The last time I was responsible for trying to get the word out for a book I’d written was back in the mid-1990s. Google didn’t exist. There was no Wikipedia or Facebook. The word “blog” had not entered the lexicon.
The way to get reviews was to:
- go to a library
- find the magazine and newspaper section,
- copy addresses and names of book page editors
- type up query letters
- post the letters in real envelopes with real stamps
- hope that maybe one or two editors might ask to see an advance review copy (ARC) of your book.
Even small independent publishers would probably give you a few ARCs to send out at their expense. I remember waiting for months and jumping for joy when I finally got back a couple of letters asking to see the book. Better than that was reading the actual reviews when they appeared several months later.
Those days are long gone. Now that I’ve published a new memoir (and tribute to my mother), I’m a 73-year-old author trying to adapt to all the changes the world of publishing and promotion has gone through in the last couple of decades.
Today, most publishers, large or small, still publish and distribute books, but they don’t market and promote them like they used to. Unless you’re a famous celebrity, that’s now almost entirely the author’s responsibility.
Jumping in headfirst
The moment I handed my manuscript over to a hybrid publisher in January 2022, I knew I had to get started with promotion and marketing months before the book would be ready for publication. What I didn’t know was how overwhelming the task would be. In this article, I’d like to share my experiences in trying to navigate these challenges on a pensioner’s budget in this age of social media.
For starters, there was a whole new language to learn. I had no clue really of what such terms as:
- author platform
- elevator pitch
- hashtags
- search engine optimization
- Zoom interviews
meant.
I did, however, have a basic homepage, an email account, and an Internet connection, so I wasn’t at a complete loss. I also knew how to come up with effective search words for Google searches. My first mission was to find online articles about what I needed to do.
I read through countless “advice” articles on everything from creating a marketing plan to leveraging social media to using paid ads effectively to boost sales. Many of these articles emphasized making a concrete marketing plan that included pre-publication ideas for promotion and publicity followed by post-publication ideas.
Pre- and post-publication activities
Pre-publication activities included identifying your target audience, figuring out where they hang out on the Net, and finding the best ways to network and connect with them. This meant using social media to join forums related to your niche and to engage in conversations but not to push your book too much.
Also recommended was starting a blog or newsletter and creating an e-mail list of readers. Another important item was to reach out to influencers, experts, or other authors in your niche and ask for a blurb to use on your book cover.
Among the things recommended for post-publication were
- getting reviews
- appearing on podcasts, radio, and TV
- sending out press releases
- public speaking
- guest posting
- submitting articles to journals and blogs
- entering contests
- offering discounts and giveaways on media and retail outlets.
Detailed plans for each item were almost always provided.
My attitude soon changed from eager learner to skeptical cynic. Such thoughts as “C’mon, give me a break” and “Marketing budget? For a pensioner? You gotta be kidding” eventually became “What a load of crap! It’s just too much. I can’t possibly do all this without losing my health and going insane!”
I was determined, however, not to give up. I believed I’d written a good story and owed it to my mother to do what I could to get the word out. I decided to try just the things I thought I could manage on my own while acknowledging my financial, physical, and stress limitations. Don’t set the bar too high for yourself became my motto.
Defining my target audience
After revamping my homepage, I focused on who I thought would be my target audience. What exactly was my niche?
My story was long and filled with life experiences from both my mom’s life and my own. There were many potential groups of people:
- history buffs interested in the Depression years (especially in Oregon and Washington)
- Baby Boomers
- Vietnam War veterans
- antiwar activists and conscientious objectors
- hippies who had traveled the old Hippie Trail from Europe to India in the 1960s and 1970s
- expats who had lived abroad for many years
- teachers of English as a foreign or second language
- feminists
- children of divorced parents
- people interested in Japanese culture
- strong, independent women
all came to mind.
I set about searching for authors, publications, groups, and researchers connected to the various groups.
I made a list of places and individuals to query for blurbs.
I drew up a basic letter that summarized my story and life.
I planned to use the first paragraph or two of each query to make a personalized connection (i.e., how I came across their work, things we might have in common, and why I’d like them to write the blurb) without coming across as an obsequious ass-kisser.
In early spring, I sent out about 35 query letters. Within two weeks, 22 people responded with kind words of encouragement. Some were too busy to take on any more work, but 15 of the respondents agreed to take a look at the book in either PDF or Word document format.
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Reality check
In the end, seven sent back wonderful blurbs that I was able to pass on to the publisher, who included them in the front matter and cover of the book. Two writers were even kind enough to give detailed suggestions for one more edit.
I incorporated their advice, cut a lot of extraneous material, and sent the revised manuscript to the editor, who had finished the cover and was in the process of doing the layout, formatting, and copy editing. I was over the moon about getting such quick and positive results.
In late summer, the publisher sent me a final draft to review before he’d upload it to IngramSpark to print out some ARCs. We set a publication date for mid-January. He arranged for pre-orders to be available on Amazon at the beginning of October.
I put together a sell sheet and press releases to send to targeted media in the same categories I’d used for my blurb requests. I also began a new list of book bloggers to query for reviews. I even worked up the courage to test the waters of appearing as a guest on some podcasts.
I started a separate list of hosts to query. That’s when I ran head on into a reality check. I can’t count the number of hours I spent scouring the Internet for people and places I thought would be interested in either reading my book or having me talk about it.
The fact is most bloggers have a to-be-read (TBR) list of dozens to hundreds of titles. Popular podcast hosts are often booked for up to a year in advance. The odds of acceptance are stacked heavily against even the most persistent of unknown applicants.
Once I set foot in these waters, however, I stubbornly refused to turn back. I must’ve sent out over 100 queries that got no answer at all or, in a few cases, a polite auto-reply rejection.
Launch day comes and goes
Every once in a while, however, a small success provided the spark I needed to continue my efforts. A few small publications (two from my home area) ran my press release almost verbatim.
In October and November, two online Baby Boomer magazines agreed to run an excerpt with a link to the Amazon pre-order page. In December, an hour-long radio program in Texas that had its roots in the 1960s underground press and featured hour-long interviews with public figures, artists, musicians, writers, and activists had me on as a guest via a Zoom link. Another Boomer podcast had me on shortly after New Year’s.
Just as my book was about to be launched, my publisher got sick and had to throw in the towel on his one-man operation. He turned over all my book and cover files. It was now fully my baby, and I would be getting 100 percent of all royalties. The book went live with no launch party on January 17th.
Even so, those first few months were quite heady. Three excellent blogger reviews rolled in; two feature articles appeared in Pacific Northwest newspapers; a magazine for indie authors ran an interview; and another online magazine printed an excerpt from the book. I racked up online sales for both the paperback and e-book versions nearly every day.
The joyride didn’t last long. Despite a few more reviews and online journal articles being published, book sales basically dried up. I kept sending out queries to book bloggers, but increasingly I turned my attention to podcasters. I even cast aside my hesitancy and joined a Facebook group for memoir readers and writers.
Gratitude for small gains and new friendships
The ensuing months saw a few scattered results, mainly in the area of appearing as a guest on podcasts. These few successes were the result of targeting more than one specific class of potential readers.
So far, I’ve been a guest on podcasts that focus on such disparate areas as life as an expat, mother-child relationships, indie authors, senior citizens, and experiences overcoming adversity. I’ve also been asked to write guest posts for two different bloggers.
On the negative side, I submitted my book to a few contests, but that turned out to be a big waste of money. I ran a couple of ads on book promo sites like the Fussy Librarian that resulted in a few sales but not enough to cover the cost of the ad.
Despite the huge drop-off in sales, I continue to see sporadic success in gaining some recognition of my name and work, enough so to convince me to stay in this promotion and marketing game for the long haul. At my age, who’s to say how long that will be?
I’m resigned to be content with getting enough sales to lift the book out of the red and somehow break even. As of this writing, that’s about 200 more books.
I’m grateful for the contacts and new friendships I’ve made among the people I’ve corresponded with or been interviewed by. The responses I’ve received have indicated that the book has resonated with quite a few people.
Perhaps over time and with a little luck, word of mouth will continue to grow. I mean, look at someone like Kurt Vonnegut, who wrote most of his books in the 1950s and early 1960s but didn’t become well known until much later when his 1969 antiwar novel Slaughterhouse Five resonated deeply with the hippie generation.
What I’ve learned
So, what have I learned from all this? Is there any practical advice I can pass on to other indie authors, particularly those of us in the “elderly” category?
One thing I can say for sure. You have to be a stubborn ol’ horse with a lot of persistence, perseverance, and a strong never-give-up attitude to stay in this game. For every small success and connection you make, there will be probably at least 20 or more dead ends or rejections.
You can’t be sensitive about it. Chalk it up to experience. Do what you can to draft a better query. Keep your nose to the grindstone.
Don’t give up on your work. There are readers out there who will appreciate what you’ve written. Often it can be like trying to find the proverbial needle in a haystack, but when you find one, it can turn out to be a diamond, an unexpected result of good karma perhaps.
Don’t go overboard like I did. In a sense, I was lucky that I started this Sisyphean task after I retired. I have enough time to chase rainbows for hours on end. I’ve also come down with more than a few migraines, achy joints, and stiff shoulders from spending too many hours at a time squinting at my computer screen or pounding away at the keyboard.
Drink water when you’re working. Get up at least once an hour and move your body. Old bones calcify quickly.
Finally, I think it’s a good idea to start a new writing project to keep your spirits up and mind occupied during those inevitable periods of nothing happening on the promotion front. Good luck and remember that old writers never die, they just keep revising.
About the author
Robert W. Norris was born and raised in Humboldt County, California. He is the author of five books.
In 1969, he entered the Air Force, subsequently became a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War, and served time in a military prison for refusing to fight in the war. In his twenties, he roamed across the United States, went to Europe twice, and made one journey around the world. In 1983, he landed in Japan, where he eventually became a professor at a private university, spent two years as the dean of students, and retired in 2016 as a professor emeritus.
Norris’s latest book is The Good Lord Willing and the Creek Don’t Rise: Pentimento Memories of Mom and Me, a memoir and tribute to his mother. He and his wife live near Fukuoka, Japan. Learn more about Robert at his website.
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