Pro-mojo from James W. Ziskin

What is the best money you ever spent on promotion and marketing? Travel for bookstore reading events? Advertising? (If so, where—in a conference program book? Newspaper? Social media? Amazon)? Giveaways? A “discovery” website like BookBub or Fresh Fiction?

Over the years, we at 7 Criminal Minds have come to the consensus that there is no grand secret for selling books, no magic bullet, or foolproof stratagem. Maugham famously pointed out that there are three rules for writing a novel, but no one knows what they are. By the same token, no one has figured out how to sell novels either. God knows simply writing a good book is no guarantee of sales. Social media? Nope. Print ads? Do print ads still exist? In fact, not even giving your book away for free works. Yes, people hate to pay for entertainment, but they also place little value in products that cost nothing. It can’t possibly be worth a fig if they’re giving it away, right?

So we writers must content ourselves with fumbling around in dark spaces, probing and palpating like a determined proctologist or an enthusiastic nose-picker, in search of some eureka moment of enlightenment and inspiration.

But we never find it, do we? (By the way, sorry about the imagery in the preceding paragraph.)

What’s my answer, then, to this week’s question? What is the best money I’ve spent on promotion? You might as well ask me which breath is the sweetest one I’ve ever drawn. The truth is each one is opportune and gainful in some way. Every dollar spent, every conference attended, every reading…um…read. They’ve all represented a commitment to and an advancement of my work. Another step on the journey. We want to be read and appreciated, not only for some pie-in-the-sky hopes of achieving fame or striking it rich, but because we’re storytellers. Fish gotta swim. And writers gotta write.

Here are some examples of money I’ve spent. Some earned me  a small measure of visibility, others didn’t. Some struck the right tone, others failed. The key is to make your promotions stick. The stickier the better. Business cards and bookmarks aren’t too sticky, but magnets are. And T-shirts and model cars.

Bookmarks — My first publisher was great at providing these free of charge. Lovingly, hopefully, I placed loads of them on tables at writer’s conferences, only to see them swept into a garbage can without ceremony on Sunday as the staff cleared the convention center for the next event. Still, you do need bookmarks, if only to have something to hand out to potential readers who might not otherwise remember your name.

Business cards — These are no longer useful. Dump them. A bookmark serves the same purpose. People can look you up on the Internet.

Ellie Stone New Holland, NY T-shirts — 

I once had retro T-shirts made up to promote my Ellie Stone series, which is set in the early 1960s. They were meant to recall the old-school gym shirts that were around back then. They cost about $10 each. Pricey but fun.

Vintage toy cars — I did a promotion for CAST THE FIRST STONE with die-cast Volkswagen vans. Everyone wanted one. Did it sell books? Not sure. But at $9.00 each, the promotion was an expensive one. Still, I feel to this day the cost was worth it, helping to create some buzz for Ellie Stone at Bouchercon.

Fridge magnets — Less expensive than the VW van, stickier, and cheaper. But more coveted? Not by a long shot.

Dewar’s White Label and Black Jack Gum — For Left Coast Crime, I made a STONE COLD DEAD gift bag containing the Ellie Stone T-shirt, a pack of Black Jack Gum (extremely sticky), and a miniature bottle of Dewar’s Scotch, Ellie Stone’s brand. The gum was a key plot point in the book. It turned out to be a promotion that got great attention.

For me, every dollar spent learning about writing has been worth something. From the auctions, giveaways, airfares, hotels, and drinks in the bar, I don’t regret a single dime. In particular, the conferences I’ve attended have been rewarding, and not just for the socializing. They’ve been tremendous learning experiences. I like to think I’ve taken great advantage of the opportunities available at such gatherings. I’ve been informed, instructed, and inspired. How so? Well, not to use the passive voice, for one thing. And a million more unquantifiable dividends. Not every endeavor needs to show a clear return on investment. Spending money on your dreams is never wasted. Even if the dream never comes true.

***

And now some self-promotion that costs nothing:

THE PRANK — A picture clipped from Playboy magazine, a missing Swiss Army Knife, and a prank gone terribly wrong conspire to make Christmas 1968 a deadly holiday to remember.

THE PRANK will be released in July 2026.

696

Sdfkjhgdfhlj