The Frugal Book Promoter E-Book

Carolyn Howard-Johnson

• Herausgeber: Modern History Press
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

The Frugal Book Promoter assures your book gets the best possible start in life, whether your publisher assigns zero dollars or thousands to your book's marketing campaign. A former publicist, the author provides no-nonsense basics to build the essentials you need to build a time-saving social media campaign and knock'em dead lists of influencers that will be more effective than anything you could buy. Pick and choose from dozens of ideas for promotions that she developed or refined through extensive (and award-winning) book campaigns of her own. Several will match your pocketbook and personality.
"The most expensive part of book promotion are the mistakes. This book will save you time and money."
--Dan Poynter, legendary author of The Self-Publishing Manual
"Carolyn Howard-Johnson's Frugal Book Promoter is... a classic!"
"[Carolyn Howard-Johnson is] an incessant promoter who develops and shares new approaches for book promotion."
--Marilyn Ross, founder, Small Publishers of North America and coauthor of The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing>
"The Frugal Book Promoter has given me ideas that would never have occurred to me and has changed the way I think about book promotion."
-- Mark Logie, award-winning poet and short-story writer
Carolyn Howard-Johnson (@FrugalBookPromo) is a multi award-winning author of both fiction and nonfiction. She is a former publicist for a New York PR firm and a marketing instructor for the UCLA Extension Writers' Program. She has appeared on hundreds of TV and radio stations both nationally and locally, and her poetry, essays, columns and stories are published frequently in journals and on the web. She admits to loving marketing almost as much as she loves writing.

Leseprobe

The Frugal Book Promoter

How to get nearly free publicity on your own or partnering with your publisher

3rd Edition

By Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Modern History Press Ann Arbor, MI

The Frugal Book Promoter: How to get nearly free publicity on your own or by partnering with your publisher, 3rd Edition.

Copyright © 2011, 2017, 2019 by Carolyn Howard-Johnson.

Cover design by Doug West (ZAQ Designs).

Cover photo by Kimberly Olivares, Holland America Photo Gallery photographer

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Howard-Johnson, Carolyn, author.

Title: The frugal book promoter : how to get nearly free publicity on your own or partnering with your publisher / by Carolyn Howard-Johnson.

Description: 3rd edition. | Ann Arbor, MI : Modern History Press, [2019] | Series: How to do it frugally series | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2019020104 (print) | LCCN 2019021793 (ebook) | ISBN 9781615994700 (kindle, ePub, PDF) | ISBN 9781615994687 (paperback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781615994694 (hardcover : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Books--Marketing. | Advertising--Books. | Authorship--Marketing.

Classification: LCC Z283 (ebook) | LCC Z283 .H69 2019 (print) | DDC 002.068/8--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019020104

Published by:

Modern History Press

www.ModernHistorPress.com

5145 Pontiac Trail

[email protected]

Ann Arbor, MI 48105

tollfree USA/CAN 888-761-6268

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fax [phone]

Distributed by: Ingram (USA/CAN/AU), Bertram Books (UK/EU)

Trademarks and myriad names of products, journals, and businesses used in this work are not authorized by, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners. No association with the corporations or names is implied or intended.

This book is available at a discount when purchased in quantity to use as premiums, sales promotions, in corporate training programs, or by schools or social organizations for educational purposes. For information, please contact us.

Dedicated to...

...my first demanding teachers and bosses in the fields of journalism and publicity, including Mary Chachas, former society editor of the Salt Lake Tribune and the late Eleanor Lambert of the Eleanor Lambert Agency, New York. It is also dedicated to you, the author-publicist of the new millennium.

In Memoriam...

Hazel McElroy Cutler

1923–2004

whose chosen career centered

on libraries, the drivers

of all things literate

and

Trudy McMurrin

1944–2009

university press director

and editor extraordinaire

Other Books in the Multi Award-Winning HowToDoItFrugally Series of Books and Booklets

The Frugal Editor:

Put your best book forward to avoid humiliation and ensure success

How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically:

The ins and outs of using free reviews to build and sustain a writing career

Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers:

The ultimate frugal booklet for avoiding word trippers and crafting gatekeeper-perfect copy

The Great First Impression Book Proposal:

Everything you need to know to sell your book in 30 minutes or less

A Retailer’s Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotions:

How to increase profits and spit in the eyes of economic downturns with thrifty events and sales techniques

Your Blog, Your Business:

A retailer’s guide to garnering customer loyalty and sales online and in-store

The author’s poetry and fiction may be found at

bit.ly/CarolynsAmznProfileAndHowToDoItFrugally.com

Contents

Acknowledgements

Why a Third Edition of The Frugal Book Promoter?

Before We Get Started

Section I – Getting Started and Getting on with It

Chapter 1 – Excuse me I have to do what?

Chapter 2 – Marketing Basics: The Short Course

Chapter 3 – To Hire or Not to Hire a Publicist

Chapter 4 – Promoting Ethically

Section II – Plunging In: Publicity Basics Now

Chapter 5 - The Three Ps and Your Writing Career

Chapter 6 - Public Relations: The Granddaddy of Great Publicity

Chapter 7 – Free Publicity Isn’t Really Free

Chapter 8 – Branding: Publicity’s Cornerstone

Chapter 9 – Advertising: The Weak Partner

Chapter 10 – Your Now and Forever PR Skills

Chapter 11 – Media Kit Preparation Now

Section III – Do-It-Yourself and Partner Publicity

Chapter 12 – The Media Release

Chapter 13 – The Rest of Your Media Kit

Chapter 14 – Your Query and Cover Letters

Chapter 15 – Your Reviews

Section IV – Promote Your Book by Doing What You Love

Chapter 16 – Loving Writing and Recycling

Chapter 17 – Learning to Love What You Thought You Couldn’t

Chapter 18 – Publishing Dreams vs. Marketing Needs

Section V – You and the Media: What’s New, Old, and In Between?

Chapter 19 – Radio and TV: The Ageless Pair

Chapter 20 – The Old Internet

Chapter 21 – Game Changers

Chapter 22 – Using Social Networks

Chapter 23 – The Dangers of Online Promotion

Section VI – Well Traveled, Oft Forgotten

Chapter 24 – Reading Groups

Chapter 25 – Catalog Sales

Chapter 26 – Corporate Sales

Chapter 27 – Retail is More than Bookstores

Chapter 28 – Library Saes

Chapter 29 – Postcards

Chapter 30 – Get Quoted

Section VII – Onward and Upward

Chapter 31 – Success as a Motivator

Chapter 32 – Book Sales Getting Musty

Appendices

Appendix 1 – Sample Query Letters

Appendix 2 – Sample Media Release

Appendix 3 – Sample Blog Entry

Appendix 4 – Sample Invitation for Tradeshow Appearance

Appendix 5 – Sample Script for Phone Pitch

Appendix 6 – Automated E-Mail Signatures

Appendix 7 – Sample Tip Sheet

About the Author

Bibliography

References

Index

Acknowledgements

…traditional marketers count dollars;

guerrilla marketers count relationships.

~ Jay Conrad Levinson, author,

the Guerilla Marketing series

Oh, to remember all those who have been instrumental in the birth of a book! Once, at a writers’ seminar, I overheard a well known author deride writers who include many thank-yous to mentors and helpmates in their acknowledgements. He thought the process a ridiculous name-dropping tradition. He is a wonderful writer, but he must have an inflated opinion of his own abilities if he believes he writes books by himself. He may also have no knowledge of marketing, for the nourishing elements of PR are helping others, accepting help from others, and being grateful for the growth that comes from that exchange. My thank-you list is long, but probably not long enough. My apologies to the many others who contributed to my success but are not noted.

Thanks to members of my most enduring critique group, Leora Krygier, Phyllis GeBauer (now deceased), Iris Fabrikant, and JayCe Crawford; to Emily Heebner who was made to nourish others; to my talented cover designer Chaz DeSimone; to my photographer Uriah Carr; to publicists Debra Gold and Rolf Gompertz; and to all those who cheerfully gave me permission to relate their PR successes and disasters.

Thank you, too, to Joyce Faulkner, Kristie Leigh Maguire, T.C. McMullen, and members of the writing and marketing organizations I belong to who have been generous with their time. Oh! And to my teachers.

Special thanks to my husband Lance G. Johnson, author of WhatForeigners Need to Know About America from A to Z (bit.ly/AmericaAtoZ). He is never too busy to apply his organized and unrelenting passion for detail to editing my work. And to my new publisher, Victor Volkman, for welcoming me to his Modern History Press.

Why a Third Edition of The Frugal Book Promoter?

We all know that book promotion (and life!) has changed since The Frugal Book Promoter was first published in 2004 and even the subsequent 2nd Edition in 2011. It’s mostly changed in ways that have to do with the web, but in other ways, too. As an example, the publishing world in general is more open to indie publishing now than it was then. So, this update includes lots of information on ways to promote that were not around or were in their infancy a few short years ago. The 3rd Edition still includes the basics that make you into an on-your-own publicist or a great partner for a professional publicist. That includes everything you need to know to put together the best, most effective media releases, query letters, and media kits possible.

You’ll love the chapters on what I call the game changers (yeah, the digital world!). These really are game changers! There’s information on using online bookstores to your benefit. And how to make your blog actually work for you. And how to save time with your blogging! And ideas for blog posts—even if you write fiction or poetry.

You’ll find it loaded with resources you can use, but they’re all updated. There is new information that answers questions like these:

What do I really need to know about copyright? I get so much conflicting advice.

What is Carolyn’s simplified method for making social networks actually work—without spending too much time away from my writing?

How can I avoid falling into scam-traps for authors?

How can I get my book into one of those big tradeshows like BEA?

What are the best “old-fashioned” ways to promote—the ones I shouldn’t give up on entirely?

How do I go about writing (and publishing) an award-worthy book.

How can I use the fancy little, flowery QR codes to promote my book to mobile users? And to others?

What are the pitfalls of using the web and how can I avoid them?

What are the backdoor methods of getting reviews—even long after my book has been published?

Before We Get Started

Knowing the rules of promotion is like knowing the rules for writing. When you have mastered them, you have the confidence to break them when you need to. ~ CHJ

Don’t misunderstand the above quotation. I’m not suggesting that an author run willy-nilly breaking the rules of public relations (PR). That will not benefit her reputation as either an author or someone who knows how to brand herself. Many books give you PR essentials, but once you know the rules, you are better able to let your writer’s imagination loose so you can promote yourself and your book with confidence. When you do that, even our rule-oriented culture will appreciate your creativity rather than criticize you for it. Rather than the tinkle of bells, your efforts will be the sound of timpani to the ears of gatekeepers—you know, folks like editors, producers, and anyone else able to help you get your message out there.

In some circles it appears to be stylish to eschew promotion as vocally as possible. However, it is a myth that authors—especially the greats—lack the ability to promote. Many famous and literate authors were very good promoters, and some did it without PR classes (or books!) to tell them how. Mark Twain is an example.

Laura Skandera Trombley, president of Pitzer College in Claremont, California, and a noted Mark Twain scholar, says the image we have of this American icon is the one we have “because that’s the image [Twain himself] wanted people to have,” and that Twain was a man “so gifted at marketing himself that nearly a century after his death, his name still evokes his white-haired likeness.” Branding works so well that Trombley was moved to add, “And [Twain’s image has] been so co-opted, it sells everything from pizza to banks to luggage. You know, Twain and Elvis, two symbols of American cultural life that are just indelible.”

As important as branding is, building relationships (that might be read as networking) is even more important. Certainly networking is part of branding, but it can obscure the definition. Branding is everything you do to encourage people to think of you favorably and often.

We all know what building relationships is. The thing is, with the advent of the web the possibilities for relationships are so much greater than they once were. Relationships have become—if not a more important part of a good promotion campaign—at least more widespread. “Social networking” is the new term for some of that relationship building and I don’t neglect that concept in this book. Having said that, the basic concepts and tools of public relations are still the drivers behind promoting with new media.

Marketing and all it encompasses (PR, branding, promotion, building relationships, and more!) works. And it works better if the author is proactive. A publisher’s publicist can only do so much without an author’s cooperation. Further, most publishers assign no publicist or, if they do, she may have access to a very slim Rolodex, an even thinner budget, and hardly any experience or none at all. It is up to you to overcome these drawbacks.

This book is for authors who want their books to soar and do not want their careers to languish. It is structured so authors can select chapters that address aspects of their marketing plan most needed at any given time.

When I refer to something I cover in depth elsewhere, I give the reader a prompt. The Index also makes it easy for authors like you to find tips for different kinds of promotions as you need them. As an example, when you look up “TV,” you’ll find information on how to get TV appearances, how to prepare for them, and how to utilize them in your promotion.

The Frugal Book Promoter is not a textbook. It contains opinions—some as black and white as the page you find them on. It is me talking to you, sharing with you. I had no desire to write a tome that would make my readers hearken back to their boring (and heavy!) high school texts.

I may not cover every possible promotional idea out there. In fact, I avoid anything I have not tried as a professional publicist, retailer, or in promoting my own books. You will, however, find some new (or rarely used) ways to promote that have not been scorched, stirred, and then warmed over.

What is important is that you find a path for promoting that fits your interests, skills, pocketbook, and your book’s title. I expect you to pick and choose. Only someone who had no guidance (like me in the days right after my novel was published) would attempt to use them all. I hope that my experiences will save you time, money, and heartache.

Novelist and political powerhouse Hill Kemp and I had a conversation about how interesting it is that writers scorn something so commercial and practical as marketing, but when they sign with a fine traditional publisher (or any other publisher!) who doesn’t market their books, they are most put out. That is one of the reasons the first Frugal Book Promoter: How to do what your publisher won’t came to be and why I expanded it in the second edition and this, the third. Marketing is essential. It is also creative. Hill suggests that both nonfiction and fiction writers can help themselves overcome their aversion to promotion with this exercise:

“Pretend you are writing a novel. Create a character who lives to market something—anything. Put that character into situations you might face in promoting your own book. You’ll then have in this character a mentor for furthering your writing career.”

Section I –

Getting Started and Getting on with It

The aim of marketing is to make selling superfluous. The aim is to know and understand the customer so well that the product... sells itself.

~ Peter Drucker, management theorist

As making a living from selling books has gotten tougher for publishers and budgets have gotten slimmer, big and small publishers alike have put a greater priority on grassroots marketing.

Even as publishers shift more of the responsibility for marketing to the authors, many authors are convinced there is something déclassé about the words “marketing” or “selling.” We coyly say “submitting” our work or “shopping” our books, even though we sense we must build platforms, regardless of the words we use. We know we must submit the most professional proposal, synopsis, and chapters we can, but the idea that the image we are creating is part of a promotion plan sort of gets lost in... well, the language.

Ever-changing technology has also made authors fearful of what we must do—what we must learn—to carve a successful career.

As they say, we need to “just get over it.” This first section of The Frugal Book Promoter helps assuage your fears. Trust me. Great marketing is merely sharing your passion with others. And it’s lots of fun.

1

Excuse Me! I Have to Do What?

No matter how authors publish—on their own or traditionally—their books may live or die at the hands of their own marketing skills. ~ CHJ

True publishing includes the marketing of a book. That means your writing (and you!) will be exposed to the public no matter how it is published. If you managed to find a great agent or publisher, you are probably aware your work was favored over some very good writers because your résumé (or platform) shows you write well and know how to market yourself and your writing. Once we authors realize how important these skills are, we understand that we must come to terms with fears that keep us grounded when we should be flying high.

Doubt and uncertainty about the publishing world are in the air. My clients and students say things like, “If I let people see my work, will it get stolen?” or “Is it safe to send my work to an agent or publisher?” or “I’m a writer, not a publicist and I’m scared.”

Now just about the time we authors have finally decided to follow our dreams, we learn we must also do something most of us are not suited to or something we expected someone else would do for us. That is, we must market our books.

This is how we deal with it. Though the world of publishing is very different from our expectations, those differences will open doors for us. Just as writing has made a difference in our lives, so will the entire publishing process.

For the first time we writers can take complete charge of our own careers—or not. It’s our choice. Technology lets us aim at niche markets that were once economically unfeasible. There are more ways to publish than we could have imagined a decade ago. We can reach more people with news of our book than was ever possible, and less expensively. We are living in miraculous times for writers.

Some successful authors have talent, some don’t. Some talented authors have never taken their manuscripts out of a drawer. Though a few writers get lucky and soar to the bestseller lists with no effort outside having produced a manuscript, it is foolhardy to expect we will be among the fortunate few. The good news is we can have successful writing careers if we are motivated, have patience, persevere. And if we promote.

Even then, the prospect of facing the publishing world is daunting. Myths and exaggerations circulate. It is easy to be fearful. We can get over that. We can grab at success and we can do it our way. Wasn’t it Roosevelt who said, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself?” So, let’s get rid of our fears so we can “just do it.” Wasn’t it Nike who said that?

Big Worry Number One: Plagiarism

Fear of plagiarism is a topic of discussion among the writers I meet on the web, in my critique groups, in my classes or wherever authors get together to further their careers. Some writers are so crippled by the idea that someone might read their work without paying for it or plagiarize it, they fear sending their manuscripts to publishers and agents. They fear trusting professional editors and teachers. Worst of all, they fear using proven marketing techniques like “peek-inside-features” offered by online bookstores and other methods that successful publishers have used to find readers for decades—or even centuries.

The most important part of writing, after the process itself, is to be read, to share. Worry about plagiarism keeps inexperienced writers from doing that and produces anxieties that interfere with their creativity.

An author must take precautions, of course, but I would rather have a million people read one of my poems in a Dear Abby column credited only as “Anonymous” than have it read not at all. Having our voices heard is more important than selling books. Having our voices heard is sharing our souls. I fervently hope more writers will come to share this view.

The kind of plagiarism that authors worry about is quite rare—that is, having an agent or someone in a writing class steal an idea. It’s hard to steal an idea. For one thing, there are no truly new ideas in the world. If you don’t believe me, read Joseph Campbell’s works (which you should do anyway). He divides all of literature from Greek plays onward into a few categories with a few basic elements. It’s unlikely that your work is so unique that it doesn’t fit into one of them.

Further, ideas cannot be copyrighted. A recent court case reaffirms this notion. If it had not, much of Shakespeare’s works would be considered plagiarism and, because science fiction writers often borrow theories from those who win Nobel prizes in physics, that genre could no longer exist as we know it.

Many kinds of borrowings are not plagiarism but the result of the similar way our brains function. You’ve probably heard the story of monkey colonies on one island who take up the same habits of monkeys on another island with no understandable way for them to have communicated.

You should know that anyone who used your idea would surely write a different book than yours. Reinforce your confidence by trying this exercise: Ask three writers to pen a piece using a very specific subject—maybe even something you’ve considered writing yourself. My critique group used a story about how, as a child, one of our members sneaked into a neighbor’s house and ate frosted strawberries out of the Fridge. We then set a lunch date and read each work aloud. In spite of the similar plot lines, the voices, characters, themes, and details were so different we wondered why we had been concerned about a fellow writer stealing an idea. Usually, a writer won’t be interested in writing someone else’s stuff, anyway. Most writing, after all, is about self-expression.

Often when a case of plagiarism occurs among those who have the public trust, it gets lots of press. However, by the time the perpetrator is found innocent, the case has lost its news value, and we never hear about the accused’s exoneration. Thus, authors feel bombarded with reports of plagiarism-that-never-happened.

Careers of a few writers have been broken into kindling when plagiarism was uncovered, but sometimes the opposite happens. Near-anonymous writers or those relegated to the obscure halls of academia become household names when they are found to have picked clean the bones of others’ words. When controversy threatened to tarnish names like Stephen Ambrose and Doris Kearns Goodwin they became known among people who would never have heard of them before.

Many times plagiarism goes unnoticed because the thief is not caught or her work is so poor that even stealing cannot make it star-worthy. But think! Think! How much is written, published, put out into the world. Though computers and the internet have made plagiarism easier, the chance that your story might be the one stolen from that vast universe is still small.

Plagiarism is most rampant in academia. If you need proof, Google “plagiarism.” Yep, a few famous cases and lots more stories about kids trying to make the grade at school. We cannot condone such theft, but we authors should not allow the idea of plagiarism to doom the progress of our writing careers. Generally it is only the poor young schmuck who grabbed down someone else’s work who suffers—whether or not she is caught.

Another consideration. If someone should swipe a few of your words or an idea, her chances of becoming rich, famous, and envied because of them are no better than yours. If she should, that sets her up for legal action worth pursuing. If she doesn’t get rich on your work, you have the satisfaction of knowing she didn’t, and won’t need to bother your talented head about chasing after a pauper. Or you might choose to do that chasing because publicity surrounding such a case could be the lucky stroke that makes you the rich, famous, and envied author. A professional publicist can make a sweet drink out of very sour fruit and a good copyright lawyer will be invaluable to that mission should you care to explore it.

That is not to say there is no such thing as mass production of knock-off books. Definitions of such a practice vary, but they seldom have much to do with writing that has an essential voice. Some use the word “content” which I think denigrates what writing is or what real writers do.

Note: It helps to remember that books were Xeroxed long before computers let us download them as e-documents. Some practices deprive authors of their royalties, but they also drive word-of-mouth exposure. In any case, these borrowings are impossible to control completely no matter how you publish and never have been. It’s another fear you must conquer rather than let it handicap you.

Sending a copy of your work to yourself is not the great idea it appears to be. My publisher and many others think this so-called poor man’s copyright “should be debunked.” The US copyright office says it is sometimes called a “poor man’s copyright” and reminds us that “There is no provision in the copyright law regarding any such type of protections [the protection of manuscripts using this mail-to-yourself method], and it is not a substitute for registration.” A little voice goes off in most of our heads that says, “Of course they would say that.”

Here’s the thing you should use before you let a process like this give you misleading confidence you are protected. Pretend it is tattooed on your forehead:

Writers are already protected in several ways at no cost—no legal fees, no postage fees, as few sleepless nights as possible—and a couple fairly frugal ways as well.

The US copyright law was amended in 1978 to offer protections once your work is “fixed” in some way. A draft of your novel qualifies as “fixed.” Even before you register it with said copyright office.

Note: I am still squeamish enough to “fix” my creative work by printing, dating, filing, and sending it to myself as an attachment to an email. It’s my idea of “fixed” that gives me the feeling of security I crave.

Authors can register their work with the US copyright office easily and relatively inexpensively. Go to go copyright.gov for instructions (screenwriters go to Writers Guild of America, wga.org).

Registration gives you the additional protection of something called a “statutory damages rule” (look it up on Wikipedia) that broadens your protections beyond provable and specific financial suffering caused by the plagiarism at no extra cost.

The US is a signatory of the Berne Convention.

Great copyright lawyers are ready and waiting if you need one.

When you publish, your publisher (traditional or partner publisher) can and should register your work with the Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication (CIP). This is a step often neglected by self-published authors which puts them at a disadvantage if they are determined to see their books in bookstores and libraries. In addition to this benefit, it “shows quite authoritatively when a work has been ‘fixed,’” according to the publisher of Modern History Press.

Because I am here to give you frugal advice, I’m telling you the above copyright precautions will probably cost you less than postage and a trip to the post office using the poor man’s copyright and could save you a ton of money if you are one of the few who faces plagiarism-worth-pursuing first hand.

So what about the envelope-and-postage method? If you want to use it in addition to the above precautions because it gives you peace of mind, have at it. Whatever else you do that makes you more comfortable probably can’t hurt. Nothing is guaranteed in life. Attorneys can’t guarantee you will win even an “air tight” case. Publicists can’t guarantee you great exposure. Sealed envelopes in a drawer and typing © after your title aren’t guarantees. And asking an agent for a nondisclosure agreement isn’t the great idea it at first appears to be because agents may hesitate to work with someone who doesn’t respect the traditions of the publishing industry or appears too litigious. I am not going to shred the poems I once mailed to myself and put in an old hope chest. But neither will I eschew all the good stuff the publishing industry and some governments worldwide have put in place to help creatives.

Note: If your fear of plagiarism is a hurdle that easy and inexpensive fixes listed above will not assuage, read Tonya Marie Evans and Dan Poynter’s Literary Law Guide for Authors (bit.ly/LitLawGuide) or hire a copyright lawyer. A good attorney can be worth her pounds in sterling. Check the faculties of respected writers’ conferences to get good referrals.

Many authors give away their work or barter it. They do it in trade for exposure of their names and titles, to help build their platforms (their résumés), and to encourage writers to buy their other works.

Some consider this trend unfortunate. They forget that a no-pay model has been used for decades by many of the most reputable poetry, literary, and academic anthologies and journals. Some literary entities “pay” with only a few copies of the finished book.

Some well known authors like James Patterson have updated that model. Patterson, no newbie to marketing, was the once-chairman of a major advertising agency. He made free e-copies of his old novels available to publicize his new work. He doesn’t need a career boost, but marketing like this work—even for him.

I offer free content directly from howtodoitfrugally.com/free_content.htm (my website). My publisher and I offer excerpts used for educational purposes as long as the reprints include my byline and credit line (the mini bio at the end of the piece that I provide with each article). I may use Patterson’s free e-copy idea when my next novel is released.

Building a platform is what all this writing and publishing and giving away your work is about. It’s also about something called branding. (You’ll learn more about both in Section II of this book.) For now, suffice it to say that when you have built a great platform one plank at a time and kept your branding in mind as you do it, it becomes easier to snag a great agent or publisher.

You’ve probably heard of the old-fashioned term, “clips.” Clips are tear sheets (your work in print that is torn from a newspaper, magazine, or other printed matter) or a photocopy of that piece. They prove to a gatekeeper that you have been published. Today your “clips” may be hard copies, but they will probably also include printouts or links to your work.

Your clips are part of your branding and branding is part of the book promotion process. Every time your byline appears on subjects related to your book, you make at least some gatekeeper aware of what you do.

Every time you are published—for pay or not—you have a new clip. A credit appears beneath the published piece that tells something about you and it often links to your website, your email address, or the online Buy page for your book. Each one becomes part of your résumé, part of your media kit, part of the confidence you need to promote with your chin up and a brave smile on your face.

So, what is the worst thing that could happen if you don’t get paid for something you write? Whatever that “worst thing” is, it’s worse to be paralyzed by something that may never come to pass.

What can you do on your own if your work is plagiarized? We can make plagiarism by making into a win-win situation. When one of my articles for Home Décor Buyer showed up on a website, that magazine’s lawyers didn’t care to pursue the problem (probably because two hours of a lawyer’s time would cost more than what they had paid me for the article). I pointed out to the offending webmasters that they had used a story this magazine had paid good money for and suggested that they give both the magazine and me a little publicity in trade. The webmasters were apologetic and happy to make amends. That’s an example of good public relations, by the way. Nonconfrontational. Willing to communicate. Willing to compromise.

Big Worry Number Two: Oops! Swiping Others’ Work

Plagiarizing others’ work is something that should be a bigger concern for you than that your work might get filched. Sometimes our memories don’t serve us, our minds absorb something so completely we don’t remember where we first saw something, or we or our researchers don’t take accurate notes. To protect yourself, research carefully, keep accurate records, and assiduously credit others.

We should also take care when we quote others, though it is legal to quote for certain purposes and in certain amounts without getting permission. Generally you may quote without permission if you write commentary, satire, criticism, academic material, or news reports. The number of words you can use without permission depends upon the size of the copyrighted work as a whole. Guidelines differ from genre to genre. Find specific guidelines at the Library of Congress website, loc.gov, or let a research librarian help you. The online bookstore division of Amazon protects itself by allowing quotations and blurbs of up to twenty-five words.

If you borrow a theme or idea from someone, read Literary Law Guide for Authors: Copyrights, Trademarks and Contracts in Plain Language (bit.ly/LitLawGuide) by Tonya Marie Evans, Susan Borden Evans, and Dan Poynter, or check with a lawyer familiar with literary law. Freelancers or those employed by newspapers and other publishers can look to their companies’ legal departments for advice.

Caveat: Sometimes getting unnecessary permission is cumbersome and counterproductive. Balance your decision-making process. If you’re writing an unofficial biography (which often means the person you’re writing about isn’t thrilled with your project), you probably need a good lawyer. If you’re writing a piece for a newspaper or academia, research their policies. In many other cases, asking permission can slow you down but also earn you friends.

Big Worry Number Three: Being Sued

Many of you worry—a lot—about legal suits. Fear of litigation can help you protect yourself, but it can also be a creativity spoiler and lead you to make counterproductive marketing choices.

To avoid lawsuits (and sometimes to avoid being in the limelight), some of you consider writing under a pseudonym. That is certainly an option. Doing so, however, will make it much harder to promote your work and won’t necessarily protect you from litigation.

It surprises first-time authors to find that it is at least as important (sometimes more important) to promote the author than the title of her book. Frequently the identity of the real author becomes known very quickly anyway.

Many are familiar with Joe Klein’s 1992 novel Primary Colors (bit.ly/JKleinsColors). He published it anonymously to great fanfare. It quickly began to die. There was no one to interview, no story, no driving personality. He may deny this motivation, but it appears the author came out of the closet to save his baby from a quick death of slow—then no—sales. Would it have come to the big screen in 1998 with John Travolta and Emma Thompson if the author had not come out? Probably not!

Pseudonyms are useful for branding a separate series or genre. If you’re determined to use a nom de plume, study the techniques Nora Roberts used for her romances and the mysteries she wrote under the name of J. D. Robb. Both Roberts and Robb are pseudonyms, but this author has a team of marketers and lots of experience to make the juggling process easier.

Big Worry Number Four: Success or Rejection

Psychology journals are full of information about the mirror image twins, fear of success and fear of rejection. They can both be fatal to your writing. You worry that you won’t be successful. Then something inside your head screams, “Gulp! What if I am?”

If you suffer from disabling fears of success or failure and want to be published, you must learn to at least mitigate them. This book gives platform-building methods that will help even the shy writer shop her book effectively and, once published, give her a chance at topping bestseller lists. She can’t completely avoid the public, though. Her publisher will (at a very minimum) expect a writer to meet her adoring public on book tours and a book launch. It is true that a few reclusive authors appear to do very well, but that is mostly a myth perpetrated by the media. Louise Glűck, the famous and well-respected poet, is one of those. Yes, she avoids media exposure, but she is no recluse. She teaches and teaching is an excellent way to build a following. And teaching certainly requires some crowd-pleasing skills.

A good therapist can help you with worries like these that often run deeper than the writing problem at hand. A book that addresses several of the psychological intricacies of writing is Bruce Holland Rogers’ Word Works (bit.ly/ThrivingWriter).

Try a few exercises on your own. Affirmations and baby steps help us get over some fear because the subconscious absorbs what it is exposed to and little steps are less daunting than big ones.

Affirmations work better when you say them out loud. Here are some that may get you toddling. Look in the mirror and say them once a day:

The universe protects the work I send out.

The universe lets my career progress surely and comfortably.

The universe is infinite; there is space enough in it for everyone to succeed, including me.

It helps to divide the submission process into baby steps. You dig into the bowels of your computer for something you wrote years ago the first day. Edit it the next. Find a magazine that publishes similar material the next. Once you have taken several tiny steps, you have taken a giant step. You begin to overcome your fears because good things begin to happen. All you need add is love and a pat on your own back.

Tip: Repeat these baby steps at least five times for five different submissions. It is hard to worry about any one of them with so many submissions out there working for you.

Big Worry Number Five: I’m Not Enough

If that little voice in your head keeps telling you that you don’t measure up, there are remedies for that, too. Knowing you are a fine writer and have other skills required to support a writing career will help dissipate fear. Here is what you can do to build confidence.

Take classes from a reputable college that specializes in classes for writers. Pick some classes in writing craft and some that cover the business of publishing. I chose UCLA Extension Writers’ Program (UCLAExtension.edu) and taught there for nearly a decade. Maybe you can do something similar.

Join a critique group or assemble one from members of classes you have taken. They have demonstrated an eagerness to learn more about their craft and already have experienced the delicate nature of the critique process.

Read books. Books on editing. Books on grammar and the elements of writing. I love June Casagrande’s It was the best of sentences. It was the worst of sentences (bit.ly/BestSentences). Read books on marketing other than this one, too. The more you know, the more you can pick up on advanced ideas. Check the Index and Appendices of this book for more good books to read. We all know good books are one of the thriftiest ways to learn.

Utilize experienced support people. Eve Lasalle Caram ([email protected]), one of my first teachers at UCLA and one of their award-winning instructors, teaches and critiques privately.

Read Milli Thornton’s book Fear of Writing (bit.ly/FearWriting) to help you with other mental blocks.

Caveat: Try to find university-vetted mentors. If you must rely on the web to find seminars, editors, instructors, or other reliable experts, try to get referrals from folks who are not new at writing. Use the same research and analytical skills you would use to hire a contractor to build your dream home.

Big Worry Number Six: Fear of Marketing

The most pressing fear seems to be the fear of marketing. It’s amazing that in a capitalist country where money, success, and entrepreneurship are admired, many don’t value the skills that energize our economy. That cultural disapproval leads to a fear of marketing and is the most destructive fear for the future of a manuscript that’s already been written. When you have finished reading this book, marketing techniques and principles will feel like old neighbors. You’ll know which ones to embrace and which to avoid.

If you read this book from front to back, rather than use it as a tutorial on specific promotion basics as you need them, you may come away with a new anxiety: “How will I ever find the time to do everythingTheFrugal Book Promoter says to do?”

Just know you don’t have to.

You get to pick and choose from this book what fits your pocketbook, your book’s title, your personality, and the time you can give over to marketing. As you learn one skill newer ones seem to come naturally. You’ll soon be an expert on book-related topics you never dreamed you would know so much about.

Just know you can do it.

The more you work at it, the more baby steps you take, the easier it becomes. Your fears will fall away. Plutarch said, “Go on, my friend, and fear nothing: You carry Cæsar and his fortunes in your boat.” As writers, we carry a valuable cargo. We, too, should go without fear.

2

Marketing Basics:The Short Course

In a few short years the internet changed the world of marketing, but, at its best, it still relies on understanding, caring, and passion. ~ CHJ

In Chapter One you learned you must market your book to give it its best chance for success and, I hope, you committed to learning what you must do to give your baby—your book—the best start in life. That’s the hard part. The next hurdle—learning the marketing essentials—will be easy for you. I know because you’re creative and have perseverance. That’s what it takes to market a book.

Getting over the I-don’t-want-tos is the next step. Go ahead. Have your little tizzy fit. Pick any excuse or scary marketing word from the list below. Afterward we can get to work.

Marketing: I don’t want to “market.” It’s an ugly word. Reminds me of selling pigs at a renaissance fair.

Promotion: The word “promotion” gets paired with “self” way too often. I get embarrassed just thinking about it.

Publicity: Give me a break. “Publicity?” What is that? Sounds expensive and I haven’t figured out how it’s different from “public relations.”

Advertising: That sounds expensive. I have big hopes for my book but no assurances my book will make any money, so how can I spend money on advertising?

Branding: My book isn’t published. It’s too early to do any branding, much less learn what it is.

Platform: Don’t even mention the word. I’m a writer, not a politician.

Public Relations: Oh, gosh. Does that mean I have to get out from behind my computer and relate to people?

All the misunderstandings, prejudices, and concerns expressed above are why you hold this book in your hands. You know you must do something so readers know about you and want to read your book. Indeed, to convince them they need your book.

Putting off your marketing is dangerous to your book’s health. The arguments most destructive to the success of your book usually go something like this:

I don’t need to learn this stuff. I’ll have a team behind me—everyone from an agent to the marketing department of a powerhouse publisher. My writing career will be fine.

It’s too early to begin worrying about promotion. I’ve got a book to write.

I’m willing. I’m able. Maybe I don’t even need this book on marketing. I’ll start soon. Maybe tomorrow.

If I need a publicist, I’ll use that huge advance I’m going to get to hire one.

No, no. Please don’t delay! It gives me an Excedrin headache to think of the time you are wasting by rationalizing away the need to learn to market. It gives me a migraine if you really think you can wing it. If you’ve even breathed these objections, it’s very nearly certain you’re living in the last millennium.

It’s unlikely that even if you snag a big publisher they will allot much of a budget to what used to be called a midlist author. Now “midlist” merely means a new author with a publishing house—one who’d better be able to market her book to stardom on her own if she wants another book contract.

Here’s why you must start using some marketing tools right now rather than later.

When you build credibility, experience, marketing expertise and become familiar with your marketing tools the moment you decide to become a writer, you’re building your platform. That platform works in your favor when you go after an agent or publisher.

Elements of marketing, like writing query letters, taglines, and knowing how to pitch, is the power behind your entire writing career, not just your book’s marketing campaign.

To be effective, publicity must build.

You can’t possibly learn all you need to know about publicizing your book in one evening. Publicity is like practicing piano. The more you do it, the better it will play in Peoria and everywhere else.

A Marketing Umbrella is my gift to you. Picture a big red umbrella with the words

“S-E-L-L-I-N-G S-T-U-F-F”

printed around the edge in pristine, white letters. It helps if you add

“E-V-E-N B-O-O-K-S.”

This umbrella is your map. Each of the umbrella’s ribs represents a division of marketing similar to those the marketing departments of universities and corporations use. One rib might be “market research.” One might be “advertising” (something you may want to avoid—but more on that later). One is “public relations.” “Publicity” is the happiest rib because—as you will learn—it’s partially about getting free ink. There may be further divisions right down to the ever-dreadful “statistics.”

“Branding” is what you do so your reader will call to mind a certain image when you or your writing (notice I didn’t say “your book”) come to mind. Hang in there. We’ll talk a lot about branding.

You might hear the word “promotion,” but you probably won’t find a class dedicated to it in any university catalog. It’s not that “promotion” won’t get discussed in some classes, but authors tend to use that term inaccurately, just as the title of this book does. In its strictest sense, a promotion is an individual gimmick that businesses use to sell a product. Esteé Lauder has frequent gift-with-purchase promotions to coax women to buy their anti-aging creams. An author offers her book packaged with another author’s book at a book fair. Magdalena Ball and I offered the Christmas chapbook we coauthored to our readers in quantities at a discount so they could use them as greeting cards. (bit.ly/BloomingRed). I’ll probably use the word “promotion” incorrectly in this book again—for convenience’s sake. “Promotion”—the way we use it—is important for authors, so we’re going to designate one of our umbrella ribs to it whether academics or marketing professionals like it or not.

You’ll also hear the word “campaign.” A campaign is all the promotions and other marketing ribs that a business carefully crafts into an overall plan for the success of a product. McDonald’s began offering coupons or apps to get free cups of latté to promote its McCafé line when it was new. Later it did the same thing for its real fruit smoothies. Those promotions, combined with others, fit its overall “campaign” to boost its image as a cool place with more healthful food choices. No matter that we prefer not to think about it, authors are in business. We need to work on a plan for the progress of our writing careers.

The publishing world has sort of co-opted the word “platform” in the sense of résumé. Even though business people need to build platforms to get jobs just as authors must, the word “platform” did not come up at the PR class I took at USC’s Marshall School of Business. Still, authors must be business people. We start building our platforms in high school when we begin to collect tangible evidence that we’re motivated, talented, and persistent. All that good stuff. We start building a platform for our writing with the first article or story that comes out in print or on the web. We also build platforms when we show in verifiable ways that we know how to market. Publishers have always needed their authors to be good marketers, but authors need those skills now more than ever.

One of the most important ribs in our marketing umbrella for building platforms (or careers) is “public relations.” “PR” is short for public relations or your relations with the public and the media. You know. That free ink or exposure you need to get your book read.

“Public relations” is neither advertising nor free ink. It is the part of your marketing that builds the right relationships between you and your readers and those folks who can give your career a boost. It is, in part, dissemination of information that sets a standard for how you would like to be perceived. First and foremost, your public relations must be undertaken with the highest ethical standards.

Public relations advances your career and, done well, keeps you from putting out brushfires. You avoid ticking people off (readers, editors, radio hosts, your providers, and a host of other folks associated with your career) by using great PR. When you do, you have more time and energy to market your book.

To have great relations with the public, you must never assume the worst about any situation. Think of yourself as the best coach in any league. You rally support. You know that people want what’s best for you. That means no chips on shoulders, no low esteem for yourself or others, no thoughtlessly flying off the handle. It means viewing every challenge that arises as an opportunity.

When it comes to the aspect of marketing that is best for your writing career, we’re playing Pickup Sticks. Sometimes the sticks intersect. Sometimes they mess with each other. “Branding” and public relations are a little like those two sticks that can’t be pried apart without jiggling the other. What you do to create an image for yourself as an author and for your books can be ruined in an instant if your public relations goes awry. What you do to better your public relations (like remembering the thank-you notes your mother taught you to write) contribute to both your branding and your public relations.

You’ve been practicing PR most of your life. Getting along with family. Impressing a new boss or teacher. Choosing an outfit to wear to an interview. You’ve been a customer and know why you like some products and businesses better than others. All it takes is some examination of the processes that influence you to get a grip on public relations—even on marketing as a whole. You may have lots to learn in terms of your book but you will begin to understand the basics so you can go forward. It’s mostly about the golden rule.

Branding, publicity, and PR are thriftier and more effective than most other means of selling, with an emphasis on publicity. Other aspects of marketing are important, but all the above divisions are the essential freebies. This is one time we don’t have to give up quality to save money.