Author Tips for Success: Beyond the Book Launch

Good surprise, bad surprise.

Last week was the good kind. My husband brought me the Sunday magazine from our local newspaper—we subscribe to the online edition, so a hard copy is a rare thing around here. I assumed there must be something in it he wanted me to see, so I began turning pages. Lo and behold, three pages of the magazine were devoted to an article featuring and reviewing two e-book anthologies I’d co-edited with author David Marusek.

If either of the books had been newly released, I would have been pleased—of course—but not surprised. But one title came out half a year ago and the other a year and a half ago. The reviewer spoke highly of both editions as well as our authors’ co-op, Running Fox Books.

As a result, we’ve seen an uptick in downloads. More significantly, Tip Jar donations rolled in, thanks to the journalist pointing out the Tip Jar feature as part of his write-up.

The bad surprise isn’t news to anyone who’s been publishing for any length of time. After the launch, sales on most books taper off. There are exceptions, of course—audiences that grow over time—but upheavals in the publishing industry still haven’t changed the fact that the market tends to be launch-centric.

However, that nice newspaper coverage long after launch proves that there are ways for fresh energy to flow toward a book long after its release. Here, four ways that can happen:

·         Special sales at events that feature a topic related to your book: As a reporter for the IBPA Independent, I’ve come across lots of proof that special sales to target markets can increase a book’s sales substantially over time. For this reason, I’m looking forward to an onstage conversation at our local museum Oct. 4. The topic is the future of fiction, and the bookstore will be featuring fictions by all four participants.

·         Teach from your book: This old trick of college professors—write a book and then make it required reading for the course you teach—has applications outside academia. This weekend, I’m teaching a workshop, Jumpstart Your Writing, for our local writing center. As part of the course fee, students will receive a copy of Write Your Best Book, one of two books I’ve written on writing and publishing.

·         Media coverage: The article on the Alaska Sampler series in our local paper is but one example of how media coverage can boost interest in your books. Send press releases for your books, and make sure they’re tied to items of interest to the media. Don’t be surprised if it takes awhile to see results, as was the case with our Sampler coverage.

·         Book Clubs: Because book clubs generally make their selections a full year in advance, it may take some time before they begin picking up your title for discussion. Book clubs also rely heavily on word of mouth, so the post-launch potential for interest may extend for years after launch. In early October, I’ll be Skyping with a library book club that’s featuring my novel that came out more than a year ago.

Co-founder of 49 Writers and founder of the independent authors cooperative Running Fox Books, Deb Vanasse has authored sixteen books. Her most recent are Write Your Best Book, a practical guide to writing books that rise above the rest; What Every Author Should Know, a comprehensive guide to book publishing and promotion; and Cold Spell, a novel that “captures the harsh beauty of the terrain as well as the strain of self-doubt and complicated family bonds,” according to Booklist. Deb lives and works on Hiland Mountain outside of Anchorage, Alaska, and at a cabin near the Matanuska Glacier. A regular contributor to the IBPA Independent, her views here are her own.

Jumpstart Your Writing

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You love to write. Why, then, can it be so hard to get started—or to finish a project that you began with enthusiasm?

An abundance of metaphors prove that this affliction is nearly universal among writers. Your muse needs to visit. Your creative well needs filling. Your batteries need recharging.

Whenever I teach a writing workshop, I find a good number of the participants are in exactly this place with their projects. They’re excited about an idea. Maybe they’ve started drafting, or they’ve finished a draft. But somewhere along the way, they’ve lost momentum. They want to finish, and finish well—if only they could see their way through.

The good news: It’s not all that tough to jumpstart your writing. Here, a few ways to get yourself going:

·         Rediscover what you love about your work: Read through the last five pages you wrote. Don’t make any changes. Instead, bracket the three parts you like best—words, sentences, or sections. Copy one of those best parts onto a clean page and use it as springboard for ten minutes of freewriting. Don’t worry about where it’s going. Just write.

·         Shamelessly imitate: Choose a passage you love from a writer you admire. With pen in hand, unlock its secrets. In the margins, make notes about how it works. Then, using a topic or scene of your own, write a passage that consciously imitates it. Will your effort fall short? Of course. But even the masters are approachable.

·         Read a writer on writing: Read (or reread) what one of your favorite writers has to say about writing. The Paris Review interviews, available online, are a great source. Take comfort in the struggles you share—and the fact that these can be overcome.

·         Talk writing with writers: Meet with your writers group. Attend a reading, a conference, a workshop.

On this last point, I’m prepping to teach a six-hour workshop for writers like you: Jumpstart Your Writing, from 9 am to 4 pm (with an hour lunch break) on Saturday, September 26. Through guided exercises and discussion, we’ll generate ideas, amplify words on the page, and write past stuck points. We’ll explore the writer’s mind, the writing process, and narrative essentials like character, setting, and pacing. We’ll examine and refine our writing processes while exploring techniques to mine and enrich the material from which we write.

Included in the workshop fee is a copy of Write Your Best Book. But you don’t have to be working on a book—our focus will be on re-energizing all types of writing. So whether you’re a novelist, an essayist, a memoirist, a poet, or a dabbler in writing of all types, we’d love to have you join in. You’ll leave with your batteries charged, your well filling up, your muse on your shoulder. Registration is required, so sign up today.

PS: “Jumpstart Your Writing” will be the last workshop I teach in the Anchorage area, at least for the foreseeable future. After 36 years in Alaska, I’ll be leaving in mid-October. More on the Big Move in next month’s post!  

Co-founder of 49 Writers and founder of the independent authors cooperative Running Fox Books, Deb Vanasse has authored sixteen books. Her most recent are Write Your Best Book, a practical guide to writing books that rise above the rest; What Every Author Should Know, a comprehensive guide to book publishing and promotion; and Cold Spell, a novel that “captures the harsh beauty of the terrain as well as the strain of self-doubt and complicated family bonds,” according to Booklist. Deb lives and works on Hiland Mountain outside of Anchorage, Alaska, and at a cabin near the Matanuska Glacier.