After your book is released and the publicity campaign for its grand entrance nears completion, how do you keep your book on the red carpet and in the spotlight?
I'll be honest. This prompt was tricky.
Not because it's a bad question. Quite the opposite, in fact. It's something I've grappled with for years. Because, if I'm being honest, I didn't do a great job keeping my book in the spotlight after its "grand entrance."
And I can't blame anyone but myself. I heard over and over again: "Even with a traditional publisher, marketing falls to the author." And I thought I'd done what I needed to do. I set up social media pages, I made friends at conferences, I put together bookstore events in the first couple weeks to peddle my book from coast to coast!
But it never seemed to be enough. I earned out my advance, but sales numbers never exploded the way I hoped. I got good reviews, but the buzz wasn't strong enough to make the book a hit. I saw the book resonate with readers, but I still kept being told it wasn't resonating enough. Wasn't reviewed enough. Wasn't selling enough.
I'll pause for a moment, because I'm starting to sound like a bit of "sad sack," which isn't my intention. Sure, I had plenty of frustrating days. There were plenty of times when I wondered what magic I could do to sell a book whose marketing I didn't control, whose price I didn't get a say in, whose destiny rested solely in my hands after so many decisions had been made for me.
Well, let me try and answer those questions for young(er) Matthew. Because, the truth is, there is plenty I could have done differently. Plenty I will do differently the next time around. Allow me to name a few...
I would have started sooner. A few months before my book release, Barnes & Noble ran a pre-order promo, and it was the first time I heard from the marketing team at the publisher. They encouraged me to get the word out to my "network." And I truly didn't know what they meant. I had my social media followers, of course, but those were mostly friends and family who had already ordered the book if they felt so inclined. There was an assumption, I realized, that I'd done the work to build a community of readers. (Of course, you might ask, what readers are going to follow a writer before he has a book out that they can read? But I digress...) I realized with a sinking sensation that I was already too late to feed the marketing machine. No one was coming to save me, as they say, and I had a very small community to sell to. Maybe I should have built a brand somehow, maybe I should have started a podcast, maybe I should have paid to boost posts on Instagram...but whatever path I chose, I should have started as soon as the book deal was signed.
I would have focused more on individuals, less on institutions. There's a temptation to think too big as a first-time author. I had it in my head that if I got the right high-profile press coverage, the right sexy book launch event, the right the right endorsement...everything will work out. In fact I did get some good coverage (humble brag alert: Library Journal Starred Review) and a launch event at the Drama Book Shop where I was interviewed by a famous actress (more humble brags, maybe). But none of that mattered nearly as much as the personal connections I forged one-on-one with readers who connected with the book. These were the people creating positive word of mouth. These were the people requesting the book in libraries and bookstores. These, ultimately, were the people I was writing for. For every one influencer, publication, or gatekeeper I'd tried to get to pay attention to my book, I wish I'd taken the time to personally connect with ten (or one hundred!) real readers. Because that's what it's all about.
I would have built a following around me, not just the book. As a writer, I want nothing more than to hide behind my work. My god, if I wanted to be front-and-center, I would have become an actor! But I chose a path that I thought would allow me to fade into the background and let my work shine. Wrong! In today's creative economy, personal brand rules all. My catchphrase for the months leading up to and following the release of my first novel was, "Read the book!" But the invitation—the call-to-action, as the real marketers say—should have been based about investment in me. I needed to give readers something to support and follow after they'd read and (hopefully) enjoyed There's No Murder Like Show Murder. In a world where I don't get to control the when or the how of the second book in this series, I ceded too much control to the publisher. I needed to figure out my own answer to the question I'd inevitably get: "Okay, I liked the book. Now what?" The good news is, I'm currently working on an answer to that question. Watch this space.
Sometimes I want to go back in time a couple years and shake the clueless version of me that let so many opportunities slip through his fingers. But there were wins, as well, Triumphs I have to remind myself to celebrate. Without forgetting the hard-won truths that will make my next go-round even more successful.
I hope something in here might prompt someone else to avoid a mistake I made. But I hope that "someone," whoever they are, is kind to themselves about the myriad unique mistakes they will make. It's all a learning process, after all.
And next time will be better.
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