There is a great post on advances, royalties and marketing at 9577. If you are a new or aspiring author seriously seeking publication I recommend you read it, study it and tuck it away for future reference. I do have two quibbles with his post.
Firstly, despite what he says about the difficulty of finding out details on advances, etc. this one is easily solved. Join a professional writers group like Romance Writers of America (RWA) and Writers Guild. A few years back RWA hired an attorney experienced with literary contracts. He wrote a series of articles about what to look out for when negotiating a contract, including as it relates to money. Also RWA has for last two years at least done a regular anonymous survey of members who willingly share what advances they recently negotiated. Authors Guild has detailed advice on contract clauses, including what advances and royalty rates are acceptable and when you're being unnecessarily low-balled. But this information is for members. One of many great reasons to invest in membership dues.
Secondly, while marketing your own book is largely in your hands I have to disagree that sales are as well. So many factors can derail even the well-planned and executed marketing efforts. A lot of important things like distribution, etc. is not in the author's hands. Yet those things affect sales. Publisher support is a huge key ingredient. By that I mean the publisher's sales force working with accounts who place orders for your book, sending out those expensive ARCs to major review sites and publications, etc. I won't go into it all, but affecting sales can be complicated. I haven't even mentioned the cover- you got it. Most authors don't control the cover art, though you may give input.
And yet... a writer can have some affect by networking to get the word out. Although some writers actually do nothing, I wouldn't recommend this for writers of commercial fiction. The reality is one way to get publisher support (that helps on a national level) is to show them you're building a community through your own (modest) efforts. Which is why I love the web. Want to promote on a budget and yet have a reach? Let me count the ways: your own blog/website, guest blogging, social networks, genre specific websites that offer cheap/free exposure. You get the picture.
That's my .02
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5 comments:
Amen to distribution playing a major role in the success of a book, Lynn. I have yet to see my latest book on store shelves outside of locations where I was doing signings (although I believe that these stores, some of the leading retailers for A-A fiction in Greater Chicago, would have carried it anyway). There is not a particularly large concentration of blacks where I live, but there is a reasonable number shopping in the stores, and many titles are available . . . just not mine.
As I stop in at the various bookstores in the area and don't see my book, I usually don't even bother to mention it to the manager anymore because, frankly, I'm tired.
Speaking of money, sometimes I'm amazed that I've made any at all. From where I sit, the odds aren't in my favor.
Thanks for a great post.
Interesting. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for dropping by, Bettye. Distribution is a biggie. So is how the sales force handles orders in 8-9 months before the release date. Also sometimes publishers could give a PR/marketing boost by piggy-backing onto author efforts and don't for one reason or another. And it's not always cost either because sometimes it wouldn't be that expensive. What kills me is poor sales are almost always seen as purely the author's fault. Sometimes a great book can overcome the obstacles. More often than not gems gather dust and it's not because the author didn't write a good book.
Thanks, Michelle. Glad you stopped by.
Thanks for the advice. :-)
Hi Lynn:
Excellent post!!
It didn't take long for me to discover that the ONLY thing I have control over is the story I write.
Thanks so much for sharing.
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