Chapter 5
Talking About Your Book
Whenever people find out that I’m a full-time novelist they inevitably respond in two ways. At first they are shocked, probably because they know someone who wrote a book at one time or another. Writers aren't uncommon, but someone who is actually earning a living writing books is rare. Then they inevitably want to know what kind of books I write.
It is always good to talk about your books. Word of mouth is the most basic, and in some ways the best, form of marketing. There have been times in my life when I have been too shy to talk about my books, and times when I probably talked too much about my books. I’m passionate about my books, I could talk about them for days. But unless the person you are talking to is a reader, they don’t need an in-depth exposé, but rather a polished, concise blurb that will pique their interest. In publishing this is known as an elevator pitch. It should be short enough that you could explain it in the time it would take you to ride in an elevator from one floor to another. That’s not much time, but the point is to hone the subject down and make it penetrate through the craziness of a person’s day so that it sticks with them long after the conversation is over.
Having an elevator pitch handy is great for just about every writer. Mostly you’ll use it in casual conversations, but every person you meet is a potential reader. I met a business owner when I went into his shop looking for some of the products he carries. When I introduced myself I was just being polite and my mind was really focused on my own needs. He asked what I did for a living and I told him that I write novels. As I made my purchase he told me that he reads fantasy and would check out my books. The next time I saw him he had read all my books and wanted to know when the next book would be available. His passing interest turned into repeat sales for me all because I was ready and willing to talk about my books.
If you are planning to seek a traditional publishing deal you’ll need to be ready to talk about your books with confidence to people who hear about books every day. You need to make sure your book stands out. Even if you plan on going the indie route, there will be days when you want to see your book in the local bookstores. You’ll need to be able to talk about your book in a way that excites store keepers and bored book managers. If you ever do a signing you’ll be asked over and over again, “What’s it about?” Your answer matters.
I like to break down my elevator pitch into three key areas: genre, comparison, and hook. I always mention what genre my books are, and I’m specific. I write epic fantasy. I write things other than fantasy, such as sci-fi, thrillers, and adventure novels, but fantasy is my bread and butter. Avid readers are very specific about what genres they like, but the more casual reader is open to just about any book if you can get their attention. They may not remember all you say, but they’ll walk away knowing what genre you write and that’s important to most readers.
You’d be surprised how many looks of confusion come over people’s faces when I say that I write epic fantasy novels. And in their defense there are a lot of sub-genres in fantasy, just as there are in most genre fiction. I always give them a comparison that most people can relate to. I write epic fantasy, like Lord of the Rings. Tolkien’s timeless stories are something most people can relate to. If they haven’t read the books or seen the movies, they’ve at least heard about them enough to understand what my books are like. And this leaves me open to give them a sentence or two about my books. I write epic fantasy, like Lord of the Rings. My books are mainly about a teenager who has just discovered he has magical powers and is being pursued by a group of evil wizards who want to control him or kill him.
Sometimes I talk about dragons, depending on the person who is asking. I might mention that I have a whole series of books or I might talk about one of my books that is outside of fantasy, but I try to always be ready to give an answer to the standard question of what I write about. If I’m talking about The New World, my science fiction thriller, I mention the fact that it was inspired by the way history and our perception of events change over time. When I talk about Zompocalypse, my zombie serial novel, I usually mention that it was an experimental book or that I didn’t use an outline when I wrote it. Each book is unique and I’m usually ready to answer the questions that people normally ask when they find out I’m a writer. When I talk about this book, I’m going to tell people that I wanted to write something that could be a resource to the aspiring writers I meet at book events.
Now, I know that some of you are shy. You feel a little out of place talking about your book, perhaps because it isn’t finished, or maybe because it is self published rather than traditionally published. That’s absolutely normal, but also a habit that you should break. You need to talk about your book to people you meet. You need to talk about your book on social media (which we’ll cover in more detail in Chapter 7). You need to talk about your book to people who can help further your career. Don’t give in to the temptation to sweep it under the rug.
On the other hand, don’t fall into the trap of telling people every little detail included in your book. I went to a writers’ event not long ago and one of the authors told us she had written a historical novel, then went on to explain everything that happens in the book. When she first started I was sincerely interested. I love history and the time period she was writing about wasn’t one I’d read about before. She described her protagonist and I began to wonder about the story, but then she went on to tell us every event that happens and how the book ends with the main character's death. She killed my desire to read her book—I didn’t need to read it, I already knew what happened.
Your goal should be to tempt the person to read your book by drawing together things that they know about it and then hitting them with something intriguing about your story. Start with the genre and compare it something they know. It can be a television show, a movie, a current event, or a conspiracy theory. You can compare it to something popular, but don’t claim that yours is better. You never want to say, It's like Gone With The Wind, only better. Let me illustrate. When I wrote my zombie serial, I promoted it like a television show in book form. I described how each installment could be read in one sitting in just under an hour. And I likened it to the popular television show (and graphic novels) The Walking Dead. Here’s what I said, If you like The Walking Dead, you’ll love Zompocalypse. That told potential readers what it was like in a way they could relate to and understand.
Now here’s an example of what NOT to do. Don’t say something like, Zompocalypse, it’s The Walking Dead on steroids. If you claim something like that you’ll immediately be judged harshly. People will assume that your book is fan fiction or that you think your book is better than a wildly popular television show, and that kind of arrogance turns people off. We’ve all seen the low-budget movie posters that claim the movie is “the next Star Wars” or “the next Matrix.” No one ever sees that kind of grandiose promotion and believes that the movie being promoted is actually better than the classics it compares itself to.
The old show business adage says it best: Always leave them wanting more. Your elevator pitch should entice listeners and make them want to read the book. So give the genre, a comparison, then entice them with the hook, which is a very short description carefully crafted to draw interest. You don't have to be cute, or especially creative. Just give them a taste of danger, or mystery, and they won't be able to stop thinking about your story.
It works with non-fiction, as well. Take this book for example. I want people to know that it is a self-help book for writers, but there are plenty of books about writing or the publishing industry. What sets mine apart is the fact that I make my living writing books and that I think you can, too. Writing For A Living is a self-help book for the aspiring writers who ask me how I sold a quarter of a million books in four years.
Writing Promotional Copy
Talking about your work isn’t just about word of mouth, it also includes writing about your book. If you have never tried to writ
e a promo for your work then you may not know this, but writing sales copy is much harder than writing the book. The problem is that you know too much. You want to explain about the plot and the characters without giving away too much, and it can be paralyzing. As a general rule of thumb, follow the same outline as your elevator pitch, only be aware that promo copy and anything you write on the Internet can be found by the search engines that crawl over every word. You need to learn to use keywords, the words that will help your book find an audience by being found in searches, either in general online search engines like Google, Yahoo, or Bing, or on Internet retailer sites like Amazon.
Let’s break down fiction first. Always start with a line that draws interest. Then focus a few sentences on the drama of the first problem your characters encounter. After that, write a second paragraph that talks about the book in terms of its place in the field. Use the second paragraph to work in as many keywords as you naturally can. But be careful, because readers can see through poor promotion copy in a heartbeat. If your promo reads like spam, people will shun your book. Take your time, but shoot for being concise and engaging.
For non-fiction the rules are slightly different. First, you have to get people’s attention. Try to craft a sentence that encompasses the theme of your book. Then lace the summary paragraph with keywords that will hit in online searches but also resonate with readers. Remember, in non-fiction you have to know your audience and in most cases that means a select group of people who generally have knowledge of the subject matter. For instance, a business book should have the kind of terminology that shows the book is relevant. The promo copy for Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman’s First, Break All the Rules has several keywords that people in the business world will be attracted to, such as “front-line,” “leadership,” “labor markets,” and “outcomes.” The promo copy works best when it provides a concise summary laced with keywords.
You may think that because you are planning to seek traditional publishing for your book that you won’t have to worry about marketing or talking about your book, but you’re wrong. Marketing in the book industry is all about building a connection with readers. Publishers can certainly advertise books, but margins are getting tighter and profits are drying up for publishers. As a result, marketing departments are usually the first to be stripped with budget cuts. All of this contributes to the fact that publishers now have a very poor track record of actually selling books. And if you aren’t a best-selling author, don’t expect to get more than a standard guide for self marketing your work.
Talking about your book also isn’t just about marketing to readers. If you want to be traditionally published, you first have to get the attention of literary agents and then acquisitions editors. You’ll be expected to write a synopsis of your book, as well as query letters. I was contacted by an agent who specialized in selling audio rights for independent authors. She was very nice and eager to help me get the rights to my Avondale series sold, but when I asked how she would sell my audio rights this was her answer:
I’ll send you a marketing packet for your books. It has several questions about the books and about you, the author. You fill that out for me and I’ll pass it along to my contacts in the audio book market.
Essentially she wanted me to hire her for her contacts. I would be required to do all the work. You see, literary agents and publishers understand that you know the books much better than they do. Writing and pitching your books will always be the author’s burden, so take advantage of that fact by learning to do a good job up front.
Write out your elevator pitch. Change it up. Try new tactics and approach it from different angles. There will be days when you don’t feel like writing, so add variety to your work by spending your writing time working on your sales pitch, promo copy, and marketing skills. We’ll spend more time talking about marketing in chapter 7, but now, let’s look at the difference between independent and traditional publishing.
Chapter 6
Traditional Publishing
There are strong feelings in the publishing industry about which route—traditional or independent—a writer should take. I self publish, and while I don’t think traditional publishing is the right direction for my career so far, I’m not against traditional publishing in general. If the right deal were to come along, I would happily partner with a traditional publishing house. The question you should be asking is whether traditional publishing is right for you. To answer that question you have to go back and really think about your definition of success.
Traditional publishing has a lot of benefits, and of course some limitations. With traditional publishing the process is slow. We’ll go over the most common path to landing a traditional publishing contract, but in short, be prepared to wait. Despite the surge in independent publishing, agents and editors are still swamped with requests and submissions. You’ll need to be prepared to play the waiting game, but if you are successful a traditional publishing contract will give you the broadest distribution possible. Most publishing houses, even the smaller ones, have distribution channels that will make your books available to most bookstores, as well as Amazon and other ebook stores such as iBooks, Kobo, and the Nook store.
Editing services with a traditional publisher should be top notch as well. It’s in the company’s best interest to publish the best book possible, so they will work hard to make your book shine. Most publishing houses have editors on staff, which means the people working on your book will be dedicated professionals with a passion for helping authors. There’s debate about marketing and cover design in traditional publishing, but the good news is that you will have less to do than with indie publishing.
If your book fits the appropriate parameters, your publisher will probably enter your books into literary contests. There should be opportunities to have your books reviewed before publication as well. You’ll also get an advance, which means money up front. And there is no cost to have your book traditionally published. If you have an agent they will try to sell foreign rights, audio rights, and even the movie rights of your book. The agent makes money when you do, so a good agent should work diligently to ensure your book has an opportunity to earn as much money as possible.
If that all sounds like the way to go, I encourage you to seek traditional publication. Fortunately, if you fail to receive an offer or if you don’t like the terms of the offer, you can choose to self publish instead. I certainly did and I’m glad I of it, because there are drawbacks to traditional publishing too.
As I said before, the wheels turn slowly in the traditional publishing world. On average it takes a book at least a year from the date you sign with a publisher until the book actually gets published (although I have heard of smaller publishing houses that are working to get books published much more quickly). It’s understandable considering all the hands your book will pass through before it is ready to be published, and then the publisher still has to have the book printed, warehoused, and distributed before it can be released to the public.
The way most publishers pay their authors is difficult to understand as well. Most publishing companies pay on a biyearly basis, which means they pay their author royalties twice a year. If you’re lucky enough to earn out your advance, which basically means that you earn enough in royalties to pay back the publisher for the money they paid you up front, it can be a long time between royalty checks. And if you have an agent they will want to handle the money, since they are expecting to take a cut (usually 15 percent of domestic sales and 20 percent of foreign sales). And unfortunately advances are not as lucrative as they once were. Even if you get an advance for your book, sell the foreign rights, and get an audio deal, you may still earn less than $10,000 until the book earns out the advance.
Traditional publishing houses are business entities and their contracts are very often one-sided in their favor. If you go the traditional route, you’ll need to be especially aware of non-compete clauses, right of first refusal, royalty discounts for wareh
ouse stores, and length of contract. Unfortunately, unless you hit the literary lottery, you won’t have much leverage in contract negotiations. It’s extremely important to get an agent who is savvy when it comes to dealing with publishers.
There is one final drawback to traditional publishing in that your work will be in the hands of other people. Remember, when you sign a publishing contract you are selling your rights to the book. The publisher will then have the final say in how the book is written, what the promo copy says about your book, what the title is, and how the cover art looks. They will control distribution, pricing, and exactly how much or how little they market your book. And unfortunately, not everyone in the publishing industry is honest. I hear horror stories of small presses that fail to pay royalties or who sell out to larger firms that have zero interest in the authors they publish. I read about crooked agents who embezzle money from their clients on a regular basis. These dishonest and dishonorable people shouldn’t taint the entire publishing industry for you or keep you from pursing a traditional publishing deal if that is the best fit for you and your work, but you will have to be vigilant to ensure that you aren’t taken advantage of.
How To Get A Traditional Publishing Deal
The way to get a traditional publishing deal is well known. There is a lot of very useful information published online about the process of traditional publishing. I’ll outline the basics here with some information that I think is important about the process.
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