Bad Book Publicity

[jimhines]

I’ll probably be talking about book-release stuff next week when Mermaid’s Madness comes out, which got me thinking about some of the really bad publicity strategies for authors.

I’m not claiming to be perfect.  In the past five years, I’ve tried any number of things to promote my work that make me wince to think about ‘em now.  Bad home-printed

Comments

[deborahblakehps]

Twittering incessently. Please. Stop.

[mtlawson]

I think we've a new concept for an end of the world story: people tweet so much that they neglect everything and the world falls apart.

[deborahblakehps]

Seriously :-) And just so we're clear, I was NOT implying that the wonderful Jim C. Hines twitters too much (not enough, in fact--makes it difficult to stalk him). But even some of my favorite authors sometimes push themselves so much (or tell you about everything they're eating, drinking, and when their DH is getting home) I want to scream and pull someone's hair. Of course, then I'd have to tweet about it.

[cathschaffstump]

I'd like to see someone do a post on the other extreme sometime--the dangers of not doing publicity. I think most authors are kind of shy, or turned off by icky publicity.

But these warnings are taken to heart!

Catherine

[jimhines]

I think that's a harder one to analyze, because it depends on so much. Self-published author? They absolutely have to publicize their work, because nobody else will. Major name with a big publisher? They don't have to do squat, and the book will still hit the bestseller lists.

I'm starting to realize more and more that most of my own publicity efforts have very little real impact on sales. I think the cumulative work I've done over the years has helped, but is it worth the investment of time, money, and effort to continue? It doesn't feel like it is as much anymore.

This deserves a more thoughtful response, and probably a blog post all of its own, as you noted. So I'll leave it here for now and let the idea fester in my brain for a while :-)

[deire]

Heh. And if a small house publishes you, does minimal publicity, and you don't promote it...Hmm. Gee. No one's book is that brilliant.

[b_writes]

When I worked for a small publisher, the number of appearances, etc. an author did seemed to be directly related to the sales they racked up (or didn't). Some of that may have been that we were in nonfiction, and had a lot of authors who worked at nonprofits, had connections, did speaking engagements, but if I were a first-time book author, you'd better believe I'd be actively pushing my book one way or another.

[johnlevitt]

Hey Jim -- Did I mention I have a new book coming out soon?

[jimhines]

Yeah, but you can get away with it 'cause yours all have cute dogs on the covers. Maybe that's the real key...

[burger_eater]

But how do you feel about book cover userpics?

[jimhines]

Tacky and tasteless, the whole lot of 'em.

[autopope]

This is probably a minor annoyance, but ...

I find it intensely irritating to be on a panel at an SF convention with J. Random New Author, who insists on erecting a veritable Maginot Line of their books across the front of the table, neatly blocking the audience's view of everybody else's name cards.

Firstly, nobody behind the first row will be able to see the book titles. Secondly, it reeks of (a) insecurity and (b) pushy power-sell. Maybe my un-American identity is showing here, but having somebody hard-sell their books at me is deeply off-putting and sends very much the wrong message -- that the book is so worthless that nobody would want to read it without a motivational pep-talk and a brisk brainwashing session. But thirdly: it's unprofessional. Fans go to panels to see a discussion, not a sales pitch.

[mtlawson]

Maybe my un-American identity is showing here, but having somebody hard-sell their books at me is deeply off-putting and sends very much the wrong message -- that the book is so worthless that nobody would want to read it without a motivational pep-talk and a brisk brainwashing session.

Nah. I think the exact same thing. I don't mind somebody recommending books to me, but the hard sell turns me off more than anything else.

[barbhendee]

Oh, Jim, this is a great topic! I wish I'd thought of this myself. Kudos to your insights and cleverness.

I still remember years ago, when I was newly published, and I was at a holiday party in Denver with a very large group of writers, all chatting and eating and drinking.

I was in a small circle of people, and suddenly someone looked at the door and winced and said, "Look who just walked in. Let's move out of sight. That guy doesn't talk about anything besides promoting his own books. I'll bet he promotes his books in bed."

I remember being slightly shocked and thinking how I never wanted to be *that guy.*

[jimhines]

Oh, great. Now I'm mentally writing dialogue for a writer trying to promote his books while in bed. Did not need that scene stuck in my head :-P

[autopope]

It's very easy if you've got a blog and a laptop ...

(Ducks and runs)

[jimhines]

As long as nobody's livetweeting, I suppose...