Discoverability and the author

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Content is king, they say in the advertising business. But writing a great book won’t necessarily turn you into a best-selling author. Tracey McDonald’s goal is to introduce the general public to authors, and authors to the general public. She told Naomi Meyer about her business, I Love Books.

Hi Tracey, it is with great interest that I looked at your press release regarding the discoverability of authors and books. I agree with you: first the author must produce something brilliant. But is this not enough?

Unfortunately, not anymore. Authors today have got to promote themselves, relentlessy. Consumers today are very discerning – they want to know why they must part with their money to buy a particular book or an e-book. They look around online to see what others are saying, they read reviews, and they research an author.

How did you recognise a gap in the market for this service?

Unless an author’s day job is in the sales or marketing field, it is unlikely that they will know how to market themselves – this is completely foreign territory to them. And even if they are in this field, but let’s say sell and/or market baked beans, the approach needed for books is different. Having worked in publishing for thirteen years, I saw this lack of “promote myself” awareness over and over again.

Another reason, from a publishing perspective, to get themselves discoverable is this (and this pertains to debut writers especially): when a book is presented at publishing acquisition meetings, the topic, which was never discussed a few years ago, is raised of “How connected is this person in the online world?”. When a writer does their submission proposal to a publisher, being able to say that he has 650 fans on Facebook, that 2 000 people follow him on Twitter, and that his website, where he blogs often (and it’s visited often), has been running for the past 18 months, goes a long way in persuading a publisher to take a chance on a writer.

Is the marketing side of books and authors not the responsibility of the publishing company?

Most marketing and publicity teams at publishing companies do their very best in getting the book, and author, promoted. They send out a press release to the media offering an interview with the author, and/or a copy of the book to review. They organise a launch, or two, for the book where most times only the author’s friends, family and colleagues attend. They include the book in their social media plans (website, Facebook page, e-newsletter and Twitter), and then, after a quick blast, it stops. There isn’t enough time, enough resources, or marketing spend to extend a marketing and publicity campaign more than a couple of weeks – the next author’s book is releasing and needs their attention.

If an author is well known he will get numerous interview requests and will have his book reviewed. But consider the relatively unknown author, or the debut author – their chances of getting media exposure (despite the very best efforts from the publisher’s marketing and publishing team) are quite slim – there is only so much space, in today’s media, dedicated to books.

After you have created the social media platforms for the author, what happens next? What must the author do then?

An author has got to put time aside to diligently keep their website updated with new blogs, post information often (at least three times a week) on their Facebook page, and tweet a few times a week.

It’s all quite magical, this online discoverability – everything can be connected. When they post a blog on their website they can do a little teaser on Twitter and redirect people to their website with a hyperlink, and they can put part of the post on Facebook, and also redirect people back to their website to read the full story.

Should authors post only about their products (books) or should they share personal stories about themselves as well on social media platforms?

Definitely more information (98%) on being an author – information about the latest book, details about the book currently being written, and hints and tips for aspiring authors. But dashes of personal information go a long way towards garnering loyal followers. An author is human, after all, and we can relate to him or her when they come across as a “person” – but I would advise their personal reflections to somehow be linked to their work, for example: “This morning I opened the fridge to discover an empty carton of milk with no back-up supplies in the cupboard. My writing day begins only after my third cup of coffee, so before I could put pen to paper, I had to make an emergency visit to the grocery store.”

Any specific books published long ago which could still benefit from your service?

If a book published by a traditional publisher is still in print and selling, and the author is writing again, then I recommend that he builds a profile in the social media space a few months before the release of the new book. The publisher must include the author’s website/blog address, Twitter handle and Facebook page URL in the book - preferably on the last page. Once someone has read the book, many times they would love to contact the author directly to say thank you, share an opinion, ask a question. And likewise, the publicity and marketing team need to include this information on any external communication about the book, be it a press release, point of sale, a catalogue, a book club leaflet.

If an author has written numerous books, but hard copies are no longer available, and the publisher has digitised the content and they are now available as e-books, then absolutely, they need to make themselves known.

And if an author has gone the self-publishing route, where they are their own marketing and publicity department, then absolutely, they need to create an awareness of themselves and their books, and have an online avenue of where readers can buy their books.


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Kommentaar

  • My experience is that people don't buy books from Facebook, blogs or Twitter, but at a shop where they can first browse and handle and then decide. This is where traditional publishers have the edge, for they can place books in bookshops, whereas the self-publisher can't afford to as all books will be on consignment, requiring a huge working capital which most of us don't have.

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    Jou e-posadres sal nie gepubliseer word nie. Kommentaar is onderhewig aan moderering.


     

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