Author: Claire McKinney

Calling All Authors, Spokespeople, and Brands: Twitter is for Tweets and Other Ideas for 2015

Posted on by Claire McKinney

14909082825_53603b7a64_zFirstly, I’ll fess up to taking a break from writing over the holidays.  Pretty much dead air, I know.  As much as one tries to stay inspired at this time of year, it’s hard to focus when every other email in my inbox is announcing a “one-day sale at XXXX.”  But was that yesterday that the sale ended? Or is it today? Have I taken advantage of every possible opportunity to buy, buy, buy?!  You get the picture.

Here we are at the beginning of the first full week of 2015, and I’ve been reflecting over the past year and what has been working in the world of pr and marketing and what hasn’t.  Things in the communications world continue to change as the now established forms of social media technology try to remain on top and monetize absolutely everything to keep their shareholders happy.  Newer forms also jockey for position, attempting to attract the tween and teen demographics, hoping to hook on for the generational long haul that Facebook has been managing to keep up to this point.  With all the swirling forms of media and methods out there for getting your point across, it’s as hard to figure out what to put your time and energy into as it is to figure out what sale day you have (or have missed) during the holiday rush.

I am going to share what I think are the most important things any author, spokesperson, or company seeking to create brand awareness should be considering right now.  Call these resolutions or thoughts for the New Year or don’t subscribe to any-it’s totally up to you and your comfort level with technology.  But in general, I think that “old” methods need not be completely disregarded and “new” ones need to be used strategically and efficiently so as not to take over your life, as follows:

1. Make a business card and circulate it.  Literally carry these things everywhere including your child’s soccer games and on vacation.

2. Research your field, your competitors, and your target market.  Know your audience and find out what is important to the people in it.

3. Tumblr is still cool so check it out and play around with it.  Tumblr has managed to stay through all of the changes that have happened, and for the right person or brand it is an excellent way to create a valuable destination and community.  This is one of my resolutions for 2015.

4. When posting on Facebook limit text to a few lines maximum and share a picture or video.  Also consider that Facebook is primarily reaching a 35+ demographic these days and that recent articles (and I can’t find the link to the one I read last week, so if you do, please tweet me) have noted that in order to get advertising dollars, Facebook is or may be considering charging people for prominence in the News Feed.  Also, not all of your posts are being listed in everyone’s feed on your list.  We’ve known for a while that Facebook is falling out of favor as a marketing tool.  It is at the point where the ability to hone in on a community is going to cost you and the days of the “free” online marketing/social media are dwindling for this outlet.

5. LinkedIn is great for businesses and related topics, so post your blogs and other content you find relevant on a weekly basis.

6. Twitter is for tweets, but don’t just use it as a curating tool.  People who read Twitter like links/pics/video that is informative, interesting, unique, helpful, and important, unless you are a celebrity and can give us a blow by blow account of what you ate for breakfast. Most people don’t like having a single person blowing up in their Twitter feed with 10 tweets in a row. Space out what you have to say as not to annoy someone so much they’ll press the “unfollow” button on your profile. Also, in order to generate followers it will be helpful to you to create your own content that can be distributed and you should share your opinions about what you are sending out.

7. Instagram is becoming more popular every day, especially with teens and young adults. Everyone loves pictures, and Instagram allows an easy and straightforward way to share your life with followers: post a picture, and add a caption if you’d like. You can get creative with your photos and the filters that come with it: a cute photo of your cat in black-and-white, a photo of someone reading your book in a coffee shop, an iPhone screenshot of someone’s Tweet complimenting your writing, etc.

8. Write original blogs that are useful to your target audience twice a month.  Content marketing is all the rage, and truly I know it works from experience. Tweet or share your blog posts on Facebook and LinkedIn—you never know who might find your information valuable.

9. Meet people in person.  Consider looking into public speaking, go to conventions where you’ll find like-minded people, visit bookstores if you have written a book, shake the hand of your local librarian, become a member of the local chamber of commerce, and any other way you can put faces to names and make a lasting impression.

Pick two or three of these or even one for the first few months if this seems overwhelming.  They are listed in order of simplest to most time consuming, so go for it!

Publicity and Reviews: Some (More) of The What and When of Book Publishing

Posted on by Claire McKinney

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I recently wrote a blog about when and how to publish your book.  A gentleman who had self-published wrote a response in which he indicated that I wasn’t as thorough about how things work for independently published books as I was for those traditionally published.  He brought up several points and I will try to address each one based on the experiences I have had so far.

1.  If you are trying to get review coverage in print papers, it will be difficult and maybe impossible.  However I have booked interviews for authors in their local papers and other similar venues.  The key is to find an angle for “off-the-book-page” coverage.  Also, I will tell you that traditionally published books have had a very, very hard time over the last several years getting reviewed in print unless the author is a known entity.  If you look at the review sections of papers like USA Today, the New York Times, etc. you will notice the same books reviewed in many publications.

2.  There are review outlets that charge for reviews for self-published books, like Kirkus.  Publishers Weekly will also charge a fee to get listed in their “PW Select” feature, which includes all self-published books that have been submitted to them for the quarter.  If they like your book, they may review it in the same issue of the magazine, but they only select a certain number for this opportunity.  There is no additional fee.

3.  It is true that you will not be distributed as a self-published author unless you hire your own service.  An author of ours started his own imprint and signed up with a distributor which got books to stores, when they were requested.  You do not have the benefit of a field sales force out there pushing your title and you would need to approach a store directly.

4.  I have met independent authors who have come up with amazing and creative ways to market themselves, and it is another full-time job.  Their success is usually reflected in Amazon Kindle numbers.  Porter Anderson just wrote a piece about controversy in the Kindle world and a self-published author who has sold millions of books this way had some comments.

I’ve done some research and it is clear that self-published authors on average earn the least amount from book sales; traditionally published authors are next; and interestingly, hybrid-published titles, through publishers like Greenleaf, Balboa, and others that cooperatively publish books with their authors, sell the most.

5.  If you can get a literary agent and become published by a traditional publisher it will make your life a lot easier in terms of all of the leg work that goes into self-publishing.  However, these days more and more traditionally published authors are hiring their own pr/marketing professionals because they know that publishing houses are spread thin in this department.

I would like to add that if you decide to publish yourself, I recommend creating your own imprint and publishing under it.  There are wonderful freelance editors, book designers, and other people out there who will be able to help you.  You need to be careful when you sign up with a “self-publisher” because sometimes they will retain the rights to your work, and  I’ve also met disappointed authors who didn’t like the discounting structures and other things that related to the sale of the book itself.

When working with a self-published title, we don’t tell people a book is self-published except when asked.  “Independently published” is a good term that is kind of a catchall for anything not published by one of the major companies (so that term can include small press books as well).  This doesn’t mean we send books to bloggers or reviewers who specifically say they don’t take self-published books.  It just means that we try to let the material, content, or product speak for itself.  Years ago they told me original trade paperbacks wouldn’t get traditional review coverage.  I worked on a debut novel that was published as a trade paperback, and it was reviewed in the New York Times and the New York Times Book Review, among other places.  Act as if you have what people want, and you might get what you are looking for as well.

Who writes better: men or women?

Posted on by Claire McKinney

My husband has accused me of not answering questions directly, but rather giving a roundabout answer full of explanation first and eventually getting to what he wants to know.  Sometimes I wonder if all he really hears is “…………………………………………….. (answer) ……………………..”

So perhaps then it is not a big surprise to find that in a recent study of 3000 men and women conducted by Grammarly, 74.80% of those respondents found that women are more likely to write long, descriptive sentences.  Women are also more likely to write about people versus things and focus on character development instead of, as per the study, getting “to the point” or crafting a plot driven narrative.

Maybe it’s a Mars/Venus thing based in psychology, sociology, and biology?  Having been told I have a –ahem- problem getting to the point, I guess I can identify with these results, but does it mean women are better writers?

Certainly the female gender has been praised with having “better” communication and “people” skills, which is probably why so many of us are in the public relations field, television, radio, human resources, social work, etc.  But writing, while clearly a tool for exchanging ideas and passing on information, is an art form.

Are men or women better musicians?  Better actors? Better painters? I don’t think you can make a determination.  If writing is a creative art, then I think it is very difficult to try to assess the success of one sex over the other.   MenvsWomen_Writers_infographic

Image via Grammarly.

 

 

Publish, Release, Launch: Some of The What and When of Book Publishing

Posted on by Claire McKinney

james pattersonI will let you in on a secret: no one, not even the big publishers, know exactly when to publish a book.  Yes, there are some givens, like making sure you are able to get into holiday and other promotions like Christmas, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, etc. Then there are books by authors that consumers are trained to buy in a certain month based on its availability.  I’m talking about Michael Connelly, James Patterson, and others who write at least one book per year.

I should also mention the reason a book is usually published on a certain date is because of marketing and publicity reasons.  We try to get books out there when they will be featured most prominently and when the media are interested in what the titles and authors have to say. 

For self-published authors I recommend that they publish the book as soon as it is ready.  I call this a “soft publication.”   Your “media date” or “hard publication” can be  whenever you think the stars are going to align with media coverage and the success of your marketing—or when you think you can sell the most books!

I’m going to try to break down what the norms are in terms of publication months, but first I need to address some lingo that is tossed around and needs to be clarified.

Publication: This means that your book is on the market and available for sale via any and all distribution channels.

Release: This usually means the date that books are shipped from a distribution center to online and retail stores.  However, I’ve seen it used interchangeably with “publication” but for some people it means something different.  I’m not saying you are wrong for using the word, but knowing that there are other meanings out there might help clear up some confusion.

Launch: This term is a pet peeve of mine, because using this word implies there is some kind of event attached to the publication of your book.  If you are a celebrity or famous person and/or your book has breaking news that is going to dictate an entire news cycle, then perhaps “launch” is a good word to use.  But I caution people about calling publication a launch, because I think there are inherent expectations associated with using the word that can potentially be cause for disappointment.  

* * *

Having said all of this, here are some monthly breakdowns that I have generally experienced as the accepted publication patterns:

January (Or “New Year, New You”)

Self-help; diet; inspirational; business—if you fit into this category, this is what the media are generally interested in, and it’s what consumers are thinking about.

February 

Self-help associated with relationships; debut authors; business; fiction—if you are a debut author, this month is not as full of new titles and there may be more promotion and media opportunities for you as a result.

March

Debut authors; mysteries; fiction

April

Women’s fiction

May

Beach reads; women’s fiction; biographies; books on mountain climbing

June

More beach reads; women’s fiction; biographies or other non-fiction that will appeal to male readers on vacation or for Father’s Day

July

Quieter month better for debut authors; more of what you saw in June

August

Debut authors; education related titles; narrative non-fiction by lesser known writers

September

Public affairs and politics; serial authors in fiction and non-fiction; cooking; highly publicized titles by debut authors

October

More politics; cooking; big non-fiction titles by well-known personalities and writers; higher end photography books; art books

November

Photography; art; gift books; big names; and anything else you can think of that will sell in the current budget year

December

Good month for lesser known authors.  A variety of books are published including late comers for Christmas or those titles that people want to get a jump on for January

* * *

You may notice that the categories are not always dictated firmly in one month or another—this is what I mean about the secret.  In the end what everyone wants to do is get the book out there at the best possible moment.  But you need to consider what you can control and what you can’t.  After you make your best educated decision, you have to go with it and plan as if it will be the biggest “launch” you’ve ever seen! 😉

Amazon dispute shows the separate and not always equal sides of publishing

Posted on by Claire McKinney

amazonI have had the pleasure of growing up in the publishing industry before and during the digital age.  When I first started working in the industry, there were Barnes & Noble, Borders, and a slew of independents.  Then came Walmart, Target, Costco, etc. Along came Amazon during and in-between the others.

About ten years ago I had a conversation with a reporter, off-the-record, about how Barnes & Noble (B&N) was dictating what people read.  The premium merchandising space was paid for, and yet the books that got to sit there had to be approved.  For example, I recently read something about the big fiction buyer at B&N and how much she controlled what made it and what did not.

If B&N said “we don’t like the jacket”, you changed it.  If they said they would take “x” number of copies, you adjusted your print runs accordingly.  At that time, B&N controlled about 20% of retail sales; Borders about 5%; Amazon about 5%; and the rest was in the wholesalers, clubs, libraries, and independent stores.

Today it appears that Amazon controls around 20% of the retail market.  I don’t know the other figures, but I’ve seen this one reported in various places.  Now the screaming has begun about Amazon dictating what we read, but this is unlikely to happen.

For one thing, Amazon does not discriminate (unless in a pricing war).  If you are a teeny little publisher, a self-published author, a big five or six publisher–it does not matter.  You can sell your book through the e-tailers.  I would argue that there are more different books available for sale on Amazon (or other e-tailers) than in any other traditional store.

In some ways, these e-tailer outlets may deserve a bit of credit for the rise of small indys and self-published authors.  What would have happened to Lisa Genova or the Shades of Grey erotica books without the online marketplace? How would we have learned about them and acquired our own copies?  Certainly no brick and mortar store was going to order these books for their shelves.  There are far too many books already.

It’s interesting to see how clear the divide is between the authors fighting Amazon and those quietly supporting it.  The 900 members of the Guild that approached the DOJ about a suit against the e-tailer for monopolistic practices are mostly, if not all, traditionally-published authors, publishing veterans, and the like.  And I wonder if it is really about the price so much as it is about the principle of the matter.  Is this ultimately an issue of “Why should we let them tell us what to do?”

For the independently published authors, it is not a principle: it is a matter of fulfilling a dream, perhaps earning a living, and generally more practical concerns. The people who are out there trying to get their voices heard have a vehicle to sell their books: the internet.  They set their prices, pay their portion to the e-tailers, and hope to make a buck or two in the end.

I have been reading and watching all that has transpired even as I hear the authors talk about their Amazon rankings, and getting reviewers to post on their pages so they can move even higher.  I can’t condone the behavior of a big giant like Amazon (forcing a publisher to bend to its will), but neither can I condemn it, because it is having some positive effect.

I will posit this:  What if publishers had been able to brand themselves a bit and increase their own market share?  What if the market is becoming truly segmented to the point where publishing books will be about which format to focus on as much as what books?  What if hardcovers were printed mainly for collectors and die hard fans in small runs and paperbacks were made available for some books right away (and e-books as well of course)?  What if the print book was made available first and the e-book three months later like a DVD or download on Netflix?

And on a much bigger picture scale:  Is the art of reading dying?  Is publishing dying?  I’ve heard some people say it, but I refuse to believe it.  Especially when I see my daughter who has access to a Kindle and a tablet, but who chooses to read physical books that I race to the store (a real store) to buy for her.  She takes her little book light on the school bus in the morning and has a lamp attached to her bed for nighttime.  She’s 10.  A pre-teen I met told me he likes all three formats of books (hardcover, soft, and digital) but for different reasons.  So he will have different titles in different formats or even all three for varying reasons.

I think things have been changing and that’s hard for an industry reaching toward 200 years old.  But I think the bad press on all sides is not doing anything for the cause and hopefully sooner rather than later we will all be able to move on.