Get Those Running Shoes on -- Why New Authors Need to Do Their Own Book Promotions

A while ago, a new writer asked me if I do my own promotion. It's a valid question but one that most new writers don't know to ask. The answer is "yes."

One of the things most new writers don't realize is how much promotion you have to do. If you're a newbie who has been picked up by a NY publisher, you can bet you're probably not going to get a lot of promotion behind you. If you do, you should 1. count yourself very lucky and 2. be very, very nervous.

I'll explain myself. Publishers really don't spend a lot of money promoting newbie and midlist authors. The publishing models out there are based on a rate of return within a very short time. They know, for example, that George R.R. Martin or Stephen King will bring in X amount of sales and thus know that if they publicize Stephen King's's or JK Rowling's latest book, they're going to make X profit from it.

Now, let's take John Q Author who never has gotten published and doesn't have a fan base. Assuming that the publisher is willing to risk buying John Q Author's book and foot the bill to do a print run of 4-5K, the chances of them putting any money into it after getting it distributed is pretty slim. Why? Because they put their marketing money into books like the Eddings, Kings, and Jordans that they know will sell because they've got a fan base. If they were to put (let's say) a million dollars into John Q Author's book, you're likely to say "who in the hell is that?" And what if John Q's book is a flop? That's a million lost as opposed to the $35-$50K the publisher has spent to put the book out there.

Occasionally, you'll find a publisher promoting a newbie writer's book. One author I know, who shall remain nameless, had a (multi) book deal with a major publisher. The publisher was pitching the hell out of the first book, going so far as to hand this person's books out for free. I got one. The reason was pretty obvious to me. They figured the idea was something that would build up a fan base quickly enough to where the Author could become a bestselling author by the second book. At least that's what the publisher was looking to do.

I held my tongue because I knew the author had been put in a precarious situation. I'm not sure they realized what was being expected of them. Namely that they had to produce bestselling numbers for the publisher to continue with them. If the numbers didn't match the expectations, the author would be dropped like a hot potato and probably have to change their name if they wanted to get published again. Sad but true. It happens more often than you think.

Anyway, I've always tried to promote my own books. Writing articles for magazines, doing radio and magazine and newspaper interviews, and offering freebies, not to mention going to cons and other conventions on my own dime. I don't expect for publishers to line up booksignings or interviews -- I do that myself. When my publishers do some promotion, I am grateful.

My current publishers do promote me. A lot goes on behind the scenes but occasionally they pop out and surprise me. I'll see reviews in appropriate magazines and occasionally be asked onto radio shows I know I didn't have a hand in. So, I know I'm being promoted and I'm darn glad for that. Of course, I occasionally get out there all by myself. Writing an article for Prevention Magazine and appearing in USA Today Weekend Edition as an expert sure did help. I did see a sales bump which is always nice.

So, my advice to those thinking of being published authors: get on your running shoes! You're going to have to promote your book.

Lastly, I wanted to add that publishers and agents look for authors who can bring something to the table, like the willingness to promote their own books. Unless you're a big name already, having you develop your own name recognition among readers is vitally important.