DIARY OF A FIRST NOVELIST: Don't sell it; give it away

In the not so distant past, authors were expected to do two things: 1) lie on the grass in the shade, and stare up at the sky with their hands behind their heads while they dreamed up stories. And 2) go into their  garrets and shape those waking dreams into something that might illuminate or entertain others. If their stories could somehow manage to do both, the writer might even be said to have created “literature.”

The messy business of actually selling the product of those dreams was taken care of by agents and publicists--and well salespeople. Meanwhile, the happy, oblivious author sipped absinthe in a cafe (preferably in Paris) or went back to his or her spot under the tree to work on the next masterpiece.

That was  was not the world I entered as a debut novelist in 2007. I soon learned that if an author isn’t willing--or has no clue how to--get out  there and promote her own book, it will most likely die a silent, ignominious death, whisked off the shelves in three short months.

The worst part? No one tells you that much of your book promotion is going to be up to you, and once you figure it out, you’re likely to be way behind. The second to the worst part? Once the proud new author  decides to get out and hustle her little heart out, she may have no idea how. In fact, with the world of publishing changing by the day, there is no tried and true formula. Most of us find ourselves making it up as we go along.

As someone who couldn’t sell Avon products to her own mother when I tried, I considered myself  hopeless  at marketing. Me--go out there and push my book forward like a vaccuum cleaner salesman at the door, or a girl looking for a date to the prom? The thought alone was enough to bring on late night panic attacks.

But I soon learned that telling people about something you believe in--whether it’s a book or a cause or just yourself--is not the same as shilling soap powder or make-up. When you come right down to it, effective marketing  is much like telling a story. Every time an author goes out to a reading or do an interview, or even when we come up with an innovative marketing idea, we are simply doing a variation of what we do at our computers: we are trying to convey with the greatest clarity, and in the most entertaining way possible, the truth about our book and ourselves, about the characters we’ve created, and the truths we’ve learned through knowing them.

In other words, the emphasis is not on selling; it’s on giving. And giving is what art of any kind is all about.

On April 21st, from 1-3 p.m. I will be speaking,  answering questions (and asking some, too!) at Cornerstone Books in Salem, MA.

I would love to give a copy of my book to the first two people who introduce themselves as  Gather members.

Patry Francis, Books Correspondent:

Patry's column, Diary of a First Novelist, published every Thursday to Gather Essentials: Books. It will detail all she knows--and is in the process of learning--about writing and publishing.  

To learn more about Patry and her debut novel, The Liar's Diary, visit her Website.

 

You can find all of Patry's articles, Diary of a First Novelist, at www.gather.com/patryfrancis

Keep up with Patry’s other postings and Gather activity by joining her Gather network -- just click here and select the orange “Connect” button on the left-hand side of the page

 
You’ll find Patry and other Book Correspondents, plus celebrity author content and plenty of other bibliophiles at Books.gather.com
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