Thursday, December 27, 2007

Legs to Walk

I recently received an email from an author explaining something that every small publisher wishes every one of their authors understood. This author’s book just came out and we’ve been working closely with him on ways that he can promote the book, set up events, get local media interested in writing about the book, etc.

He said that at this point in the publishing process, he’s conceived and birthed the baby (the book) and now it’s time to give it legs to walk. He gets it. Too many authors think that because they’ve spent years researching and writing their book, once the manuscript is complete and off to the publisher, their job is done. It’s not. Authors who think this are sending their babies out into the world without legs and the results are always predicable. The book won’t do well and the author won’t understand why. When authors understand that writing a book is one step in the process and that promoting the book after its release is another step, it makes working together with them to publicize their book a lot easier.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great blogs on this website. If only every author understood this. So many do not, and the consequences for the author and the publisher are almost always unfortunate. It is amazing how many authors will not do anything to help sell their work. Arrogance, I think.

I know several of your authors, and they all say the support you provide is valuable in helping promote and sell their books. Keep it up--and keep blogging.

Sarah Keeney said...

Hi Alex,

Thanks for your comments. We are lucky to work with some great authors.

Sarah

John said...

Alex,

Thanks so much for these kinds of insights. As a writer working on my first book, I am so ready to get out there and start promoting the finished product. It's reading posts like this that help keep that goal in mind during the writing process.

Thank you,

John

Sarah Keeney said...

Thanks for your post, John. Best of luck to you during this exciting time for you in the book process!

Sarah