Just had a book published - how to promote??

you could donate a tiny percentage of sales to your fave charity and drop subtle hints to that charity who might have a twitter or facebook account. Likewise then, you could blow your own trumpet to the likes of radio sheff?

well done you

I've self-published using CreateSpace and KDP, and my intention is to try to get copies of the book into local shops - I'd try Porter, Rare and Racy, and eventually Waterstone's.

I am still trying to get a regular publisher, but that takes time, effort and energy away from actually writing.

What's your book? I've written a historical fiction novel as well, so I'm interested in the field and how you got published.

Hi De Batz,

It would appear we have used the same route to get published. I used KDP and CreateSpace to produce an ebook and a paperback, both available on Amazon. It seemed at the time to be a long winded process and sometimes felt more difficult than writing it but it was worth the trouble. I tried several literary agents but I either got a rejection or they have taken so long to reply I have given up on that route.

The story began as a Victorian romance but has ended up being much more than that as my characters developed. It's threaded with plots and intrigue and I've tried to include twists and turns, and particularly an unexpected end. I'm presently working on a sequel.

The research I did was very interesting and helped me to portray life in those times, particularly the class prejudices and rural celebrations eg. Mayday and Christmas. The book is called 'The Belle Fields.' What's your book called? Is it still available on Amazon and CreateSpace, I'll look it up if it is.

---------- Post added 28-06-2015 at 20:39 ----------

you could donate a tiny percentage of sales to your fave charity and drop subtle hints to that charity who might have a twitter or facebook account. Likewise then, you could blow your own trumpet to the likes of radio sheff?

 

well done you

Thanks for that - what a good idea - might give it a try although I might find it a bit embarassing? I do support NSPCC and The Poppy Appeal Lottery on a monthly basis so in a way these brill charities are getting some of my hard earned (although very little) royalties by default anyway. Worth some thought though - thanks:)

Before we go any further, I'd like to warn others against entering the search terms 'Victorian Historical Fiction' into Amazon's search field. I tried this to find Beady's book, and it returned some quite unsubtly named 'bodice ripper'-type works of dubious repute.

So now I know, and I can look it up with a bit more confidence! Anyway, mine is/are called This Matter of Faith and Heaven's Avenging Angels, and my real name is Andrew Richardson.

I've also tried to get some traction on Goodreads but that hasn't got me anywhere. They suggest giving your book away as a means to get reviews, but they literally mean posting a copy of it to someone who enters a prize draw. I'm not quite in the position to be liberally giving the printed books away.

Other possibilities: join the Historical Novel Society ($50 a year), although it seems that most of the other members are authors rather than readers! Get short stuff published in journals or short-story writing competitions...

The thing I found that seemed to generate some interest was the free promotion - I got 275 downloads in 3 days - although that obviously doesn't make you any money.

Overall, it looks like agents and publishers still realistically hold the key to national distribution and the chance of making a living out of your writing, but that your commitment and willingness to self-promote can make a difference to their level of interest in you.

---------- Post added 28-06-2015 at 20:51 ----------

Interesting...

One of my characters uses your Shakespeare quotation to talk about her feelings. Although with mine being set in the 1540s, I'm claiming that she thought of the lines herself.

---------- Post added 28-06-2015 at 20:55 ----------

You could also have a go at fiddling with your author page on Amazon. Mine is crude at best, but it's on my list of stuff to mess about with.

I've also got a website going: www.thismatteroffaith.net

which does attract some traffic but again isn't going to change my life yet. I've taken a bit of advice on how to design it, but I'm still learning how to sell myself!

Thank you De Batz for your input. I had no idea my book would be classed amongst the type of fiction that the search turned up. Why historical Victorian fiction should unleash such stuff is quite amazing.

I have spent some time putting other keywords in Amazon's search window to find out what sort of books come up and have changed my keywords accordingly. My book 'The Belle Fields' now sits within a group of similar types of literature (I hope). A very salient point to remember for other writers?

Having noted your books and author name I will take a look. Can 'The matter of faith' and 'Heaven's avenging angels' be read as stand alone books or do you have to read the first to get the best out of the second?

My author name, by the way, is a 'pen-name'. I used my children's names and as an added quirk some of my characters have names (and personalities) derived from our family pets.

Mine are very much consecutive. I originally wrote them as one book, but the various constraints of physical book publishing and what agents and publishers ask for meant that I separated them into two. There are two distinct stories, but the second definitely follows the first. There will be more, eventually, but since it took me five years to get to this point it won't be next week.

On the point of how to place your book, I found it quite useful setting up the website and messing about with search terms on Google. You can sometimes get yourself quite high, but generally get buried beneath more established stuff. Just the same as on Amazon, as it happens... What I'm doing at the moment is trying out literary agents, but with the 'sell' being that I've already got them to the point of self-publishing, and the 'ask' being for them to finesse the presentation and get it placed in shops. A bit of a long shot, I grant you, but no longer than sending it to publishers.

I've just spent a couple of years preparing and writing a historical fiction novel. It's been published via Amazon and has sold reasonably well so far - got some positive feedback from friends and family who have read it so I'm quite happy that it's being enjoyed.

 

Has anyone on here been lucky to get this far? (It seemed difficult at some stages 'cos of other commitments) I'm presently busy (when time permits) writing a sequel and enjoy doing it but I'd love to promote my first so as many folks as possible can read it and hopefully enjoy it.

Well done! It takes a lot of hard work to write a book.

I've had a few published, and have worked in publishing most of my life, so know the effort and dedication it takes to get as far as you have.

Anyone any ideas how I can best promote my book? I'm trying the obvious (word of mouth, posters in strategic spots, facebook etc etc) but would welcome any other suggestions. Thanks in advance.

There's a really good thread at AbsoluteWrite.com about how best to promote self-published books. Go to the discussion forums there, then look for the "publishing" section, then go to the "book promotion" room. It's stickied right at the top and is called something like, "how to promote your book like a human being and not an SEO dweeb". It's very good. The first post in the thread is excellent.

What I'm doing at the moment is trying out literary agents, but with the 'sell' being that I've already got them to the point of self-publishing, and the 'ask' being for them to finesse the presentation and get it placed in shops. A bit of a long shot, I grant you, but no longer than sending it to publishers.

Literary agents don't help writers with the presentation of their self-published works, and they can't help them get their books into shops.

Agents sell books to publishers; publishers put the book together and produce the final version, and then get them into shops etc. via the distributors they have contracts with. Those distributors won't usually work with self published books, so to access their services you need a good trade publisher.

Now, to get a really good publisher you almost certainly need an agent, so you are moving in the right direction: but it's the publisher who does the things you're asking agents to do for you.

The problem is that most agents and publishers will not consider books which have already been self published. So you have a strike against you there, I'm afraid.

If your books have sold well (and by "well" I mean in the tens of thousands) then you are going to be better placed to find a trade publisher to take your book on. But if your sales are low then you're going to struggle. Better, perhaps, to work on promoting your work effectively and making sales that way. Very few self publishers get their books into more than a few bookshops; you should perhaps focus on your online sales for now.

I'm sorry to be discouraging, but I thought it best to tell you this than to leave you to flounder, and to waste your time.

Thanks for the reply and the detailed advice. It's helpful to have someone 'in the know' to guide us!

It's a bit of a shame for us, though, that the content of what you say seems to boil down to: 'publishing is a (mostly) closed shop; at every level, with agents, publishers and distribution, what's at stake is a bottom line.'

The response I've had from agents (and publishers) so far with the two books that I've ended up self-publishing is that there's nothing wrong with them as stories or with the writing, but that no one thinks they can sell any:

"Many thanks for this. I'm Andrew's fiction agent. This is nicely

written, and I enjoyed reading it, but I'm afraid I don't think it's

quite commercial enough for my list, in this very difficult market at

present. Sorry to disappoint, good luck with it."

Thanks for the thing about agents not taking any action over the content of the work; it's also helpful to know that self-publishing is deleterious for your chances of getting published through the normal channels. And thanks for the pointer to absolutewrite - something to get our collective teeth into!

Andy

Thanks for the reply and the detailed advice. It's helpful to have someone 'in the know' to guide us!

I used to be here much more often, but I became weary of some of the more argumentative members. If everyone is as nice as you I might spend more time here again!

It's a bit of a shame for us, though, that the content of what you say seems to boil down to: 'publishing is a (mostly) closed shop; at every level, with agents, publishers and distribution, what's at stake is a bottom line.'

Trade publishing is not a closed shop.

New writers get taken on every day. Look up Benjamin Johncock and Joanna Cannon. Both debut novelists whose forthcoming books are going to be huge. And lovely people, too.

All you need to do is to write a really good book, which has strong commercial potential, and then submit it appropriately to the right people.

I know it's not easy to write that brilliant book: but it is relatively easy to find out how to submit it, and where to. You have to research publishing. AbsoluteWrite is a very good place to start.

The response I've had from agents (and publishers) so far with the two books that I've ended up self-publishing is that there's nothing wrong with them as stories or with the writing, but that no one thinks they can sell any:

 

"Many thanks for this. I'm Andrew's fiction agent. This is nicely written, and I enjoyed reading it, but I'm afraid I don't think it's quite commercial enough for my list, in this very difficult market at present. Sorry to disappoint, good luck with it."

That's almost certainly a form rejection, I'm afraid. Most publishers and agents send that sort of response out because they've learned that if they get more specific they are likely to get abusive letters in reply. You would be astonished at some of the responses I've had, from what I hoped were encouraging rejections.

Thanks for the thing about agents not taking any action over the content of the work;

That's not what I said.

Most agents DO edit their author-clients' works, and will advise their author-clients on what to write next, how to improve their books, and so on. But they don't do the things the previous poster was asking for.

it's also helpful to know that self-publishing is deleterious for your chances of getting published through the normal channels. And thanks for the pointer to absolutewrite - something to get our collective teeth into!

Self publishing is a great way to get your work out there, so long as you take the time (and, sadly, the money) to make it as good as you can get it. It's not going to have a negative effect on your efforts to find a good trade publisher for subsequent books. What you can't do is self publish a book and then expect to get a trade publisher to take it on. That doesn't happen often, and isn't the best way to proceed.

I understand that it is possible to get an 'in', just that it isn't easy and is often the result of a sustained campaign of a particular sort. My writing 'career' so far has consisted of writing, and trying to learn to be a better writer, and it's hard to then be faced with the prospect of having to do the same thing with promotion, whether to the industry or to readers. I'm working on it, slowly and without great success so far, but your input (and the links) is valuable in this process.

But I'm not sure I agree with this:

"All you need to do is to write a really good book, which has strong commercial potential, and then submit it appropriately to the right people."

It's obviously risky as someone who has been rejected by both agents and publishers to comment on it, because it can (does?) sound like sour grapes. But it does make it sound as though if it's good enough and if it has commercial potential, it will get noticed. That's a stretch; plenty of publishers reject works that go on to mega-success, so it's no leap of logic to say further that some works (of similar potential mega-success) must get rejected by all publishers.

That's not to say that I think These Matters is a guaranteed critical and commercial success if it gets going. It isn't, and there are a number of reasons for that. I begin to suspect that if I could generate a money-making career in writing it won't be for my historical fiction, although that knowledge in itself won't stop me writing (either These Matters or my other, currently more putative, stuff).

Just to be clear: I don't want to be argumentative for the sake of it, and you are obviously better-informed on the subject than I am. I am digesting your advice and trying to form a plan to act on it.

I understand that it is possible to get an 'in', just that it isn't easy and is often the result of a sustained campaign of a particular sort.

Most new writers are picked out from the slush pile. The only campaign required is to write that great book, revise the pants off it, and then query it appropriately, as I've said before.

You don't need to promote yourself in any way to do this. Just write the book. Query it. Send it out. It works--if you do it right, if your book is good enough, and if you are tenacious enough. Because it's not unusual for writers to query tens of agents, even hundreds, before they find the right one for them.

My writing 'career' so far has consisted of writing, and trying to learn to be a better writer, and it's hard to then be faced with the prospect of having to do the same thing with promotion, whether to the industry or to readers.

You don't have to promote yourself or your books. You definitely don't have to do it in order to find a publisher.

I know this advice flies in the face of so much of what is said online, but it's true.

I've signed writers who were, for various reasons, unable to promote themselves or their books. So long as the publisher knew this prior to signing it was never a problem. And if you think about it, it has to be true: if it's not, how do writers who live in the UK promote their books in the US, or in Poland or Brazil or Austria? I've sold foreign rights to all those countries and a lot more besides and the books in translation did well. Even though most of their authors never once set foot in those countries, were never interviewed there, or blogged.

If you're still not convinced, consider Steig Larsson (whose name is probably not spelled that way!), author of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, who died prior to the book's publication. He obviously couldn't promote the book, or its sequels, but they've all sold very well indeed.

Having said all of that, it does help if you're able to maintain a professional, friendly website and perhaps blog; and if you're willing to engage with your readers there. But there is no compulsion to do it. And promoting yourself before you've got an agent or publisher? There's little point. You have nothing yet to sell, and it won't make a scrap of difference to an agent or publisher when they consider your book. The book is the thing.

I'm working on it, slowly and without great success so far, but your input (and the links) is valuable in this process.

Thank you! I hope it helps.

But I'm not sure I agree with this:

 

"All you need to do is to write a really good book, which has strong commercial potential, and then submit it appropriately to the right people."

It's obviously risky as someone who has been rejected by both agents and publishers to comment on it, because it can (does?) sound like sour grapes. But it does make it sound as though if it's good enough and if it has commercial potential, it will get noticed. That's a stretch; plenty of publishers reject works that go on to mega-success, so it's no leap of logic to say further that some works (of similar potential mega-success) must get rejected by all publishers.

Plenty of publishers DO reject works that go on to mega-success. I know: I've sometimes been the editor who rejected those books! But I've always had good reason to: if someone sent me a novel, for example, when I worked for a non-fiction list; if someone sent me a book I couldn't publish in a timely manner (we only have so many slots a year, and a book on a time-sensitive subject can't always be squeezed in); or if I was sent a book which was too similar to one we already had signed up.

However. If I am sent a book I think has "prizewinner" written all over it I will refer the author to someone I think could do well with it; and I will suggest better courses of action if I see a great writer making foolish mistakes.

You're right that there are always going to be great books which fall through the cracks. It's unfortunate, but it's how things work and I haven't ever been able to think of a way to avoid that. But what happens with those books is that their authors will either carry on writing or they won't; and if they do, they'll eventually find representation, and will go on to publish, and their earlier works then have a very good chance of publication.

That's not to say that I think These Matters is a guaranteed critical and commercial success if it gets going. It isn't, and there are a number of reasons for that. I begin to suspect that if I could generate a money-making career in writing it won't be for my historical fiction, although that knowledge in itself won't stop me writing (either These Matters or my other, currently more putative, stuff).

 

Just to be clear: I don't want to be argumentative for the sake of it, and you are obviously better-informed on the subject than I am. I am digesting your advice and trying to form a plan to act on it.

You're not being argumentative at all, you're being thoughtful. That's good.

I hope you find your path through publication, and that your books do well. It's lovely to see people succeed.

great exchanges of thoughts and ideas, I am joining so I can follow …. thanks to all