Author and Illustrator Marketing Guidance from Publisher Lee German
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Author and Illustrator Marketing Guidance from Publisher Lee German Contents: General introduction - promotional kit - resources What you can do - friends, family and associates - online presence - introduce yourself to the community Support the bookstores—they support you! Scheduling Events - book launch (includes minimum book launch requirements) - book signings - libraries - school visits - emails/phone calls Arbordale General Marketing and Promotional Plan - outline of production schedule We welcome, appreciate and need your help in making the book a success. When I talk to Baker & Taylor and Ingram buyers, they always ask about book signings and the media coverage surrounding new releases. They specifically want to know what author/illustrator events are planned (i.e., how serious is our marketing commitment) and then they stock their nearest warehouses to support anticipated demand from these events. I mention this because your involvement in the process is a critical marketing component. As publisher, we can push great books all day long, but the industry “scuttlebutt” is “no author involvement, no future.” We can see that in the sales of books—straight down the line. Our objective is to sell our books nationwide and soon, internationally, but to get started we absolutely depend on the local interest around author, illustrator, and publisher. The term is local buzz, and without that, it is very difficult to get momentum for a new release. Think of any classic children’s book—association with the author and illustrator is tight because they were engaged with their publisher and committed to helping the book sell. I know that this is children’s book promotion, and we all need to have fun! I find it personally rewarding to get involved in the publicity effort, and I hope that you will too. Several years ago, I had a 1st grade teacher ask to see one of our books at the ALA conference in Chicago. When she had finished reading it, her eyes were moist. She hugged us and said, “This is the sweetest, most beautiful children’s book I’ve ever seen. My 1st graders are going to love it.” Arbordale is about contributing to children’s literature and education. Your manuscript was chosen and art portfolios are carefully matched with the intent of raising the bar in this genre. While we are serious about our mission, we also want the entire experience to be fun, exciting, and profitable for all of us. I know that you have a set amount of time and energy to put in to the book’s promotion, so I want to lay out a simple plan you can easily follow. This will contribute to the cause and complement our national sales efforts. I think that this guide can be helpful–especially if you are a first-time author or illustrator. I don’t want you to feel overwhelmed; in fact, I think you will really enjoy going out, meeting people, and hearing everyone’s reactions to your book! We will send you a Promotional Kit containing: 25 Marketing* copies of your book (this is over and above your free contract copies). The marketing copies will be broken down between hardcover, paperback and Spanish paperback. Promotional materials can be requested from the PR department. Some materials are also available on the website: o Catalogs o Order Forms o Publicist business cards o Database Information (what we have for your area/subject) *In order to make it more comfortable for you to share marketing copies, please get contact information (including e-mail) for the person to whom you give the book. Let us know who it went to and we can follow up with the marketing calls. There are a number of sources to learn how to market a book or more about the industry in general. A few that we have found helpful are: The Savvy Author’s Guide To Book Publicity, by Lisa Warren, Carrol & Graf Publishers The Complete Guide To Book Publicity, by Jodee Blanco, Allworth Press Publishing For Profit, by Thomas Wolf, Chicago Review Press 1001 Ways to Market Your Books, 5th Ed., by John Kremer, Open Horizons John Kremer’s Website: http://www.bookmarket.com/tipsconfirm.html Independent Book Publishers Association: https://www.ibpa-online.org/ Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI) http://www.scbwi.org/ Children's Writers and Illustrators Market www.writersdigest.com Children's Book Council http://www.cbcbooks.org/ Publisher's Weekly online http://www.publishersweekly.com/ Children’s Literature Database http://www.childrenslit.com/ Susan Raab http://www.raabassociates.com Google alerts http://www.google.com/alerts. You can set up a Google alert for your name and/or your book’s name once published. Any time you or the book is mentioned on the internet, you will receive notification and a link to the site. One last general comment before I get into specifics: there is a marketing phenomenon called the Rule of Seven that says “on average, we have to contact a potential buyer seven times before they will buy our books.” We will be blanket e-mailing, advertising, phone calling and sending press releases, but if you can also communicate with as many local buyers as possible, it will help create the buzz and meet the “Rule of Seven” threshold. What You Can Do It is amazing how the personal contacts can help, but we don’t want you to feel uncomfortable asking for their help or asking them to go buy a copy. We suggest you not sell books to friends and family, but rather encourage them to go to their nearest bookstore or buy it online—it makes the bookstores realize that there is a demand for your product, and they will begin to stock it. In fact, some bookstore buyers even check how well the book sells on Amazon before they buy the book. The extra copies of your book are for marketing/promotional materials. However, if a friend or family member is in a position to help market, or is willing to help with the marketing, feel free to give them a marketing copy. Family, Friends and Associates. The first thing we recommend you do is organize your list of friends, family, church and business associates and contacts in organizations that you are a member. We have found that most of the people we know want to help and are great in spreading the word. We suggest that you ask some of your supportive friends and family to go into bookstores and order your book. If you are uncomfortable imposing on some friendships, try giving them a book and asking them to please spread the word if they like it. Giving them the book with flyer and promotional material folded inside makes the process easy and not abusive. E-mail friends and ask them to forward information to all of their friends and family. Teacher and library friends are also helpful at spreading the word in that community. Online Presence. In this day and age, websites and social media are a necessity in marketing both you and your books. If you don’t already have an author website, please set one up at least 4-6 months before your book’s publication date so that we can print the URL in the book alongside your author bio. Even if your website is still under construction, we need to confirm that you have something up and running before books go to print. You should have a blog (either as part of your website or on another platform) where you can promote your book and any author events. You should also be on a variety of social media platforms. Introduce Yourself to the Community: Look at your local area—25-50 miles around your home and anywhere else you regularly visit—and lay out a plan to pitch your book, yourself and Arbordale to as many of customer groups as you can. You should start planning your pitches now, and then start going out to stores, libraries, schools, etc. as soon as you get your advance review copy (ARC). ARCs arrive about 6-8 weeks before the main shipment of books. Keep a promotional kit in your car at all times so that you are ready. We will provide contact information that we have in your area but you can also search your area to identify all the book stores and gift shops. Before visiting, check websites to eliminate stores that do not carry children’s books (and save yourself the trip). Government websites list libraries and schools—it can be very quick and easy! We know that it can be frightening to walk into a store to pitch yourself and the book. You can be low-key, introduce yourself and say that you just want to let them see the book. Then if they seem interested, you can then leave a catalog or card with Arbordale’s contact information and purchasing information. It’s important to let the book sell itself—not to “hard sell” the information. It may be to your advantage to make it clear that your book is being published by Arbordale; that will distinguish you from the crowd of self-published authors. You can suggest they contact us if they like the book and would like to purchase and/or arrange a book signing. Some bookstores are inundated by self-published authors and may only want to talk directly with the publisher. Simply get the contact’s name, phone number, and e-mail for us and we’ll follow up! If you have a teacher store in your area, give the owner/manager a copy of your book with information about your school visits.