Blogger: Rachel Kent
“Once I sell my first book to a publishing house, it’s going to be easy to sell the rest of my manuscripts.”
We see this assumption expressed in the many emails we receive from writers who believe that the book they have written is going to be the next breakout novel or nonfiction project.
Unfortunately, even if your book does get picked up for publication, there’s no guarantee that it’s going to “sell like gangbusters” (as my dad would say). If it does sell well, then you will have an easier time selling your other projects, but if it’s a mid-list book, it will take a lot of effort to sell that next project. Yes, you might look a little better than an unpublished writer, but then again, your name and your market has been tested. A publisher is going to look at the sales figures your first book produced to determine if you are “worth the risk.” An unpublished author hasn’t yet been tested in this way; so the sales forecast is more of a mystery.
Most books fall into the mid-list after publication, so don’t assume it’s going to be smooth sailing after you sign your first contract. What can you do? Work, work, work to constantly market your project to increase sales to, in turn, increase your chances of selling more book ideas. If you aren’t published yet, you can start even now to build databases and audiences for when a book does release.
What is your favorite way to communicate with your audience or potential audience? How can you take this communication strategy to the next level?
Struck by a Story Idea
Great post, Rachel!
* My favourite way to communicate is hands-down my blog. It’s evolving as I learn more on this gloriously fell journey, and while I rarely check stats, readership and engagement are growing.
* I think part of it is that a veil is being lifted for me, God giving a preview of how the life I lived here was an integral part of His plan, and I’m trying to communicate that. It’s everyone’s eternal question, or course, and describing what I see seems to have given some hope and comfort to others.
* And that last is why I do it, why, in the end, anything of worth is done. It’s not about receiving grace; it’s about being a conduit to pass it on to others.
I communicate predominantly through Twitter and Facebook. I’m rebuilding my blog and will use that as an extension of social media to hopefully engage on a deeper level with my potential audience.
I, too, expect to become a millionaire once my first book sells. 😉 But really, I don’t because of some wonderful friendships with authors who are on books nine or sixteen and still haven’t reached Grisham or Austen status. This quote by Jerry Jenkins hit me square between the eyes: “I didn’t become a full-time freelance author until I had written and published nearly 90 books.” I whimpered and kept on typing.
*Like Andrew, I love my blog as my communication. It encourages my rampant use of exclamation points, witty memes and zany gifs.
*Twitter is fast becoming a close second. It’s fun to see my tweets picked up and retweeted by other authors and even larger accounts.
I use many (too many?) exclamation points, too!
Rachel, what are the sales numbers that would be “mid-list?” How many books sold over what time frame is considered good versus mediocre and not good enough?
*My launch point for communication will be my Roman history site for teachers, students, and people who simply enjoy history. I’m about a week behind on building the website, but it will be up by the end of the month.That should begin to build a platform with real substance that people will find useful. I hope many will want to visit often as I continually add new articles, a blog, and fun things that can be learning tools.
*I’ll be adding the links to my books, special articles related to the books, and other more author-related communication as a subset of what is there. I can hardly wait to get it all started so I can meet some of my future readers!
I’d say 10,000-20,000 copies/book would be a mid-list author. Publishing houses would like you to earn back your advance within a year, so that is what they are typically looking for before contracting again. Different houses offer different size advances, so it’s hard to say what the exact number of copies is.
I linked my Facebook posts to my Twitter feed. Although, I don’t know exactly how I did that.
But, if I look at my analytics stats, 99% of my traffic is through Facebook, and direct access to my website.
I find Twitter to be the equivalent of walking down a hall and listening to other people’s conversations. Not my cup of tea.
I am pondering doing a few Facebook live events this Fall, from a secret location…either in New Mexico or California.
Oooh. ❤
Jennifer, if you come to NM anywhere within 80 miles of Albuquerque, let me know. Maybe we can get together if I’m not on travel.
Marketing our blog posts is good practice. ❤ And I have so much to learn.
As I am just starting out on the whole social platform adventure I am enjoying the posts from those who have gone before me. Thank you for the comments it is very helpful.
I want to point interested readers to my website, so I’ve linked my website blog posts to my few social media connections. However, as far as the most attraction, Facebook seems to be the winner, with Twitter in second. Sometimes, I find that putting only salient information about a blog post in a Facebook post definitely shifts the attention to the website.
One way I can take communication to the next level is by asking my readers questions about what they like to read or would like to see in a blog post. Serving others is really the key here, I believe.
Hi Tisha,
This is very helpful feedback. I do link my various sites and it does seem to work. I agree that my Facebook page does get the most attraction as it is much easier for people on facebook to flip to it. I do have my website posts go to the page which does help. Thanks for the idea about asking readers questions. cheers