The Long Road Part Five - Novel Marketing

THE LONG ROAD TO SELF-PUBLICATION

“Five Ferries took 39 years to write & 16 months for everything else.”

Part 5 – Novel Marketing

After nearly 40 years of effort, I published Five Ferries, my first novel. The writing took up most of this time, but in the last year and a half I entered the world of self-publication, and this is a story in itself.

With a completed book and online distribution ready to go, I wondered how anyone would find out about my book and hopefully read it. While my editor was also a publisher who offered all manner of assistance above and beyond our formal arrangements, marketing was up to me.

I registered the domain name <fiveferries.com> and enlisted my daughter to help set up an email address for use in fielding comments. Next, I looked for help building a website, while I commenced creating content for the site. I collected alternate versions of chapters and scenes cut from the book to populate a Cut Scenes tab. I drafted an essay comprised of these five blogs about the process to post at a Process of Self-publishing tab. I digitized photos from the trip to use as banners and wallpaper and to collect at an Inspiration tab. I returned to the arcane and reproduced a blueprint of the book as it stood 23 years earlier for Building Buttresses tab—a joke based on a conversation in the book. Again falling back on my lawyer persona, I drafted terms of use and a privacy policy.

Fortunately, at just this time my daughter’s employer sent her to a class to learn web development. She had to build a site for a fictional product and instead cleared with her mentor creating a site for my book. I was relieved to have her take charge of the site, and on her instructions uploaded my content to a page we could share on Google Drive. I also asked her to think about how I should coordinate the website with my so-far empty Five Ferries account on Instagram.

While she mulled this over, I turned to LinkedIn and Facebook. I had used LinkedIn professionally, but had only three Facebook friends and so set out to add contacts to both accounts, which had the added benefit of connecting me with lots of old friends. I figured at least some of these contacts—especially those who knew me only as a lawyer or who still called me “Billy” because they hadn’t seen me since grammar school—would buy the book out of curiosity.

I submitted a promotional notice to the alumni magazines at my college and my law school, the Murray Hill Neighborhood Association (which mostly plants trees and gives tours) and the newsletter put out by the Amateur Comedy Club, a local hundred-and twenty-four year-old theater group. I even reached out to the faculty advisor for my high school newspaper, mentioning I had been Sports Editor a million years ago and asking if the current editors would publish a notice. (She thought the school library might also buy a copy. Along with the Library of Congress—which receives copies of all books in which the copyright is registered—this would make two libraries holding my book.)

I couldn’t think of a way into bookstores, whose operators of course display only what they think they can sell. The Strand may tout having 14 miles of books, but I doubted I’d be able to secure six by nine inches for a stack of mine. Still, I discovered that The Strand has a process to review unsolicited books for sale in the store and so planned to participate. I also found an article online identifying the 15 best independent bookstores in New York City and emailed a form letter to each asking if there was some way they might sell my book—and offering to hand deliver a copy to each.  I later visited and followed up with submissions to Powell’s in Portland, Oregon, and The Last Bookstore in LA. Only one store has responded, advising its consignment program was full.

My editor advised me to select six keywords to provide to the printer, which Amazon and search engines would use as metatags in listing the book. Choosing these words/phrases, of course, was more complicated than I imagined. The expert commentary suggested choosing appropriate terms, then running them through the search engines with combinations of other words to find phrases that generated hits (showing people used the term) but not too many hits (so the competition would not push my listing down to the thousandth page). I selected some search phrases, and my editor assured me I could revise this list if I later came up with better choices. Nonetheless, the first proof of the book arrived with a list of subjects created by the printer from a summary my editor provided. Half of these terms described the book in a way that could be helpful, while half seriously misrepresenting the story, e.g., “Loss—(Psychology)—Fiction,” and Brothers—Death—Psychological aspects—Fiction.”  We had to pay to fix this list, and my editor kicked in half the minimal, I guess because her summary had led to the printer’s first list of terms.  

My daughter suggested cutting the original version of this self-publishing essay into short blog posts, each linked to the website, my Instagram account and Amazon. On the <medum.com> site, she would introduce this series with a heartfelt fellow-millennial-proud-of-Dad blog. We would also include the full series on the website. Hence, these blog posts on my expanded author site. 

When I inquired how major reviewers choose books to review, I got another dose of reality from my publishing expert. He explained that, well before a publisher releases a book, publicists pitch it to book review editors, media producers and publishers, along with the author’s “platform” (solid sales of previous books, book tours, interviews, deal for future novels, interest from movie producers, jacket blurbs from celebrities). Later, they deliver bound manuscripts, advance copies and press kits, while picking up the tab for drinks and lunches. All these efforts promote books that have survived reviews by the literary agent, editors, sales and marketing directors, publishing boards and merchandise managers, and then risen to the top of the heap inside their own publishing houses. A self-published book does not typically earn even a quick look from a summer intern.

Various sites will review a book—for a price. Some others offer to review books for free, or at least the titles they choose. The concept of paying for a review and, as many offer, having the review published only if it is favorable, seemed illegitimate but I eventually purchased a review from Kirkus Reviews, which proved helpful in marketing. I also pursued free reviews from the Facebook group Writers & Authors, and from Publishers Weekly Book Life, along with volunteers who turned up along the way.

In one moment of marketing inspiration (or self-delusion) I clipped an Op-ed piece from The New York Times titled “Don’t Let TripAdvisor Kill Adventure,” which advised travelers not to let advance planning of their vacations blind them to the potential magic of discovering wonder off the beaten path. It seemed plausible that the article’s author would sympathize with my story and so I sent a cover letter appealing to him to read my enclosed book—or, if not, to give it to some open-minded twenty-year-old. 

When IngramSpark tried to send me an author’s copy of the book to look over, it in fact sent me someone else’s book.  I contacted my brother author and suggested we review each other’s novels, but I had to wait for a sample of my own book.   

A number of other sites will for a minimal fee display a copy of the book cover and a synopsis. I didn’t know if this would help sales, but what did I have to lose? 

As a tool for person-to-person marketing, I designed a business card with the book cover on the face and information on the back, such as the email address and where to find the website and the Instagram page.  When the cards were delivered, it was clear the writing was so small no one would be able to read it. Fortunately, Vistaprint had a “satisfaction guaranteed” policy and let me redesign the cards for free. The second batch arrived with larger print but the cover cut off on the top and bottom of the card’s front.  I informed Vistaprint that I needed to cut each card to remove the blank border around the design, and the company sent me a third batch that (as in Little Red Riding Hood) was just right. 

As I neared my planned publication date, Amazon decided to close down operation of CreateSpace and move all the books its was distributing to a new entity, Kindle Direct Publishing (“KDP”). I don’t know what caused this move but I signed up for an Independent Book Publishers Association (the “IBPA”) webinar to learn about it and worked with my editor to make the switch. In the end, the switch was easy. My editor also had me create an account on Smashwords, an e-book distributor. Once she had formatted the e-book, she walked me through how to navigate my Smashwords and Kindle Books accounts online.

My relationship with IngramSpark allowed me to sign up for a discounted three-month trial membership in the IBPA. This proved to be a source of information about publishing and got me into a couple a publishing industry functions. I found this experience painful but educational as it helped me hone my elevator pitch.

Finally, my daughter insisted we have a launch party and she and my son came to town. We had a dinner at Regional, the upper west side restaurant owned by some dear friends, and I actually delivered the toast I had agonized over for days. I thanked the cast of (seemingly) thousands who helped along the way, from finding me along the road and taking me home, to guiding me through the publishing process, and stated my greatest hope for the book: that some kid would read it and conclude adventure is still possible. 

Marketing Resources:

Domain Name Registration:  https://www.domain.com

Web Design: Wordpress: www.wordpress.com/; Wix - https://www.wix.com

Choosing Keywords: https://ckbookspublishing.com/2016/02/10/the-importance-of-keywords-to-ranking-your-book-on-amazon-the-book-designer/

Free Book Reviews: Publishers Weekly Book Life - https://booklife.com/about-us/pw-select.html

Book Listings:  https://bookswifi.com/adverts/add/; https://writeglobe.com; https://bmibooks.com/

Business Cards: https://www.vistaprint.com/vp/welcomeback.aspx

Submitting books to The Strand Bookstore: submissions@strandbooks.com