[stylist] 4 Reasons why you must take on your own marketing

Wed Jun 29 19:47:08 UTC 2011

Hi Robert,
Amen to this. 
Donna

-----Original Message-----
From: stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of Robert Leslie Newman
Sent: Wednesday, June 29, 2011 2:20 PM
To: writers nfb
Subject: [stylist] 4 Reasons why you must take on your own marketing

I received this:

FOUR REASONS WHY YOU MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR OWN MARKETING

Several years ago, I had lunch with a prominent, formerly best-selling
author. He was angry that his sales had been in steady decline for several
years. Unwilling to accept any responsibility, he poked his finger in my
chest and hissed, "My job is to write the books; your job is to market
them."

Photo courtesy of CiStockphoto.com/Cimmerian

In the old world, he was right. Authors created the product and relied on
their publishing company to market it. But that world is dead. That doesn't
mean that publishing companies expect you to do everything. But it does mean
that they are more effective if you have a platform already in place. It
provides something for them to leverage.

If this is true for authors who publish with traditional publishers, it is
even more true of self-published authors. Yes, it is easier than ever to get
a book into print, but it is more difficult than ever to sell it.

As a result, marketing is not something you can afford to leave to others.
You must take responsibility for it yourself. This isn't just isn't true for
authors. It applies to almost every other field as well.

There are at least four reasons why this is necessary:

1.         No one knows your product better than you. I hear authors
complain all the time, "My marketing director hasn't even read my book." I'm
sorry but that's the norm. Get over it. Post-recession, the typical
marketing director is responsible for 50-plus books per year. Even if they
did have time to read your book (which they almost certainly don't), they
will never know it the way you know it.

2.         No one is more passionate about your product than you. Do you
really think anyone could care about your book more than you? I doubt it.
You took months-perhaps years-to write it. You kept going when that little
voice in your head told you that you were crazy. You endured a string of
rejections from agents and editors. But you kept going. Why? Love. You were
passionate about your message or story. You just had to share it with the
world.

3.         No one has more skin in the game than you. If your book fails,
the marketing director at the publishing house will go on to the next
project. It is not that he or she doesn't care; it's just that the
publisher's bets are spread across a portfolio of projects. Not so with you.
Your publishing fortunes rise or fall on the success of your current
project. If it succeeds, you reap the lion's share of the rewards. If it
fails, you suffer the consequences. Your career is on the line.

4.         No one is likely to do it if you don't. I wish this weren't the
case, but for 95 percent of all authors it is. Sure, a traditional publisher
will deploy a standard set of marketing activities. But these are generally
not enough to get your book noticed-especially in a world where more than
one million new book titles are published every year. Marketing directors
and publicists generally don't have the time and resources necessary to make
your book a success.

This is why you must take matters into your own hands. Let me suggest that
you take a long look in the mirror. The person you are looking at is your
new Chief Marketing Officer. Stop complaining about the fact that your book
is not getting the marketing effort it deserves. Instead, take
responsibility for your own publishing success and invite others, including
the publisher, to join you in the endeavor.

Robert Leslie Newman

President, Omaha Chapter NFB

President, NFB Writers' Division

Division Website

 <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/> http://www.nfb-writers-division.org

Chair, Newsletter Publication committee

Personal Website-

 <http://www.thoughtprovoker.info/> http://www.thoughtprovoker.info

_______________________________________________
Writers Division web site:
http://www.nfb-writers-division.org <http://www.nfb-writers-division.org/>

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