Let
me preface this by saying there are many good publishers out there, but even
the best ones will fall short at producing a successful book every time one
presses the print button. But why does
it seem that so many authors and literary agents feel disappointed at book sale
totals?
Maybe
you’ll gain some insight by looking at an exchange of emails I recently had
with a large publisher.
I
introduced myself to them online and he wrote back that all book publicity is
done in-house. This means they don’t use
freelancers or hire a public relations firm to help them promote their books.
I
shot back that they can’t possibly promote all of their titles nor give even a
select number the depth of service that the book publicity firm I work for
could provide.
They
didn’t go for it – wouldn’t even explore how they could at least refer some of
their authors to us, even if the writer foots the bill.
Folks,
this is all a numbers game. The more titles that receive publicity and the more publicity each one receives, the
likelihood of an increase in book sales.
Not only that, the media exposure builds the brand of the author and
publisher, and generates a positive message to others, maybe even influencing
policies, behaviors, and beliefs.
There
are many reasons why authors feel disappointment over how the book publisher
handled their book. Here are several reasons why this happens:
1.
Expectations, Egos and Lies
Authors
can be delusional or wildly optimistic that everyone should love their book. Literary
agents may be more cautious, but don’t always share their views with their
authors, for fear of alienating them or turning them off. Book publishers will scrutinize a manuscript
before acquiring it but once an author’s on board, the publisher’s ego gets in
the way of admitting it needs help on book publicity. Even when it encourages authors to do things
such as be active on social media, offer a pre-sale to their connections, and to
participate in book signings, it doesn’t directly encourage the author to hire
a publicist nor will it admit that it does very little, on average, to support
its titles in regards to securing media coverage.
2.
Resources
Book
publishers do not share their resources equally amongst their books. Titles are rated A, B or C and depending on a
book’s ranking, the allocation of resources will be divided. So authors not only compete with books from
others, they compete for love within their own house. The publisher is limited in its human capital,
media connections, and marketing budgets as to what it can and will do for any
book.
3.
Duration
Most
publishers, if you’re lucky, will work on your book for a few weeks before your
book is released and then 4-6 weeks afterwards.
Then they move onto the next set of releases. But a book needs attention from 4-6 months
prior to its release right through the first three months of its release. So much needs to be done – often months in
advance – that to do a short campaign will severely limit the potential results
they can achieve.
4.
Turnover and Experience Gap
Many
publishing departments are run by veterans of publicity, people with 10, often
20 and 30 years of experience. But
everyone under them seemingly is under age 30 or even right out of
college. Youth is inexpensive – plus
they’re eager to prove themselves and they bring a more tech-based approach to
things. But they are not as experienced
as you would hope. Publishers have
high turnover rates and often books get lost when people come and go.
5.
Lack of Vision
The
publisher sees you as an author and the seller of a product -- your book. But you really are an expert with a brand,
and as such, must seek off–the-book-page media exposure. Further, you must go beyond the library and
bookstore market and seek out bulk sales to pertinent groups, associations,
schools, non-profits, businesses, etc.
Unfortunately many publishers remain focused on selling a book to the
book community and not a brand to a targeted segment of the greater population.
6.
Failure to Clearly Divide and Conquer
Publishers
need to tell authors they can’t do all that could or should be done when it
comes to public relations, marketing, and advertising. It should tell authors what they need to do
and collaborate. But one reason people
go with a publisher, aside from prestige, is the belief their publisher will
handle everything. That’s a mistake.
7.
Interesting Book, But Not Worth Buying
Sometimes
a book is terrific – and it gets decent reviews and media exposure – but it
doesn’t sell well. Some authors and their books make for good TV appearances or feature stories but consumers don’t feel they need to
buy that book. Sometimes acquisition editors misread the marketplace or guess
wrong. No one’s to blame. Shit happens.
If
you have been disappointed by a book publisher, you are not alone, but it
doesn’t mean you have to give up on working with a book publisher. It just means you need to approach the
relationship a bit differently in order to produce different results.
In
the end, whether you self-publish, hybrid publish, go with a university or
small press, or land a gig with a large house, just understand that you will
need to be active on the book marketing front and that you should expect to
drive the book publicity campaign. Get
what you can out of the publisher and work synergistically, but don’t expect
your publisher to fully take ownership of things. You are the author of your book’s success.
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