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I think it's really important for a writer to invest in their career financially in this way.
I go to retreats and conferences and I hired an outside publicist (Goldberg McDuffie) to work with me and my publisher's publicists when my hardback came out.I'd do it all over again the same way. A separate publicist was invaluable fto help me learn how to navigate the system. I think it's really important for authors to understand what publicists can and can't do and how much and what type of promotion works best. There is no guarantee but I think it IS helpful for debut authors to talk to other authors in their genre to get a feel for what works and what doesn't.
It's interesting you considered an agency publicist...I think your website and blog are a better investment IMHO. I think conferences and writers magazines are great promotional opportunities.

orion, you say your outside publicist helped you "navigate the system" but isn't that what an agent is supposed to do? What else did this publicist do for you and how much did it cost?

Well, it never occurred to me that an agent would bear any publicity costs. I assumed you all were the brains of the operation, juggling things back and forth between publisher and author, hearing cool stuff and passing it on. That kind of thing.

As a new author trying to put together a reasonable promotion package, I'd like an agent to give me an opinion about what actually works. Those of us who are computer-savvy can tap into any number of loops and blogs and come up with recommendations from both published and unpublished writers. The problem is, they don't agree. Go to conference; don't go, they're a waste of time. Buy ads in major publications; no, they're a waste of money. Mass-mail postcards; don't bother, because people don't read them anyway. With a small advance, how do we put our resources to the best use? I don't ask that an agent do it for me, but please point me in the right direction.

Sheila328 -- Let me be the voice of dissent and possibly discouragement. When my book (I write kidlit) came out last year I did some of those things you're angsting about -- the postcards, the targeted marketing. I even sent out many of my own books to organizations who worked in the environment that the book was about.

I think it pretty much accomplished nothing in terms of sales and cost me a lot of money I didn't really have.

Yet I've seen similar good books, with writing similar to mine, sell like hotcakes right out of the gate. What made theirs take off while mine barely got on a shelf at Borders?

Two words: Publisher Publicity.

If publishers pay a lot of money for your book they are going to promote the heck out of it in order to make that money back. In turn, from all the publicity, the book will SELL.

Not fair, but it did set my mind right as to how the industry works. Sometimes all you can do is work on your next book.

With my four published non-fiction books, the funds for publicity tended to dry up as we went. My first book was about a well-known entertainer and we got $50,000 for publicity; that meant cross country trips, national tv shows, etc. The second book was about a national tragedy with international implications, and that was more limited since we were dealing with national/international news but not big name movie star. This included a couple of cross country trips, and several national television shows. The third book also dealt with an incident that got international publicity in the news, but even less money for publicity from the book publishers. This meant one trip to NYC for television and radio shows and that was the extent of the publicity. The fourth book was a true crime and there was no funds for it, although, it had international publicity.

So, I guess I say all this to point out it depends on the publishing house and how much they think they can make through the additional publicity other than reviews; all four were reviewed extensively.

This is just one person's experience, and all the costs were carried by the publishers, who would reap the most benefits from the dollors spent in airfare, hotel costs, etc.

Hope this helps someone.

This is an real interesting subject. I personally don't think an agent needs to get very involved in an author's publicity other than to advise about what works best, and to buzz about the book inside those industry circles unavailable to the author. When the author's book does well, earning out its advance and going back for second and third printings, the agent benefits as well, so that's something to think about. But I don't think the agent should fork out any money to help make this happen. That just doesn't make any sense considering what her ROI would be.

Buzz sells books, period. Ads don't, blog tours don't, newsletters don't, postcards don't, and the promo goo-gaws everyone gets so excited about (bookmarks, key chains, pens, etc.) are a complete waste of money. If you write a great book that gets talked about, there you go. Getting the word out, IMO, via reviews is probably the most helpful. If your agent can get you reviewed more, all the better.

Books with larger print runs & good distribution tend to stand a better chance of doing better.

No amount of p.r. in the world will do any good if a book is not in the bookstores.

It seems to me the agent's job is to GET A BOOK DEAL ... THE BEST BOOK DEAL POSSIBLE, FOR THE AUTHOR.PERIOD.

When and If ... no,WHEN ... I am ready to seek representation I want the agent who is going to get me the best book deal, and I consider publisher promotion a big part of the deal.
My job is to write; someone else's job is to promote. I'm not naive and understand my responsibility to promote my own book and will do whatever the promotion department of the publishing house my excellent agent, the one who got the very best deal for me, suggests I do to promote the book ... as long as it's ethical and legal, of course.
Anonymous ... for Now!

I only have any experience in the romance genre, but in that field I'm skeptical that anything authors do really helps sell their books. I do the things I enjoy and can afford, because I'm not quite brave enough to do nothing. And some of it I find fun, which is reward in itself. (May as well enjoy this author gig as much as possible!)

I don't think reviews, at least in the romance genre, sell books. I've had friends with great reviews--including great PW reviews--not sell well. Most of what I think works I have little to no control over--good print run, good distribution, good cover, and, perhaps most important, coop--the publisher paying for good space in the bookstore (eg. up front, on a center kiosk, etc.). I've found as my books sell well, I get more publisher support.

I also wonder if the subgenre makes a difference. I write historicals, but perhaps folks who write paranormal might get more mileage out of on line stuff like booktrailers because their core audience might be more attuned to that medium.

And if your agent tells you you have to do X because X definitely works, get a new agent. He/she is delusional. (All right, if Jessica told me to do X, I might, unless I hate to do X and doing X would make me miseable.)

It seems to me the agent's job is to GET A BOOK DEAL ... THE BEST BOOK DEAL POSSIBLE, FOR THE AUTHOR.PERIOD.

When and If ... no,WHEN ... I am ready to seek representation I want the agent who is going to get me the best book deal, and I consider publisher promotion a big part of the deal.
My job is to write; someone else's job is to promote. I'm not naive and understand my responsibility to promote my own book and will do whatever the promotion department of the publishing house my excellent agent, the one who got the very best deal for me, suggests I do to promote the book ... as long as it's ethical and legal, of course.
Anonymous ... for Now!

anon 805:

Not to answer for Orion . . . okay, to answer for Orion . . . I think you may be confused as to what "navigate the system" means in this case.

An agent works within the publishing industry. Sells your rights to publishers. Sells your foreign rights. Deals with contracts and is the middle man when it comes to finances. An agent can also even help you with the manuscript itself.

An independent publicist works outside the publishing industry. ie in the field of PR. They get articles about you into magazines, get you on the air (both radio and film), help book personal appearances and also do a lot of out of the box stuff (which I can't elaborate on because I am very much still in the box).

Now the publisher's publicist, if you are lucky, is already doing the stuff the independent publicist would do for you, but chances are the publisher's publicist is also working on many other books and with many other authors. Some publishers have very little budget for publicity. Some a lot. It all depends.

Hiring an independent publicist guarantees you get personal attention. Like with everything else, some are better than others. But in theory that's the idea.

They navigate the complicated system of self-promotion. Agents don't do that (as this blog post has just explained).

Thanks Adrienne!
anonymous 8:05- The financial aspect is a personal question and varies depending on the contract you negotiate with the publicist.
It can cost anywhere from a thousand a campaign to several thousands a month depending on the publicist and length of campaign.
My publicist was able to get my book profiled by USA today, Redbook, Good housekeeping and helped me determine where to go on tour for the most bang for my buck.
Yes I agree. There is no telling what works and what doesn't.
Going to Seattle on a book tour got me on a bestseller list for August at Elliot Bay Book Store which got me placement in the store. It got me coverage in the Seattle times. Did it sell more books than I would have anyway? I don't know. But I will tell you this. Each time I go into an independent book store and sign stock they hand sell my book and order more copies.
Doing nothing? Well that's just not my style.

I want my agent working on getting me the best deal possible, which is something tangible, not publicizing my series--advertising is not her field but the business end of the contract is. I was lucky enough to help launch a new line with my publisher, which got me a lot of "general" publicity up front. When my first books released, I paid for my own ads, worked very hard on getting my name and titles in front of the public via online chats, and continued writing stories that I knew would appeal to my readers, who then go out and talk about my books, resulting in more sales. My publisher began to pick up more of the promotional costs once I had proved myself as an author. My agent benefits from my efforts, just as I benefit from hers. It really is a partnership and I don't begrudge one penny of the 15% commission my agent earns doing her job. In the long run, I like to think we both benefit by holding up our own ends of a mutually agreed upon bargain.

Wow! Great discussion, all. I'm the anonymous poster of that "interesting thought" and am delighted to see it spark so many more interesting thoughts! Promotion truly is an art, and until the industry as a whole figures out how to identify and analyze metrics around promotion, I'm sure debates on what works and who should pay will continue to abound. Of course, we may never figure out how to measure public appeal, eh?

Kate and Orion, I especially appreciate your thoughtful remarks.

On another note, I find it quite heartening that Jessica actually reads the comments posted! Not sure why I posted that one anonymously - probably just too lazy to sign in :o)

And I know 15% is far too little to begin with! I think I just meant that the agency wasn't having to pay anything extra out of their commission, while the author/publisher pays promotion costs out of their royalties/profits.

I'm still on the fence about the agent helping to bear the cost of building an author's brand. If the agent is helping guide the author in their writing career, does the agent stop short of promoting the brand author and agent are both gambling on? I suppose that's why some agencies do have their own full-time publicists or other people on staff to help build author websites, set up reviews, etc. But, as someone else pointed out, if the ROI isn't there, then that's bad business. See, still on the fence!

Phoenix, to comment on your comment (ah, the joy of blogging!) I prefer to have my publicity under my control and don't feel that I would be comfortable with my agent taking on that part of my career. Publicity is, to me, a very personal part of the business aspect of my writing. When my publisher promotes (and believe me, they do a lot behind the scenes to further my career) it's generally done with the imprint in mind as much as my books. When I promote, it's all about me--I promote my name as much if not more than my books, because I intend to be writing long after my series ends. Even replying to blog posts such as this is a form of promotion that keeps my name in the public eye--people may get sick and tired of "Kate Douglas," but they'll recognize the name when they go into a bookstore! (Oh, THAT pain in the ass...)

I can't help wondering, if an agent spent part of their commission on an author who eventually became successful and then changed agents, would that come under justifiable homicide?

I gather to be an agent and be taken seriously by major publishers and editors you have to work full time. It's not like being a writer where you can have a day job. In a sense the successful authors are subsidizing the newbies by paying most of the overhead. If agents did spend money publicizing authors, I suspect it would go to those who I consider the wrong people.

kate I think you bring up a really good point. Much of the publicity from my publicist focused on me and my career and the publicity from the publisher more about the book.
My publicist was fabulous at saying what she thought would work for me and what she thought wouldn't. They were even more careful of my money than I was...
The thing is. You are only a debut author once. You can't do back and do it all over again with a publicist after the fact.
You have to buy that LOTTERY ticket before you even have a chance at winning...er...well...it worked for my dad...

I never really thought an agent would do my adverstising for me but I would hope for some guidance in what would be good for me to try in way of promotion. (being a newbie) I mean, wouldn't they do that so the book suceeds for both of us?
I see a lot of author's I know doing many things on their own to self promote. The question I have is this; what really works? And what is useless?

I started out in epublishing where, in most cases, ALL promotion is up to the authors. I learned that anything that got people talking about my books was good advertising, and using resources online worked really well. The whole point of viral marketing is to get word of your product to spread across the Internet, voice to voice and completely beyond your own efforts. I signed up for Google Alerts which tells me where I'm being mentioned in blogs and chat rooms, and believe me, it's amazing where you find folks discussing your books! I also use book teaser videos, as they are a good fit for my erotic paranormal stories.

I'd just like to add that while I've taken care of my own promotions (ads, mailouts of ARCs and excerpts, etc), Jessica has gone above and beyond for me in a lot of ways. Since I live in Canada, many things are awkward to do, because of border issues. Jessica has done many things I never expected an agent to do to ease my promotional way.

But as has been said, what I want my agent to do is be "publicizing" me to the editors. Making them excited about my work, so I'll be getting that great book deal.

And having an industry professional to give her two cents on what she's seen work and not has be incredibly valuable.

My agent gets me great deals that are backed by publicity budgets, and that's enough for me. I'm not interested in having him be part of my publicity staff, and we actually disagree quite a bit about how my publicity should be handled. To be perfectly frank, I think his ideas about publicity are utter crap. He makes a great agent, though.

I don't expect my real estate agent to know the finer points of interior design. Same thing goes for books.

Also, I don't think an author can do anything to make a difference in sales. Only publisher push in the form of distribution, buzz, and co-op, can do that. I've had books reviewed in all the major newspapers and then I've had books that got a trade review or two, but if the publisher buys co-op, the titles sell equally.

Thanks for the support on my original comment, Jessica. I consider this to be the real meat of the problem in front of me right now.

I'm a self-published author, and I'm trying to generate as much buzz as I can. My fans do a great job of that, which is why I keep in touch with them. It's helped me quite a lot.

I'm also a consultant to a small publisher on how to sell books over the internet, and I'm trying to whip up a proposal right now (as an atheist, I work over Xmas). On the internet it's all about buzz, and I hope I can apply what I've already learned.

But the real question at the heart of it all is one of timing. Does a big splash really matter in the long run? I can't point to a controlled experiment on the topic, nor is one easy to do. But my gut says that in this changing world, we have to know what we're getting for large expenditures on PR and whether or not the old channels (newspaper, etc) are still effective, if new channels are more effective, or if ANYTHING is effective at all.

People tell me this industry is all about money. Great! I'd like to make some - I have a mortgage. But I see it run through a balance of habit and fashion than any real analysis of the situation.

There are many ways that this industry is simply not responding to changing markets, but to me this is the most potentially damaging. It involves a lot of money spent on PR, and the buzz that is needed to sell books in the first place utterly depends on it. I think we need good answers to the questions I posed in October (and a bit earlier on my own blog).

That's great advice. It makes such a difference when authors make the event fun and memorable (Andrea Seigel's dance routine comes to mind). It makes it an evening out that keeps you talking about what you heard and saw--who wouldn't want that kind of bonus publicity?

(If more bookstores had high ceilings, I'd be polishing my baton twirling skills...)

Toastmasters is a great place to start. Being a bit of a rebel, I felt silly at first with all the formalities, but you learn so much and have the opportunity to speak to people who are holding their breath for you to succeed, and it really builds you up. Terrifying at first, but if you find a good group, it's a great program.

I agree on Toastmasters and would like to add that if you live in an area with several clubs then visit as many as you can. Each has a different feel.
Also, in addition to working on your speaking you can also work on listening and critiquing skill - both important in writing.

This is one of the best books on Asperger's I've read--and you can tell, reading it, that Elder Brother would be a terrific speaker. I agree, definitely an inspiration! And I hope you will write about your dinner with him and Unit Two, as well. :)

Well, keep in mind that his book is considered Non-Fiction as a memoir, and it's much more important for non-fiction to be able to present and speak well in front of groups.

For novelists, it's a plus, not a must. There are plenty of novelists who loathe speaking in public...and let their books speak for them.

There's a reason why novelists don't do book tours the way they used to....they're not cost effective.

So, my point is, you do what you can...but don't freak out about public speaking if it's something that terrifies you. It's not crucial to success as an author...it's a plus, not a must.

He has Asperger's and he manages to speak in public convincingly? I envy him. Wow!~I don't have Asperger's and I couldn't speak in public to save my life.

I have a student who has this disorder and I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this book.

I also find the "look me in the eyes" thing funny. As a teacher, we oftem say this when we are disciplining a student, but as animals primates avert their eyes to authority figuers as a way of showing submissivness, so when we tell kids to look us in the eye, we are actually asking them to do a nonverbal directly opposite our instincts. interesting...

Kristin, what a great post. I have had the honor of getting to know John. We've spoken together at a Writers on Autism even last June and are speaking at Elms college in Mass. in December. I've also attended two of his signings. He's a born story teller. The glint in his eye makes you break out in a smile. He is indeed a wonderful public speaker - although perhaps not from the classic mold. (His height and good looks are rather eye catching too!) I think that any of us, if we feel the passion for our topic, can speak eloquently and hold an audience's attention. As John would say, "Woof!"

Kim, mom to three girls with full blown Autism, not the Asperger's version.

I don't know if I agree with the comment "speaking is a plus, not a must."

I think it depends on how far you want your writing to take you. If you want to sell 500 copies of your book, then fine, let your book do the talking. If you can get someone to pick it up.

With all due respect, how far do most books get when "they do the talking?"

Nowhere.

In today's world, you are not going to get significant, timely book sales without promotion of some kind. It's hard to set up promotion for authors that are not presentable in public.

With every passing day, the importance of public speaking and mass media are becoming more and more apparent to me. Any aspiring author should have his/her eyes on both those targets, as both are essential for almost any significant success in the publishing world of today.

I've heard the same comments about tours not being cost effective. In many cases I'm sure that's true. But not always. I am 100% certain my publisher will come out ahead on my Colorado trip when considering the event, the media, and the lingering effects.

The book still must speak for itself. But I absolutely agree public speaking is an essential skill, not just in an author's life, in just about anybody's life.
It is an extension of everyday effective communication.

On top of that, John makes it very obvious that he cares for his book and his readers and I think that comes through as well.:)

Sherry, you are right. The book must speak for itself, but that is not enough today.

The author must speak too, to achieve substantial success.

When I look at the big publishers' catalogs for this fall, and I look at the success of the various books . . . the more visible and practiced a public speaker an author is, the more successful their book is likely to be.

I have a few clients who have Asperger's so my hat goes out to anyone, with or without Asperger's, who can stand in front of a crowd and wow everyone.

Possessing and distributing this passion to others via words is an important aspect for writers to improve on.

This is so true, it's kind of crazy. I was just at the Fantasy Matters conference, and hearing all these authors read.. the text was usally good, but the reading a grating monotone, and the talk afterwards worse.

Neil Gaiman gave a keynote there, and the difference was astounding. This is so, so, so important, I can't even sya how much I agree with you.

This is one area where I feel I can come through, believe it or not. I have anxiety problems that make going for groceries a horrible experience, but I can get up in front of a hundred people, put my mouth up to the microphone and speak. Sure my chest pounds but that's normal. It doesn't trigger anxiety for me.

My grandpa was a Mennonite pastor. Maybe that's where I get it.

Another place to gain confidence in front of crowds is via acting, especially if you love story telling.

I started acting as a way to explore stories. When I stopped it was because I was ready to spend time writing my own.

Because of my theater training I find I can put on a "game" face in most situations, ham it up if I have to, and project my voice out into a crowd without my knees turning to jelly.

Afterward is another question--all my nerves seem to collapse after the event and I find myself exhausted. Still, it's very enjoyable getting outside of my normal introverted self and exploring the life of an extrovert for a few hours at a time.

Charlotte
http://charlotteforbes.blogspot.com/

Toastmasters is good, but as writers, you may also want to explore the time-honoured tradition of storytelling. There are many storytelling groups around and if you are really nervous and introverted, you can just go and listen to start with - storytellers always love an audience! But gradually, as lovers of stories, you will almost certainly find yourself drawn to tell some yourself and, as well as honing your public speaking skills, the process of preparing a story to tell and telling it is invaluable to a writer. It is a skill that will also make you very popular at your kids' school...

Thanks for the advice. When I was first published I was surprised at how much an author has to promote him/herself. I look for every opportunity to speak now (still makes me nervous . . .). But the competition is stiff out there so you have to jump into the public arena.

This is why my son is a constant source of motivation for me. He's 7, and high functioning autistic. He adores being the class clown, and will spend hour sitting around "running lines" (repeating what he's seen on tv, or quoting his favorite books back to front. But unlike many autistic kids he will stop and demand that you say the next line.) Even with the problems being autistic has caused for him, and the damage to his esteem that people who don't understand has cause he still throws himself fearlessly into social situations because he likes to make other people laugh. Almost every meltdown and frustration can be immediately counted with a joke, or slapstick or with a "I'm funny".

So if he can do, well, I can too.

As someone who has no problem with public speaking, I'm impressed that John has come so far with his abilities to: a) write a publishable book, and b) put on such a great presentation. A nephew of mine has Asberger's and luckily had alot of help to get integrated in the "real" world. He's now at college training for his dream job - carpentry. My son has "mild autism spectrum disorder" which means he's high functioning but also has the diagnosis of Down Syndrome. We're constantly telling him to "look here", touching our chins to make him look up. That at least makes a good connection, and his language has improved tremendously since we started doing that. He's also the "class clown" and even his teacher and EA's love his antics. Autism is an unknown condition which has many abilities we're only just starting to learn about.

And I agree with the other authors who've stated that public-speaking and promotion are the way to go. If you can invest yourself with others and put a face to your name, you've got a much better chance of selling your books. People relate to someone who's personable and approachable. Kathy Reichs just did a book-signing in our city, and gave a talk on forensic anthropology - how she began, how Temperance became a character, how every book is based on some real situation she's been through. She sold out, in part I think, because she furthered her subject matter and taught the audience things they didn't know about forensics.

I realize I've touched on a couple topics here, but thank you Kristen for reminding us of the need to get over any fear of crowds and train ourselves to speak in front of them. It makes a big difference to your readers.

Dear Ms. Nelson...frequent reader, never commenter...I have a son with aspergers...and practice in the field. It is truly inspiring to see people master this skill which can be downright unpleasant for them. Surely if people with aspergers can master it, we introverts can do so as well.

brynn chapman

Hooorayyyyy!!!!!!
That's excellent news!!

Congratulations, congratulations! Fantastic news!

Thanks a lot for that. I had been wavering between MySpace and Facebook for my shop. Decided on facebook for two reasons, liked the cleaner feel to it and being in Canada, Facebook is where everyone's at.

That's very interesting. I use both myspace and facebook, but I use them differently. Facebook is more personal--it's my friends, people i know. Myspace is where random people add me all the time, where I write book reviews, where I do all of that. I'm not the only person I know who uses them separately that way, and I always thought of Facebook as being less, less "commercial," I guess, because most of the people on it are students and everyone uses their real name, pretty much, stuff like that.

Here here BSC!
I'm trying to find a novel set in Africa for my book group so they can read it while I'm traveling. I do a search, come up with some titles, but then have a terrible time finding out anything about the books. Of course, I'm a little limited since the book has to be available in large print, but it shouldn't be so hard to find a paragraph synopsis at the very least, and preferably a excerpt so I can make sure my little old ladies won't be offended.
By the way - any suggestions? I'd prefer a book set in Kenya or Tanzania if possible.
~The Druggie

Great post!

I don't think I could seriously go to lecture that had a title using the poor aposotrophe so egregiously wrong about publishing. Seriously, please tell me there's a typo in there somewhere and someone at a conference about publishing didn't really have that "publishing's" thing.

Sorry, using aposotrophes for pluralization and "loose" for "lose" are the two things that drive me up a wall. :)

Anonymous, you can thank Word for that typo, not the conference. You can also thank writing a blog column in between betting calls and running on too little sleep and too many allergies for the reason I didn't catch it. Thanks for pointing out the typo, I've fixed it.

Excellent post. When I'm interested in a book, the first thing I do is Google, baby, Google. I check out reviews and what people are saying about the book. I might check out the author's website or blog.

I rarely go to publishers' websites, because they tend to be sluggish and not very user-friendly. Also, these sites often don't offer anything more than PR blurbs.

I'll frequently go to Powell's website to see if they have more in-depth info on the book or author.

Hey I was in Norway and missed this post! This is so right on!
Blogging serves a lot of purposes - create a writing & reading community -- networking--and yes, author promotion. I know as a reader I love to google info on an author.
I have met more debut authors online blogging than I would have any other way. We support each other and struggle with learning the business together.
Thanks for this post.

nice wording

Some rants need to come with warnings:

"Please put down all food and beverages before reading."

I shall now have to take a break before completing the rest of today's posts in order to Windex™ my computer screen.

So true, Miss Snark.

Gay, it's always good to have such warnings in book reviews around the Blogosphere too. My favorite is "Put down your drink and sit on a towel!"

You haven't lived until you've had lemonade shooting out your nose, yanno.

Props to Killer Yap for learning Catalan! I heard it's difficult to pick up.

And thanks Miss Snark for your usual good advice. If I ever manage to get published, your words of wisdom will be invaluable.

-Bitter

p.s. Glad you're back, hope you managed to schedule some R&R amongst all that housekeeping you did!

All I can say is that for me, discovering this blog has kinda sorta in a way CHANGED MY LIFE!!!!

I have found a network of writers (some published, some not) who fascinate me and inspire me and most of all make me accountable. If I'm going to count myself among them, I better get my butt in gear and get working.

"whose findings tell us what we already know." Now there's a real hooker. I'm going to spend prime time pretending it's all so original.

Ouch, lemonade out the nose sounds a bit rough on the membranes. Cheerios are really a rush, especially if you can learn to aim.

I'd have trashed that email just for the mixed languages that the nitwit used in the closing.

It's "Avec amour" (French), "Con amor" (Spanish) or "Con amore" (Italian).

Note to KY: "Amb amor" in Catalan. Only why are you learning any language that contains "cat"?

Thank you, Miss Snark.

There's been some discussion around our house as to what constituted 'useful' time online, and whether a reasonable amount of time spent in a quality forum could be justified.

But even my non-writing husband knows better than to cross words with your Snarkliness, so that particular argument has now been ruled in my favor.

I am once again in your debt.

aw jeez, I thought I was the only one who got that special email. You mean he con amours us all? That fink.

Actually, I needed a beverage warning for the poorly-written, overly-exuberant spam.

Of course, I hate romance novels, so it was all the funnier to me. Like reading publicity for hardware brochures; I don't like those, either, and I find the fact that anyone does amusing.

Ooh, I HOPE that doesn't mean you'll be going cold turkey on this blog! Eliminating the addictive substance completely is really the only way to curtail a true addiction. But maybe this blog is simply a current obsession? And obsessive thoughts can be refocused, letting you continue with the behavior on some functional level. Hint. Hint!

I've found the best way to avoid the darkness is to always face the light. I try to stay focused on the needs of my readers. This week I did break a new record on my blog visitors - 2000 in three weeks from 34 different countries! I decided to indulge myself with a little jaw-dropping. I have no idea if those numbers are a big deal to anyone else, but they were to me! Now, it's back to head-down mode. I don't like it when others hound me. I don't want to become the very thing I dislike.

Wait! Writers have to promote. When a new book is coming out, it's mandatory. Life stops. You promote.

I don't know that that's addiction. I think it's good business. If you're one of 50,000 writers with novels coming out this year, you better be busy seeking publicity. Otherwise you're dead. Unless, of course, your publisher is spending big bucks on promoting you.

True, anon 5:51, but no one I know likes the used car salesman stereotype either. I suggest observing successful published authors and follow those setting a good example. I've learned a lot from Linnea Sinclair. She maintains a fun website and MySpace. She participates in a group blog. She always responds to blog commenters and fan email. She attends real world and cyber events and greets people as individuals. She smiles. She's polite. One can't help but respect that. Try checking her numbers at Amazon.com sometime.
;)
A magazine ad gets the word out about a product. It doesn't convince a person to buy it. The buyer must believe she'll get a return on her investment. That requires trust and trust must be earned.

This is such an interesting post, because I've had a taste of that addiction - back when I was writing fanfiction. :-)

There's nothing like posting a story and getting a dozen rave reviews by the next morning. It doesn't even matter if half the people reviewing appear to be only quasi-literate, because Oh! That internet-love! It is teh sexxorz.

Of course, you end up addicted to the attention. You want more. You end up compulsively checking for new reviews and self-pimping your stories to people who aren't interested.

A real author would be compulsively checking her Amazon rankings and self-pimping her book to booksellers who aren't interested, I suppose.

Better to get it out of your system while you're still a baby writer, really.

great post, and quite timely too - in my case. Blogging can be very very time-consuming...and so addictive that you lose sight of why you started in the first place.

*waves* Hi; Anon #3 again.

I wanted to add that this blog is one of the most informative and interesting agent blogs I've found. I'm very impressed by it, and it's part of my daily reading.

Now: does it help your writers sell more books, thereby making you more money? Maybe not, because I always skip over the Friday posts on your authors. I'm here for the advice on the industry. I think you're awesome, but I have to admit that in my case, you're getting no return on your investment.

I made a huge promotional push on my first book and really got the ball rolling (online chats and interviews, mass mailings to bookstores, Romance Sells ads, bookmarks out the wazoo, etc.) but I've backed off quite a bit for the current titles because I just haven't had time. I still promote, but with things that don't suck as much time--my video with COS Productions has given my entire series a push and it's showing up everywhere, and I think attending conferences such as the Romantic Times convention in Houston helps me to connect with readers. I have to agree with Jessica, though. It IS easy to get caught up in promotion, so I've made a conscious effort to direct my time and money where it will do the most good. I'll see how it works!

It's hard to say "no" to all the opportunities, isn't it? I know I'm struggling to find a balance. I really pushed hard on Murder on the Rocks, and I think I got the series off to a great start; now that I've got a ton of books to write, though, I'm finding myself starting to pull back a bit. Because if I don't, my brain is going to morph into gelatinous goo, my books won't get written, and my children won't recognize me in a police line-up.

I can hear my daughter now: "I don't know, Daddy... I think she has brown hair, but I'm just not sure. Is she number two, or number four?"

And I have the same blog issues sometimes, too, over at Poisoned Pen Letters. I forget sometimes what the goal is... although some of the goal is just for my own entertainment, I think.

But you're right about the product. If we don't write a great book, who's going to come back for more?

"("Got" is a colloquialism for "stole when she wasn't looking")"

Thanks for my first laugh of the day! I will be stealing that line.

I happen to have an ARC of this book as well...and it was also swiped when no one was looking (not by me, btw) though I was there and saw the whole thing.

We were at a big Harlequin event where MJ's ARC was available for all the folk in attendance. When the pile started getting mighty small, the editor I was with grabbed me a copy before it got away. It will go to the top of my TBR pile as soon as I've met my next deadline.

I feel so lucky!

This was a surprise to me with my first book. Books MUST be printed, at least galleys, at LEAST 4 MONTHS PRIOR TO LAUNCH in order to get reviews in Publishers Weekly, KIRKUS, Booklist, etc. So there they sit, getting dusty. And you can't sell them. They just sit while the review copies get sent everywhere.

It works the same way with most newspapers, too. Without galleys being distributed at least a couple of months in advance, the chance of getting a review plummets.

I think THE REINCARNATIONIST is going to be getting a lot of buzz. So I don't blame you for stealing a copy.

If you scan the used books on Amazon or E-Bay, you can find ARC copies of books for sale. It takes a little effort.

Wow! Thanks, Miss Snark. I'll go back to polishing my query letter with a lighter heart. ;)

(If I write really, really stupendously great, can I have my oiled pool boys doing back flips at signings? I think it would significantly boost the attendance.)

What a touching post. Just think: Laura Hillenbrand, the author of the wildly successful Seabiscuit. She was equally infirmed and look how that turned out! You'll be fine.
Godspeed...

yes, you will do well... also, Stephen Hawking and Mattie Stepanek have done quite well ... you can make it happen...

When my company signed the Delany Sisters, they were 100 and 102. Yes, that's years old. Their inability to tour was no problem, even back in the early 90s. (That book spent 6 months on the NYT list, if I recall correctly.)

It's important to know what your book is giving your readers, and make sure that you meet that need or desire as well as possible. It helps greatly if you know who your readers are, and where they can be found in groups.

If you've done all that, the marketing department will have a much easier time that usual, even with your physical limitations.

Oiled pool boys may cause some heart flutter for me...

This encouraged me. I have been having dreading feelings about books tours. I am almost blind, but I can see well enough to speed dial for some of those pool boys when I'm ready.
Thanks for this post.

Oiled and muscular pool boys? REally? That's how you get around on book tours?

More than ever I want to write well!!!

A little slow to post on this one, but I just came across this interesting site/service that I think was founded by Margaret Atwood, that seems to provide the possibility of doing a virtual "book tour" for authors.
http://www.longpen.com/lp-welcome.html
It might be something to keep in mind for down the line. Hope this helps, and good luck to you!

As one of the respondents to Justine's blog noted, the editor at a major house is not only working with the author on the text, but becomes the manuscript and author's advocate within the company, and that in itself is a part of the marketing machine when dealing with one of the majors. So it's hard to separate these into a box.

However, to try and respond to the spirit of the question, I would opt for the editor if I had to choose. While garnering (fleeting) fame and (unlikely) fortune through a successful marketing campaign would be wonderful, I would not want it to be on the back of work that was of poor quality. People write for many reasons, but as it is a creative endeavour, I think most of them want to be proud of their work. It may sound naive, but I would rather create a work that I knew was my best and have it not take off, than put out something substandard and see it everywhere.

One other point from Justine's blog is worth noting, though: the 'insider advocate' issue aside, a writer can hire excellent editorial help to aid in that quest for producing his or her best material. While a writer can also try to buy publicity, that seems far more uncertain and less likely to succeed, unless the publishing house itself is behind it.

I agree with Radthorne. I'd rather have a book I'm proud of, that I know is the best I can produce. Books have a long, long life. You may not become known until a book further down the line, which will then cause people to go back and read your earlier work. I'd hate to cringe at that and think, "No, don't read that one!"

Leaving aside Radthorne's great admonition that an editor is very much an in-house champion for your work, I posted a more detailed answer to this on my own blog, but the short answer is that I'll take an average editor and great publicity any day of the week.

By the way, I love this blog and have greatly enjoyed your insights into the publishing industry--particularly at the retail level.

Keep up the good work!

Keith's stance is based upon his confidence in his ability. Those of us who feel less confident identify, I think correctly, that especially good books are their own sale force, and opt for the editor.

The Hood Company

I'm picking the publicist, hands down. For editing I have terrific beta readers and a sharp agent. Plus I'd never submit anything I hadn't edited nigh unto death, and I'm my harshest critic.
In an odd turn of events, my publicist called today to introduce herself. I was giddy with delight, because I'm not great at self-promotion. I don't think most authors excel at it. So yes, I'm picking the publicist.

gawd, it's been ages since I've been here, good to see you're still running.

hmm, what a question! it's hard to seperate those two; I do agree with what Robin and radthorne said.
I almost want to give it to publicity, but let's runa few things past:
the crit groups are so fabulous now, it's hard to think works won't be well polished when it sells. Also, publishers and editors are pretty rough to begin with, anyhow. The ones I've worked with [in the short fiction field only admittedly] have a pretty keen eye and work hard to produce a polished product. It reflect on them, after all.
I've heard novel editors are pretty tough too, not likely to skimp on a book.

Publicity - writers, especially novels, you do need it.

But, publicity, as has so often been said, is something the writer can do a lot of on his/ her own.

A really, really good editor who doesn't only improve the book, but improves your writing as a whole - now, that's something I'd treasure.

I'll go with editor.

Interesting...my take on this? As a blogger ya gotta be a member of the community -- NOT swoop in with your book in hand out of nowhere and say hey buy my book or review it!
I am really sensitive to this issue as I see this happen on other message boards.
You can't post in retrospect.
People here know who you are and how long you have been around.
On the other hand -- being an active blogger is a wonderful way to network and become a contributing member of a writing community.

I've been getting more of these emails lately. I think some not all but some PR people are desperate and clueless about the right way to market a book. I review only what I buy and what I want to review but that doesn't stop the email requests.
Sad to think some authors are dependent on these people for sales and reviews. Ah such is this luverly little bidness eh?

Hey there Miss Snarkalicious,

I smell something similar going on in my neck of the woods. Like you, I'm a fan of crime fiction (and a wannabe writer), so I went ahead and created a community based around my passion.

Only one month later and I'm starting to see a number of members coming on board who seem to only have the motive of promoting their books, which are definitely not crime fiction.

It's a hairy issue because I don't want to keep out people whose interests intersect crime or mystery, but I also want to protect the members of my community.

I'm happy to see that you've posted something so clear cut, and only hope that I'll be able to do the same. Let's just say I am now drawing inspiration from your fountain of gin.

(just inspiration, not gin)

FYI, there's no such word in Spanish as "problemo." It's "problema." And it's "el problema."

Yeah, I know. A feminine-ending noun with a masculine article. It happens in exceptional cases. La mano, por ejemplo.

Since I've pushed editing and editors at my own blog, I'll vote for an editor. I was a member of a writing group when I started my last book, which was eventually submitted to and editing by my long-time editor. (Who has since left the house.) Maybe it was my group (I was the only published writer in it), but I really don't think there's any comparison. I've read some pretty weak books that included lengthy thank yous at the end to first readers.

A good marketing campaign is a crapshoot. Sometimes you just can't sell a mediocre or worse book. And, of course, sometimes you can. Your best shot at success is to produce the best book possible, and an editor can help you do that. The marketing people don't come into the picture until the book is done.