Instead of Promotion, Try Participation
By Greer Macallister | March 2, 2020 |
image by Georgali/Kappa/Regoukou
It’s no secret that regardless of how you publish, a huge part of publicizing and marketing a book now falls on the author’s shoulders. The downside is, of course, that there are already so many demands on our time, it feels like we just don’t have a minute to spare. But there’s an upside too. Being able to connect directly with readers through social channels and other means gives you an exciting, sometimes inspiring, degree of control. When someone else is making and executing on decisions about how your book gets promoted, you’re distanced. In the best scenarios, you and your publisher are both investing in getting your book into the hands of readers. That is truly the best! But regardless of your publisher’s level of engagement and/or investment, you still have the power — and the opportunity — to connect with potential readers yourself.
But it’s exhausting, right? Telling people about your book in short form and long form or with links or without, promoting and describing that book, writing essays about yourself and your book and trying to get them published, organizing giveaways, holding Facebook launch parties, Tweeting and Instagramming about yourself and your book over and over? It can feel like screaming into the void.
So if you don’t want to do that, don’t do that. Problem solved!
For the paperback launch of my novel WOMAN 99, I’m doing some local events, but most of the time I’d usually spend on promotion is going to another project. It’s only tangentially related to my own book, and it may or may not have any impact on sales, but it makes me happy, and that’s a pretty good goal too.
For Women’s History Month the last two years running, I interviewed women writers on my blog with the hashtag #womenshistoryreads. I’m not even sure how many interviews I ended up with, but it was well north of 75, and it took a whooooole lot of my time those Marches. Three questions and an answer for each post. Invitations and followups and editing, oh sigh. (There was, thank goodness, a spreadsheet.) This year I decided to do something simpler and just ask authors I knew for one book recommendation each — one book by and/or about a woman — for a series tagged #read99women.
Spoiler alert: it still takes a huge amount of my time. (Headshots! Bios! Intros! Links! Another spreadsheet!) But since I’m just about officially done with my next novel THE ARCTIC FURY and have no other writing projects on the immediate horizon, it’s time that I actually have, for a change.
And it’s been great. Not only am I reaching out to authors I know across genres (not just historical fiction and nonfiction), I’m making connections with new authors I didn’t know before. I’m seeing reminders of books I loved and recommendations for books I’ve never heard of, old and new. It reminds me what a supportive and wonderful community fellow writers can be.
Participation. Not promotion.
And yet, if I look at it with a cynical marketer’s eye, it’s doing most of the things I want promotion to do. Bringing new people to my website every day. Putting and keeping my name out there. Reinforcing my existing connections within the writing community (I hate to say network, but yes, it’s also my network) and forging new ones. Giving me a reason to tweet and Facebook and ‘gram every single day, and engage with readers who respond.
It probably has no immediate effect on sales — I don’t have a way of tracking that — but then again, neither does most promotion, right?
Q: Are there any ways you engage in participation instead of promotion?
Raised in the Midwest, Greer Macallister earned her MFA in creative writing from American University. Her historical novels have been named Book of the Month, Indie Next, LibraryReads, Target Book Club, and Amazon Best Book of the Month picks and optioned for film and television. Her latest novel, The Thirteenth Husband, is inspired by Aimee Crocker, the Paris Hilton of the Gilded Age. Macallister also writes the ongoing Five Queendoms epic fantasy series as G.R. Macallister. A regular contributor to Writer Unboxed and the Chicago Review of Books, she lives with her family in Boston, MA. www.greermacallister.com
Thank you, Greer! This is the exact topic on my mind nowadays. The pressure to keep shouting, “Look at me! No, not at that other book—look at mine!” It makes me deeply, deeply uncomfortable, yet it’s unavoidable, especially for a debut author like me. I keep thinking there must be a way to bridge the seeming contradiction between self-promotion and community-participation—which is, I think, a reflection of living in a culture that values competition more than cooperation, excelling as an individual more than contributing to the tribe. You’ve given us a valuable clue about how to do that. Thank you for your grace and generosity.
Love your take on this, Barbara! Especially for debut authors, it’s a challenge. Maybe THE challenge. But the more arrows you have in your quiver, the better, so I’m glad you’ve added this one!
Greer – this is a brilliant idea. I love when I see something different in the marketing communications mix. And I love this line, “But regardless of your publisher’s level of engagement and/or investment, you still have the power — and the opportunity — to connect with potential readers yourself.”
Glad it resonates with you, Ann-Marie!
I’m curious about what level of “subscribers” you feel you need to your website and/or newsletters before writers such as the ones you’re interviewing would be interested in being featured by you. I have so few people on my mailing list (despite a year of actively soliciting sign-ups) that I feel I wouldn’t be offering the guests much of anything, but perhaps I’m looking at it wrong.
It’s a good question, Maggie. My blog isn’t exactly Grand Central most of the time, but no one has ever asked me to produce stats before they make their decision on whether to participate. Some say yes, some say no, and I don’t ask for reasons. If you’re not sure what the response will be, I would definitely start small and see what happens before undertaking a big project!
A breath of fresh air this morning. Thanks.
Your post is a breath of fresh air this morning. Thanks.
The modern approach to publicity. It’s what Dan Blank espouses in his book “Be the Gateway”.
It goes to the idea that it isn’t plot that consumers care to hear about, it’s getting an impression of the author. Bad boys, feuding women and mysterious recluses may get attention, but the best publicity is a good reputation.
It’s almost as good as a good story. Plus, pushing a book is not the only reason to be alive. Doing a little good in the world is important too.
Thanks for your post, Greer. It makes me more eager to read Woman 99. That, and because The Magician’s Lie was such a good read.
Seconded.
Dan Blank’s book is on my desk.
Thanks to you both! I’ll have to take a look at Dan Blank’s book — sounds like he may have other suggestions that dovetail with what I’m already doing, and I can always use more ideas.
Thank you Greer.
I was a first reader for an anthology, and that was fun.
An indie author who was legally blind asked for help when his house was about to be condemned, I made some phone calls in support (along with several people). That and a gofundme campaign had a direct benefit because he was able to stay in his house through the winter months.
Awesome!
Wow, this was so fun to read—because I’m doing exactly the same thing on my blog. Since last fall, I’ve been posting an interview with another #coastalfiction author about once a month. Yes it takes time, but about the same amount as writing a post from scratch… and it forces me to look at the world through another author’s eyes. Also as Barbara pointed out earlier, it’s a lot more fun than shouting READ MY BOOK WHEN IT COMES OUT IN JUNE over and over again. Thanks for sharing another version of the same basic idea!
Yes! With the same time investment, I’d rather talk about someone else, at least part of the time. Love your series idea.
‘Instead of promotion try participation’. I’ve never heard it put that way before, Greer. But a good shift in focus.
As a participating reader, I celebrate the great reads I’ve found by reviewing them on my blog.
I don’t have a book to promote, but as a participating writer I share my short stories on my blog.
I clicked on the link for The Arctic Fury. The cover looks good and it says it’s a nail-biter, but nothing else. It’s like linking to a teaser. I’ll search around for more info because I bet I’d like to read it.
Hi Augustina! Glad you’re interested! I linked it to Goodreads so people could add it to their to-read shelf if they’re interested, but my publisher hasn’t added a summary to that page yet since publication’s more than 6 months away. If it helps, there’s a brief summary here: https://www.greermacallister.com/blog/2020/2/19/the-arctic-fury-cover-is-here