph sessions. And they do spots on network morning shows. While that’s hard work, I’m sure most mid-list and aspiring authors would jump at the chance for gigs like that.

But does that mean well-know writers don’t work hard on promotion. Far from it. It’s just that they have some powerful machinery behind them greasing the skids. I wish my publishers had such deep pockets and faith in me.

Does that smack of sour grapes? Possibly. But I don’t resent the big names. I envy them, sure. But I don’t resent them.

Take an author like Harlen Coben. Aside from his obvious talent as a writer, his bestsellers, and his hit TV show adaptations, he works incredibly hard at building his brand. A brand that isn’t just as a writer. He’s forged an identity as an arbiter of taste and an expert promoter of our genre. He wields his unique celebrity brilliantly and generously. By promoting others’ work on outlets such as The Today Show, he also accomplishes what my fellow Criminal Minds have been saying for the past week and a half: “Don’t approach promotion with a buy-my-book attitude.” Instead, spread the wealth and pay it forward (cliché, I know). Talk about others’ books, and you’ll reap the benefits while—and by—sharing the spotlight with others. Plus you’ll feel like a good guy. You’ll be a good guy.

But enough about me. Tell me why YOU love my books.

We all know that guy!

No, seriously, I echo my colleagues’ sentiments on selling yourself instead of your book. “BUY MY BOOK,” no matter how loud you say it, probably won’t work. Few book pitches bowl people over. Rather, readers look for buzz—difficult to create and extremely rare, so let’s put that to one side for now—or they want to be seduced, figuratively speaking. I don’t know of many people who buy a book because they find the author dull. Or unlikable. But if there’s a spark of some kind, they might be tempted. Maybe they like the way the author comes across as smart or likable or funny. Maybe they like their humility and aw-shucks folksiness. Their shyness, even. Who wants to buy a book from the humorless, self-aggrandizing poseur smoking a pipe and wearing patches on the sleeves of his tweed blazer? Or better yet, an ascot knotted around his pencil neck? 

Be this guy…

NOT this guy with the ascot…

(Actually, it’s a longtime aspiration of mine to wear an ascot, but my wife assures me she’ll divorce me if I do.)

Look, you’re not going to appeal to everyone with your promotion, and being subtle in your sales pitches might not make you a bestseller. But as with so many other things in life, while you won’t necessarily score any points by not being a bore, you won’t lose any either.

Instead, be like Harlen Coben. Charming, witty, and likable. Generous, too. And do all that on national TV. That always helps.

L