{"id":137811,"date":"2024-10-18T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-18T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/townhouse\/?p=137811"},"modified":"2024-10-18T10:00:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-18T09:00:00","slug":"how-to-sell-a-book-if-youre-a-fat-man-running-for-a-door","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-sell-a-book-if-youre-a-fat-man-running-for-a-door\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Sell A Book, if you’re a portly gentleman running for a door"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Last week, I talked about how print-led publishing is essentially dominated by the battle to secure retail space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If your book gets a really good level of retail space, it stands an excellent chance of selling well. If not, your book is mostly likely to sell badly, irrespective of its basic quality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I ended that Depressing, Pointless and Nihilistic email by promising you that this week I would offer you some Very Sound Advice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yes: I will. But be warned. That advice is akin to finding running shoes for the portly gentleman at the start of his race. It\u2019s akin to massaging his quads and calling his attention to a trip hazard en route<\/em>. His odds will improve, for sure\u2026 but the race is still a crapshoot. The basic shape of the game remains unaltered. All you can do is boost your odds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So that\u2019s coming up, but first: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I got a LOT of replies from you guys last week, and quite a lot of you seemed to think I was saying that trad publishing is basically broken and that self-publishing is a better option. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be clear, I am not<\/em> saying that. Trad publishing has its challenges. Self-publishing does, too \u2013 they’re just different challenges. And, either way, a ton of books get sold all the time. Authors are taken on by agents, their books are bought by publishers, they\u2019re sold to retailers, who sell on to readers. Despite the huge torrent of new media, books remain absolutely central to culture. And of course, you can earn a lot of money even if your book doesn\u2019t sell: that\u2019s what advances are for. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, trad publishing is great and full of opportunity. But it\u2019s also difficult and full of challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what you need to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Write a good book<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The quality of your book ought to matter, and it does matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ideally, the major retail buyers would read all the books offered to them by publishers, and pick the ones that were the very, very best. That doesn\u2019t happen. Too many books, too few buyers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But quality still matters. Your publishers are sophisticated readers and will know the difference between a book that feels genuinely special and one that feels just fine. They\u2019ll put more work into the first one than the second. That will affect every conversation between your publishers and the wider world. It can generate some startling, immediate, significant wins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example: when my Fiona Griffiths series was launched in the UK, hardback sales weren\u2019t great. They weren\u2019t awful, but certainly mediocre. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the normal course of things, hardback sales are the best predictor of paperback ones\u2026 except that my publisher (Orion, part of Hachette) had an in-house book group. A reading group, in other words: a bunch of friends getting together to talk about a shared reading experience. That group read my book and loved it. That enthusiasm spilled over to UK\u2019s biggest bookseller who ended up putting the paperback into their biggest monthly promotion, thereby sharply changing the book\u2019s (and series\u2019) sales trajectory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So: write a good book. That\u2019s the only part you have real control over, so do it right. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you need or want help, then of course we offer a ton of ways to provide that. Two easy options are: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Our Good To Great<\/a> course, which is specifically there to help competent writers become dazzling writers \u2013 the sort that agents have to<\/em> take on. The course is free to Premium Members, but everyone gets to have a free first lesson.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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    1. Manuscript assessment<\/a>. This is still the gold standard way to improve a novel, and our editors are very, very good. If I\u2019d recommend any one thing, it would be this. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Make nice<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Back in the day, I was published by HarperCollins and my editorial team also handled a major bestselling author, whom we\u2019ll just call Jack. (The author in question? Rich. Litigious.) HarperCollins knew this author would earn them money, but he was horrible. Just a nasty human. So yes, they put together a pitch for this chap\u2019s next book. Yes, they tried to win it. But \u2013 they were also kind of happy when they failed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Publishers will work harder for people they like. So make nice \u2013 and, really, that\u2019s just a way of saying BE nice. It makes a difference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Be professional<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      For the same reason, it helps to be professional. Delivering on time, working well with edits, responding fast to emails \u2013 all of that. Those things help your editor do his or her job, so being professional is basically just a way of making nice, in a way that is directly helpful. It all makes a difference. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Be strategic<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      If you\u2019re lucky, you\u2019ll get the chance to meet bloggers, and retail buyers, and booksellers, and other industry types. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Those meetings really matter<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Yes, there are often other authors floating around at those events and authors are generally more delightful souls than, erm, almost anyone, and so it\u2019s tempting to curl up in a knot of drunken writers and ignore everyone else \u2013 but don\u2019t. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Be strategic. Booksellers and bloggers and other influencers matter, so seek them out, and be interesting and make nice. And retail buyers really, really matter so seek them out and make super-nice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      And if that sounds too calculated \u2013 well, hell, I should probably add that you should be authentic too. Don\u2019t just lie and flatter. Be yourself, just a polished up version of yourself. Make nice with the people who matter, then get hammered with your cronies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      (Oh yes, and crime writers are WAY the most interesting authors, so you should probably write crime, not something smelly like lit fic or YA. And even when crime writers aren\u2019t the most interesting, they have way the highest capacity for booze.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Care about your cover<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Your book cover matters \u2013 intensely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      It\u2019s something I\u2019ve often not got right in my career. I don\u2019t mean that I\u2019ve chosen a poor cover, because I\u2019ve never exactly got to choose. I\u2019ve got to comment. (And, by the way, a publisher may be contractually obliged to consult with you about your cover, which sounds nice. Just be aware that their legal obligation would be entirely satisfied by the following exchange: Publisher: \u201cWhat do you think of your new book cover?\u201d You: \u201cI hate it in every possible way.\u201d Publisher: \u201cThank you for your opinion.\u201d) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      But \u2013 even without having a contractual right of veto, it\u2019s a rare editor who doesn\u2019t basically want to make his or her author roughly happy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      So: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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      1. Before you see your draft cover, have a damn good idea of what the other books in this space look like. Yours can\u2019t look worse. You want it to look better. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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        1. When you do see your cover, be as honest as possible with yourself about your feelings. That\u2019s harder to do than it sounds! <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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          1. Discard completely all feelings that have to do with the way the book, or the cover looks in your head. It doesn\u2019t matter if the cover seems to refer to an incident or feature that\u2019s not in the book. The key questions are: Does it convey genre? Does it convey mood? Is it arresting and just generally brilliant? That\u2019s what matters. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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            1. Tell your editor what you think. If you want changes, say so. If you want a total rethink, say so \u2013 and in those terms. Be direct. Do not be too people-pleasey.  <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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              1. Beware: if you think the cover\u2019s wrong, your publishers is likely to \u201cnice\u201d you into submission. If your editor says, \u201cOh, I\u2019m sure once you see the cover with the raised lettering and the foil effects, you\u2019ll be absolutely blown away,\u201d what they mean is, \u201cGive us a chance to let a few more weeks pass, and then it\u2019ll be too late to make changes anyway.\u201d <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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                1. For that reason, make sure you get a reasonably early sight of your cover. If it arrives with you too late, you may be stuck with it. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                  A bad cover will kill your book. A great cover could propel it into the stratosphere. Do not accept compromise \u2013 and throw your toys out of the pram if you have to. This is almost the only area where toy-throwing makes sense.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  And when you are considering cover \u2013 or blurb \u2013 or marketing in general, then always remember: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  The pitch, the pitch, the pitch!<\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  Publishing is a machine. It makes its profits by employing good people, working them too hard, and paying them too little. It can seem like a privilege to work for a good, big publisher, but by heck they\u2019ll take their pound of flesh (or 454g, for our EU readers.) <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  The result is that books don\u2019t always get the level of thought and attention they deserve. And in particular, your cover designer hasn\u2019t read your book, didn\u2019t commission your book, and has little more than a page or two of notes from your editor in terms of design brief. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  The result can easily be a lazily \u201cme-too\u201d cover, or one that simply doesn\u2019t evoke the mood and tone of your book. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  I\u2019ve said it before and I\u2019ll say it again. You are most likely to get stellar sales if: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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                  1. You have a brilliant concept \u2013 an elevator pitch; and <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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                    1. Everything lines up perfectly behind that concept: the text, the title, the blurb, the cover, and every line of marketing yadda. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                      Your job, as author, is to be the scent-following, rat-shaking terrier that ensures the fidelity of everything to your pitch. If your title and blurb promise one kind of experience, and the book cover promises another, that book will not persuade readers to walk it over to the till. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      You need a great concept. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      And everything \u2013 everything \u2013 needs to line up behind it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Honestly? Nowadays, I\u2019d be blunt about it. I\u2019d offer my own cover design brief to an editor. I\u2019d suggest my own blurb. I\u2019d say what I thought our pitch was and what tone we needed to strike. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      If you do that right, you won\u2019t even come across as an asshole. Offer your material humbly and accept advice when it\u2019s wise. Most of the time, an editor will actually be grateful: you\u2019re making their life easier. That\u2019s a positive blessing. But if they say you\u2019re wrong about something, you also need to accept that you don\u2019t know everything.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      FEEDBACK FRIDAY: <\/strong> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      Well, I\u2019ve yammered away about the pitch \u2013 again \u2013 in this email, so let\u2019s have another pitching challenge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      If you haven\u2019t watched the free first lesson<\/a> of Good To Great, then do please do just that. And, in any event, please:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n