Some writers may start out thinking that if they write a book everyone will want to read it. It’s kind of like in the movie Field of Dreams where Kevin Costner’s character builds a baseball field so that all the ghosts of the past can come to play some baseball. Except, that’s naïve. Save for some family and friends, you probably can't count on anyone reading your book…not until you’re famous. And even then, a lot of the people you know won’t read your work. Some may tell you they’ll read it, but they won’t. A few may even say something sad like, “I don’t read” or “Maybe I’ll wait for the audiobook/movie.” Others may be like my youngest daughter who once told me it creeps her out hearing my voice as she reads. Maybe I can understand that one.
Don’t worry, though. It’s just a lifelong test of your resilience and perseverance. Trust me on this. It's part of the natural balance of things. For every successful writer there are dozens of people along the way who tried to dissuade them from ever becoming an author. Even if you were never deluded into thinking writing would be an easy career, at some point, if you are truly infected with the writing bug, you understand that it is not a choice of whether to write but rather what you will write.
For a time, I thought of being a journalist. I studied it in college. I interned at a TV station and a newspaper as a news reporter. I also spent some time as a DJ on a radio station. I did the morning news, weather and sports reports around spinning records. Around the time I was a senior I determined that I no longer had an interest in being a reporter, a new anchor, a TV producer or a radio DJ. However, I had developed an interest in advertising, public relations and marketing. I pursued that for the next couple of years.
I’m sure that others, especially my family, thought at the time that it was a waste of time and money— like I was attempting to prolong my adolescence into my thirties or something, becoming a professional student. But it turns out that studying marketing provided the exact foundation I would need for becoming an author. You see, it was not about studying writing related courses but about gaining maturity and insight through experience. And a good deal of that played out over the next couple of decades while I taught myself how to write like me.
Certainly, learning how to write involves reading with a voracious appetite, honing on a genre or two, its mechanisms for building a story arc and the accepted conventions for characters to follow. And then came a period of radically challenging everything I learned through experiencing the art of other writers. If I had it to do over, I’d still read a lot, but I’d concurrently spend time building a brand and attracting followers who would eventually buy and read my books.
You see, contrary to popular belief, the first step in producing a bestseller is not writing the book. Yes, it helps to have a product in the works, but it is not essential. What is vital is beginning a network of associations. Although saying that you have a novel being published lends some credibility, there are a lot of people out there who can say the same. Still, nearly all authors fail for the same reason. Their project, their book baby, gets lost in the confusion of the marketplace. Their efforts to self-promote get lost in the noise of everyone else who is doing exactly the same thing.
Like anyone on this planet who is not born into wealth or status, I knew I was going to need some help if I was going to become successful as a writer. My name, as unusual and potentially eye-catching as it may be, was never going to sell a book on its own. It's silly that people will pay $5 for a cup of coffee but balk at $4.99 for an eBook. Go figure! The reason? They know what to expect from the coffee but not your book. So, you need to give your potential readers a compelling reason to buy your book.
The secret to success of an author’s brand is creating pent-up demand in advance of the release for each of your publications. One book’s success will feed the next and so on. Also, each new book should stimulate demand for previous books. In theory, this would create a viable following around the time that an author has five or six books in print, provided the author has systematically built a brand.
Building an effective social network or street team to help promote your book is key. Word of mouth is the most effective marketing tool when it comes to promoting nearly everything, including books. Someone else extolling the virtues of your writing will gain far more attention that anything you can do on your own.
Using social media is only a start. Gaining followers on Twitter and Facebook can only go so far. You also need to have the support of influencers, people who already have credibility for recommending books. These can be reviewers, authors in your genre, book bloggers or avid readers who belong to a local book club. Your primary mission, even while you are writing your first book, is to make contact with all the people who will help you spread the word about your book. It’s a team effort that you may need to enlist everyone else in the world to achieve, or at least a few thousand people.
Your brand needs to have consistency in messaging. For example, use the same photo on your social media or establish a trademark. Use your author’s name, the same one you will use when you publish a book. Purchase a dot com, dot net and/or dot org with your name. If you have a common name you might have to add author before or after it. If your name is too common, you might need to use a pen name. I never had a problem with that as there are exactly 3 Elgons in the world. I’m the only one that is a human being.
In the background, while you are working on your literary masterpiece, and especially while your finished manuscript is being edited for publication, you need to schedule time for building your brand. The following suggested activities is not an all-inclusive list by any means, but a start.
Write a blog and post to it regularly on the website you have established. Your fans will want to know the latest about you and your projects. But remember the public has a short attention span. They will forget all about you if you don’t keep reminding them. Solicit subscribers as a way to keep people informed. Also link your posts to social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc). Many people create Facebook pages for each of their books. This will become a maintenance nightmare for you as you write more and more books. It is better to have a Facebook Page supporting your author’s brand that will include information on all your books.
Establish a You Tube Channel and post videos. Use humor, interesting facts or some other hook to gain attention. As with your blog, this needs to be updated regularly.
Print business cards as a professional author. Carry some with you at all times and hand them to people who show more than polite interest in your books. This is a way of recruiting street team members. Provide information on your card for how to contact you and subscribing to your blog.
Make contacts with your local media (radio, TV, newspapers) and any trade publications focusing on publishing. Join local writing groups. Connect with local book clubs. Get to know your librarian and the management/owners of local bookstores. Once you are close to publication, arrange to speak at local book club meetings, for example. When your book is released, schedule book signings at bookstores or as a side attraction at local events in your community. Also use your library as a venue for signings. Give book readings.
Reach out to other bloggers, especially those who are authors. Establish a relationship, offering to host virtual book tours for them in exchange for helping you launch your books. Also connect with reader/reviewers, offering them an ARC (Advance Reviewer Copy) of your book in exchange for an honest appraisal. Find successful authors in your genre and follow them. Make contact with them through social media and establish a relationship for future book blurbs.