It's time
for another episode in the series of Indie Insights. And today we're talking
about some fun--and not so fun--stuff. Stigma
and publicity.
I
actually thought about making this two posts. I mean, they aren't the same
thing. But here's the truth--they're different sides to the same coin.
Any book
lives and dies on word of mouth. People have to know about the book to want to
read it. So what's the best publicity for a self-pub author with a minuscule
budget?
--Blog
tour. Set one up. Do it early--most bloggers book in advance, so the earlier
you can send out an in invitation and ARC, the better. Be professional when you
put together your letter to bloggers. A 'hey, you wanna review this?' screams
inexperienced. So take your time and put together a nice package--Include a
summary, a brief intro, a bit about you, links to your various web presences, a
few guest post topics to work from.
Then send it out. Here's the thing--blog tours are a hell of a lot of
work. They can be mind-numbingly boring to organize. But they are also great
exposure for you and your book.
And
that's important, too! A lot of bloggers won't review self-pubbed books (we'll
get to that) but they'll still participate in the blog tour with a guest post
or interview. So take advantage of that.
--Excerpts.
Your fighting an uphill battle if you self publish. (Part of that stigma we'll
get to) But really, until people have read it, you can't expect them to like it
or be terribly excited. So post teasers on Twitter, excerpts on your blog.
Offer chapters if you reach goals on Goodreads. Make them want to read it with
mini-cliffhangers like
"She
stands after a few minutes of silence, and leaves wordlessly. Could I do that?
Live a life, preparing children to die?"
--Giveaways.
You really control how much you spend on giveaways. You can go with spending
nothing, and just giving away ebooks. Or you could go big and give away Kindle
Fires and tons of swag. I opted for a middle ground--a mix of ebooks, gift
cards and some swag I had made from the book. (All of which I'm crazy excited
about.).
--People.
Make a connection with your readers. I read books by authors I know before
authors I don't. And I like their stories, so I tell my friends to read them.
That's true of the people I want to be reading my book as well. Making a
connection is time consuming and sometimes scary. But it's also fun and
definitely worth it.
There are
of course other things you can do--ads, swag bags, book fairs, ect--to generate
publicity. And I might, in the future. But for now, this is my plan.
And now
to the less fun topic. Here's the truth. Self-publishing comes with a stigma.
It doesn't matter how close to an agent or publishing contract you came--it
doesn't matter that you can honestly say the market and economy and
subjectivity are why you weren't signed. If you self-pub, someone is gonna look
at your book and you and think, 'they weren't good enough'.
That. Is.
The. Truth.
They
could be wrong--but it doesn't matter because they still think it. And you know
what? It sucks. Being on the receiving end of that bites.
But you
know what else? It doesn't matter. I've
read traditional books that were awful. And it has nothing to do with who
published them and everything to do with the author's writing. That's true of self-published
authors as well.
So whine
about the unfair stigma to your spouse and CPs. And then work your ass off and
put out the best book you can. Because in the end, the only thing that matters
is the opinion of my readers. And my CPs.
(Final
note on stigma--don't feed the trolls. Someone says something, just smile
politely and walk away. Which is also the policy you should adopt for bad
reviews. And find yourself some people who ARE supportive. Author groups are
great for that AND publicity. Which is why I'm forming one.)
