The Author as Salesperson
Posted by Mariko Fujinaka in books publishing trends on July 15, 2009
- Image by Editor B via Flickr
With the publishing industry immersed in difficult economic times, marketing budgets for new releases have been shrinking. New or relatively unknown authors may feel their works are not getting the publicity they deserve or need, so some have taken matters into their own hands. For instance, I just read an article about writers who visit book groups in order to promote themselves and their works. While this may be taking things into the realm of the extreme, it is, without doubt, pretty darn innovative!
The article, written by Francesca Mari for The Daily Beast, introduces us to author and creative writing professor Joshua Henkin. Henkin has visited some 175 book groups by phone, in person, or via the Internet. As Henkin told Mari, “With 10 people in each group, that’s 1,750 books sold right there.” Positive book reviews alone aren’t enough to ignite sales, so some authors feel enthusiastic participation in promotion is necessary.
Increasing numbers of authors are speaking at book groups, including such well-known writers as Khaled Hosseini (The Kite Runner) and Robert Alexander. The dynamic between authors and their audiences has shifted a bit as a result, with authors becoming more accessible to readers or perhaps readers believing authors should be accessible. A final point in the article stresses that authors who visit large numbers of book groups aren’t in it just for book sales—”Certainly the initial impetus and the continuing impetus is: sell books,” Henkin notes. “But I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t enjoy it.”
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