Kathy Sanborn's Author Roundtable
Posted 10/28/02

I invited a group of contemporary authors to my virtual roundtable for a discussion on how to market yourself. You'll find some great tips and interesting conversation here, so listen in . . .

Kathy Sanborn: Thanks everyone, for taking the time to share your tips with my readers. All of you are well versed in marketing yourselves-please tell us your favorite ways to spread the word about your work.

S. Joan Popek: Talk! Don't be shy. Talk about your work to everyone--the postman-the grocery store clerk--everyone! I visited with a couple of young men in an airport once, and they both bought one of my books and promised to tell their friends. It works!

There are other ways, but I've found that this is the most effective. The second most effective is to get your newest publication listed in your local newspaper. Send press releases to them and offer to do an interview. It works. I did that and had two write-ups on my work in one year. People love local writers. Give your business card to everyone you meet.

KS: I agree, Joan, that if you are a naturally outgoing individual, pressing the flesh in self-promotion works quite well. I think that for most writers, the Internet can be a gold mine for spreading the word as well. Don't you think so, Elizabeth?

Elizabeth Dearl: The absolute best publicity outlet for a writer in this day and age is the Internet. Review sites, ads in ezines (usually inexpensive compared to ads in print magazines), promotional sites for authors such as Author's Den (www.authorsden.com), online interviews, building and maintaining your own website, being a guest author for an online writers' chat . . . all these opportunities and more await you in the vast cyber world of the Internet. Take advantage of as many as you can. Selling your book locally is great, but you only reach a relatively small number of people. Going on a cross-country book signing tour is terrific--if you can afford it. But the Internet brings your work into the homes of literally millions of people. So get your name, and the titles of your books, out there.

KS: Speaking of someone who is an absolute expert on Internet self-promotion, Sam Vaknin has some great ideas on how to build your Web presence. Sam, you're also number 26 on Alexa-that really surprised me! You must be the quintessential self-promoter.

Sam Vaknin: Composing words--the actual act of writing--is the tip of an iceberg of interactions. Promotion and marketing consume the bulk of an author's time--especially if he or she is self-published or published by a small and resource-less publisher. The keys to success are ubiquity and networking. The dissemination of one's work is a critical facet--free excerpts, review copies, a Web site, a mailing list, an ezine or newsletter, links on other sites ... Search Google for "Sam Vaknin." I am mentioned 13,000 times. This is the result of 4 years of tireless and shameless self-promotion. At any given time I have 12 of my titles available for download free of charge--full fledged e-books, with ISBN and all. This is called "viral" or "buzz" marketing. More than 500 of my articles are available to Webmasters as free content. I encourage people to mirror-i.e., to copy--my Web site.

KS: Let's get Debbie Ridpath Ohi in on the conversation. You're a writing promotion expert and columnist. What's your favorite promotional tip?

Debbie Ridpath Ohi: Make sure you have a good e-mail signature, the text taglines at the end of every e-mail message you send out. Don't make it too long. Don't include cute graphics. Include a URL(s).

KS: Most eBook and print publishers simply don't have the money for extensive book promotion. As an author, it can be challenging to balance your writing time with the demands of book marketing, can't it?

Elizabeth Dearl: Certainly, it helps if you have a publisher who will take on some of the promotional work. And, boy, it is work. Many first-time novelists fall into the trap of pushing their book so hard that they no longer have the time or energy to write anything else. So do keep up with your writing, even if you have to set aside certain days of the week for writing only.

KS: Thank you, everyone, for your valuable input. Next time, I'll invite the roundtable together for another informative session.

Contributors:
S. Joan Popek, the Eppie 2000 Award winner for The Administrator, available from The Fiction Works.

Elizabeth Dearl, the 2002 Eppie Award winner for her novel, Twice Dead. Malicious Intent, a collection of Dearl's short mystery and horror fiction, is available from DiskUs Publishing.

Sam Vaknin, the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and a UPI correspondent.

Debbie Ridpath Ohi, author of The Writer's Online Marketplace (Writer's Digest Books, Jan/2001). She also writes a daily publishing news column for WritersMarket.com.

© 2002 Kathy Sanborn

Kathy Sanborn's Author Spotlight

Posted 10/11/02

In this edition of my Author Spotlight, I introduce Sam Vaknin, a fascinating writer with a very pronounced point of view about himself and his work. A Senior Business Correspondent for United Press International and the former Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia, Dr. Vaknin has pointers about the writing business that you won't want to miss.

Kathy Sanborn: Tell us your secret for breaking into the writing arena. We know there are as many different ways to break in as there are writers. Specifically, how did you do it? What was the most important step you took in becoming a successful writer or author? Please share your favorite promotional tip-your best way to get the word out about your work.

Sam Vaknin: Composing words - the actual act of writing - is the tip of an iceberg of interactions. Promotion and marketing consume the bulk of an author's time - especially if he or she is self-published or published by a small and resource-less publisher. The keys to success are ubiquity and networking. The dissemination of one's work is a critical facet - free excerpts, review copies, a Web site, a mailing list, an e-zine or newsletter, links on other sites ... Search Google for "Sam Vaknin." I am mentioned 13,000 times. This is the result of 4 years of tireless and shameless self-promotion. At any given time I have 12 of my titles available for download free of charge - full fledged e-books, with ISBN and all. This is called "viral" or "buzz" marketing. More than 500 of my articles are available to Webmasters as free content. I encourage people to mirror - i.e., to copy - my Web site.

I wish I were as good on the human side of it. My interpersonal skills leave a lot to be desired. My exposure is substantial - my Web sites receive about 8,000 page views per day. But I don't particularly like people. I am a recluse. Word of mouth is the name of the game in this business. Inevitably, people, having been rebuffed by me, grow angry and bitter and I sometimes garner negative publicity.

KS: In your opinion, what is the biggest downside of being a writer?

SV: The emergence of vanity publishing - a lot of it electronic - and the Web have inundated the market. It is nearly impossible to be heard above the deafening noise. Publishers react to this graph maniacal avalanche by resorting to safe commercial bets. Writers today should be ready to weather exceedingly tough competition for attention, let alone recognition. It is an injurious and discouraging process.

KS: How did you learn to write well? School? Trial and error?

SV: Practice makes perfect. I am very far from perfection, of course. But I am a lot better than I was only 4 years ago. I blush when I am forced to revise or edit my old articles with their tortured syntax, mutilated grammar, poor vocabulary, or verbose pyrotechnics. Writing 1500 words a day for professional, edited, outlets such as Central Europe Review, United Press International (UPI), and PopMatters has improved my writing quite a bit.

KS: What's the thing about writing that you still need to learn (if anything)?

SV: My writing is too narcissistic. I am too in love with my own voice and its reverberating echoes. I'd rather stun and impress - than communicate and convey. I use obscure words, my sentences are florid, my arguments convoluted. I often lose half my readership - and I may well be optimistic here - by the end of the opening paragraph.

KS: What was the turning point in your writing career when you realized you were a success?

SV: When I won the 1997 Israeli Ministry of Education New Prose Prize for my tome of short fiction "Requesting My Loved One" and when my book "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited" began to be consistently ranked among the first 1000 in Barnes and Noble.

KS: What's the biggest plus about being a writer?

SV: It is the only way I can talk to myself and to others. Without my writing I would have been completely cut off from the world. It is my umbilical cord.

KS: What mistake did you make early on that you'd like to warn new writers about?

SV: I was too eager, too pushy, too self-centered. An author should, to the best of his ability, cater to the needs and wants of his readership. Authorship is not merely an autistic exercise of self-gratification. It is an intercourse and a discourse. Monopolizing the conversation is not only bad manners - it is bad for sales.

KS: Thanks so much for your time, Sam! My best wishes for continued career success.

Sam Vaknin is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain - How the West Lost the East.

He is a columnist for eBookWeb, a United Press International (UPI) Senior Business Correspondent, and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory and Suite101. Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia. Visit Sam's web site for more information.

Kathy Sanborn's Author Spotlight

Posted 10/03/02

In this installment of my series, I feature writer Paul Clayton, finalist at the 2001 Frankfurt eBook Awards for Carl Melcher Goes to Vietnam. Currently working on two novels, this busy author graciously took time out to share with me some of his rather humorous pointers about being a writer.

Kathy Sanborn: Tell us your secret for breaking into the writing arena. We know there are as many different ways to break in as there are writers. Specifically, how did you do it?

Paul Clayton: Well, a brick wrapped in burlap probably would have been best, but I went the regular route, writing the best book I could and mailing queries to every agent in the Writer's Market. I was tenacious, crustaceous and gracious. And when they wanted major changes, I didn't get offended, I made the changes and got the book back to them ASAP.

KS: What was the most important step you took in becoming a successful writer or author?

PC: Well, that depends on how you define success. Publishing certainly does not equal success. Thousands of books are published, but end up having shelf lives shorter than bananas or Hershey bars. Success has to be more than simply publishing. It's more internal-how we feel about what we've written, how we feel about the compromises we've made along the way, about what our readers tell us, about what the critics say or don't say. And I think that success is more a matter of "steps," then one "step." See the three "shus'es" mentioned in the previous answer.

KS: Please share your favorite promotional tip-your best way to get the word out about your work.

PC: Spam is good, if you're still allowed to do that. With one keystroke you can send the same email to everyone on the planet who ever bought a book. I get emails like that all the time from Mr. Umojo in Ghana, asking me to let him hide some Ghanian government assets in my bank account. Or, you could try an event at your local bookstore, like holding their book-buyer hostage until they promise to order a thousand copies of your latest work, or until the news helicopter is hovering overhead, whichever comes first.

KS: In your opinion, what is the biggest downside of being a writer?

PC: The biggest downside is the work part, you know, getting those wonderful stories and novels out of your head and into the computer. So much typing, editing, afternoons spent in a darkened study when all your friends are in their bedrooms having sex or watching TV. If only we could just hook our heads up directly to the computer and get it all out that way. That would be best. Perhaps they'll come up with the hardware for that soon, before my hands become two arthritic claws, worthless at the keyboard, good only for scratching a sensitive old man's behind.

KS: How did you learn to write well? School? Trial and error?

PC: Again, I don't want to get too Clintonian here, but it depends on how you define "well." I have written well enough to publish. Then again, I see published work that doesn't read very well. I think the best writing is, well, achieved by repeated attempts by well-read, educated and opinionated people.

KS: What's the thing about writing that you still need to learn (if anything)?

PC: Oh that. That would be the main rule of writing, namely that everyone makes money except the writer. You'd think that after publishing four books I'd know that, but I keep forgetting. But it's a truism. Don't quit your day job. In fact, you probably should get a second one so you'll have enough money for postage and supplies. You don't want the baby living on little orange fishy crackers and diet Pepsi because you're spending all the family's money on ink cartridges and bright white paper.

KS: What was the turning point in your writing career when you realized you were a success?

PC: I would say there was a long, slow turning point, when, over the years, despite the many disappointments, despite the terrible things happening in the publishing business (mergers/acquisitions/real editors tossed out/bean counters brought in), that I never gave up writing, never stopped wanting to write. That must mean that I'm serious or something.

KS: What's the biggest plus about being a writer?

PC: The celebrity factor. When you are young, it will get you dates, that is, if you are not too homely. When you are older and long in the tooth, it gives you something to do when you don't have a date or any friends left, and the TV is broken.

KS: What mistake did you make early on that you'd like to warn new writers about?

PC: Not getting a hair weave. Book sales recede along with one's hairline. "Hunk" writers are the hot new trend with the big publishing houses. The prettier the face on the jacket, the more interviews, sales, Oprah-appearances, etc., you'll get. However, there is still hope for the rest of us in the form of "stunt-writers." These are out-of-work Hollywood actors and actresses who can be rented reasonably to do your interviews and signings for you.

KS: Thanks, Paul, and continued success to you!

Paul Clayton's novel, Carl Melcher Goes to Vietnam (Electricebookpublishing.com) was a finalist at the 2001 Frankfurt eBook Awards, along with David McCullough's John Adams and Joyce Carol Oates' Faithless. His Calling Crow historical series is published by www.eReads.com. Mr. Clayton is hard at work on an historical novel, Roanoke, about the abandoned colony of the same name, and a mainstream novel about dark doings in sunny California.

Learn from the Best: Author M.J. Rose

"If you can dream it, you can do it." So stated Walt Disney-and the first person to agree would be the hottest name in epublishing, M. J. Rose. Armed with only her carefully executed marketing plan and her determination to succeed, M. J. managed to find a readership of thousands over the Internet. Initially shunned by traditional publishers, M. J. used her New York advertising skills to full advantage. The payoff has been print publishing success, her dream since the age of six.

I wondered exactly how Ms. Rose had achieved her goal. How did she become so well known over the Internet that she was able to sell thousands of online copies of her book, Lip Service? I also wanted to know how she had managed to keep going after her dream, even though the doors of traditional publishing had slammed in her face every step of the way.

I'd like to know just how you got the idea to get into epublishing in the first place-was it because your novel, Lip Service, was initially rejected by print publishers?

I was depressed, because my fiction books weren't selling to publishers. My books fell between two genres, commercial fiction and literary fiction-and publishers had no idea how to market them. So I thought I'd write a nonfiction book, and break through the barrier that way, but realized I didn't want to write nonfiction. I was even at the contract stage with one publisher, until they realized that they were signing me up for my first novel, not my second. They promptly rescinded the offer. I was really at my lowest point then.

The next step I took was to research the Internet in depth, and it was there I discovered that I could put out a product for free, and get readers to come to me. I decided that I would go for finding "one reader at a time." When I was a child, I had the big dream of the best selling book-I gave up that dream, and decided to start small instead.

What is it about your personality that made you persevere, during your period of being rejected by traditional publishers?

If publishers hadn't liked my work, I think I would have given up altogether. I seriously thought about doing something else, and almost became a therapist. I even entertained the idea of running an antique store, until I realized that all I wanted to do was write! What really kept me going were the people who told me that no other woman had successfully self-published except for Anais Nin in the 1920s. The more they told me that, the angrier I became! Today I thank the people who told me it couldn't be done-they spurred me on!

How did you get the word out about Lip Service in order to sell thousands of copies online?

I had very calculated methods. I made a list of the 200 web sites most likely to mention Lip Service, and offered a free article or book in exchange for a link to my web site. This was in November, 1998-and three months later, the book just took off.

Let's talk about your new book with Angela Adair-Hoy, How to Publish and Promote Online (St. Martin's Press). How did you meet her?

I found Angela through her online newsletter, which I saw was very professionally done. I had been answering people's questions for free about online publishing, and it took up hours of my time. My boyfriend suggested that I write a book instead! Since Angela was an expert in the nonfiction area, and my expertise was in the fiction realm, we decided to work as a team to produce this book. We had it for sale online, and didn't pursue the print publishing end of it until stories about the Steven King ebook came out. After that, we had no trouble getting our book picked up by a print publisher.

Your background in advertising must have helped you tremendously in getting started with epublishing-what advertising tricks or tools helped the most?

How to test market, how to get your name recognized-but I learned the most important tip of all: I had to consider myself a product. You can never take rejection personally.

Please talk about your new novel, In Fidelity-first of all, a very interesting title!

Thank you. I wrote In Fidelity when my boyfriend (musician Doug Scofield) went through a period of time when he was in and out of the hospital for kidney treatment. He underwent a kidney transplant (his brother was the donor) and now he's fine-but during his long illness, the writing of In Fidelity allowed me to completely escape from the real world. I wrote the book to answer the question of whether certain infidelities are excusable-or do we automatically leave when a partner says they've been unfaithful? I'm happy that In Fidelity is selling well, and getting great critical and reader reviews. I proved that I can write a book-I'm a writer who can market, not a marketer who can write!

How is the screenplay for In Fidelity doing?

In Fidelity is really close to a deal-I have a film agent handling it right now.

You say you left a successful career in advertising-why?

It didn't fulfill me-didn't satisfy me enough in the end. I knew that advertising was only my day job-I had wanted to be a writer since I was a child.

I'm curious as to what supported you while you went through the kidney transplant of your boyfriend, musician Doug Scofield?

Writing my novel, In Fidelity-I wasn't getting any hope from the real world, so I welcomed the total escape of writing it.

I guess I'm really asking you what kind of faith, or belief system, carried you through it. You say you live in the moment-and in my opinion, that's the only way to live-how did you come to that wisdom in your life?

My mother was the one who taught me the most about being positive, no matter what happens to you. She got cancer at age 39, and told my sister and me that had she been negative, she would have spent 30 years worrying, and not enjoying her life. (She lived to be 70.) My mother meditated every day, and maintained her positive attitude. She was a true inspiration! When he first became ill, Doug told me he thought it wasn't fair that I had to deal with my mother's illness, and then his. I told him that I was the best person he could find to help cope with his illness-because I would never give up.

© 2001-2002 Kathy Sanborn