The Worst Kind of Book Marketing
By Jerry D. Simmons | December 23rd, 2009 | 3 Comments » (Click to add yours!)
Marketing books is tough and there is no one method or formula that fits all titles. It depends on many pieces and parts, combined and mixed in a way that attempts to provide the author maximum exposure and opportunities to sell books. Think of book marketing as ingredients from a cookbook. There are many spices and food items that you have to combine in specific quantities to get the result you want, book marketing is the same.
There are overabundances of companies offering tons of marketing programs and services that tend to be a “one size fits all program.” These plans are minimally successful, at best. At worst you will spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars for “ingredients” that will not in the end provide you with what you want and that is sales. Combinations of these kinds of programs MIGHT be helpful and MAY be somewhat successful but there is much more to book marketing than what is being offered.
Through this web site I get a lot of emails that are solicitations for marketing programs of all varieties. When you step back and examine what they offer taking into account the bigger picture of book selling, you quickly realize they are not worth the money you pay. Here is a recent example: Offer your book to foreign rights buyers—special for this month—several thousand foreign rights buyers from over 100 countries, only $X, act now!
Foreign rights is a very lucrative business and can be a bonus for authors, however, listing your title in a catalog or display, among hundreds of other titles is not the way to receive foreign rights offers for your book. The business doesn’t operate that way! Legitimate foreign rights buyers are presented titles the same way books are presented to retailers such as B&N, Borders, Wal-Mart and Costco. They don’t “shop” from a catalog or display, they depend on their US agents and publishers to offer them viable titles from recognizable and reputable companies.
Do not be swayed by the sales pitch, and please save your money. Paying for this kind of program is a waste and I would certainly not recommend for any author.
When Your Writing Is Attacked — How to Cope With Soul-Crushing Rejection by Diane O’Connell
By Jerry D. Simmons | December 15th, 2009 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
At the beginning of my online writing seminars, the students each introduce themselves. On more than one occasion, a student will reveal that he or she is coming to the class after having experienced a devastating rejection. By that I mean, not the standard rejection you get when you send your work out to get published, but the more personal kind that rips apart your writing with no constructive feedback, the kind of rejection that feels as though you are being personally attacked, and leaves you wondering if you were crazy to ever think you could write.
One of my students had entered her manuscript in a contest. As she said, “two of the judges had really helpful critiques, but the 3rd really ripped me to shreds. I’ve been having a hard time writing and revising since, wondering if I even have any talent, if I’m just wasting my time, etc, etc.” My heart goes out this writer. I know exactly how she feels, because I’ve been there.
In my case, the nasty rejection came from a teacher I had revered. I was utterly and completely devastated. I stopped writing. I became completely blocked. The worst part of it all was that I allowed another person to take away from me something that gave me joy. It was only after reading Julia Cameron’s wonderful book, The Artist’s Way, that I healed myself and began writing again.
Here are some ways you can cope with this kind of soul-crushing rejection:
Step away from the emotion. The natural response to getting a nasty rejection is to want to jump out a window, burn the manuscript, cry into a pillow. It’s okay to feel that way, and crying can be cathartic. But before you do anything more drastic, allow your emotions to calm down.
Keep it in perspective. If you look at the quote from the writer above, you’ll see that she got helpful critiques from two judges, but it was the nasty critique that had the greatest impact on her. Don’t shut out the positive or helpful responses or put too much credence in the negative ones.
Ask yourself what else might be going on. Sometimes people are jealous and attack you. Others are looking to make a mark and go about it in the wrong way. Some may have suffered devastating criticism in the past and are really getting back at the person who hurt them. Still others are looking to stroke their own egos by bringing someone else down. And some just want to be Simon Cowell.
Read between the invective to see if the critique has any validity. Easier said than done, I know. But sometimes people get really ticked off over a particular thing and allow their feelings to run away with them. For instance, let’s say your spelling and grammar are not up to par. Well, it could be that your characters are well drawn, your story compelling, your dialog sparkling, but the reader goes ballistic over writing mechanics. So, maybe that’s something you need to work on.
Get back on the horse. Don’t stop writing – not even for a day. Write because you love to write, because you have to write, because writing brings you joy. Don’t ever allow anyone to take that away from you.
Diane O’Connell Literary Services
Specializing in Working with First-Time Authors
Fiction and Non-Fiction
Find out about her very affordable Express Coaching service: http://www.docls.com
Or call (718) 268-9282
“I can state categorically that my first novel would never have been published without Diane.” — Cody McFadyen, international bestselling author of Shadow Man, The Face of Death, The Darker Side, and Abandoned (Bantam).
