In speaking with authors and receiving proposals, I often learn that authors WILL:
Establish a website
Find endorsers
Start a newsletter
Start a blog
Line up speaking engagements
Hop on social media
These plans are great. Unfortunately, they are plans. They are not what is already in place to show a publisher how the author will be a partner in selling the book. We prefer to:
Visit an author website. When an author is new, no one expects a $10,000 site with lots of flying objects and sparkling stars setting a brilliant sky alight. However, we (and readers) want an enjoyable experience where we learn about the author. Authors who collaborate with their web designers to optimize their SEO so BAM!, we can find the site immediately, earn more points from us.
Learn who your friends are. If you’re not connected yet, join one or two industry groups, such as ACFW, Word Weavers, or AWSA, to name just three. These groups offer fellowship and many other benefits where you can organically make friends. If you don’t feel confident naming potential endorsers, it’s okay to leave that out of the proposal.
See an established newsletter or active blog. We understand that you may not have 5,000 subscribers if you’re just starting out, but do show us you have a viable newsletter and you’re growing your list. We don’t need you to have both a newsletter and a blog. Right now, the industry is leaning toward an active newsletter with a readership who’s engaged.
Understand how many people you’ll reach through speaking next year. Not every author needs a speaking ministry. However, for nonfiction where you’re showing publishers you are a credible and sought-after source on your topic, showing how many people will be hearing what you have to say is a plus.
Find that you are already engaging on social media. Choose one or two platforms to emphasize and be consistent to gain followers.
Start today for success tomorrow!
It’s not too early for an agent;
for me, it’s far too late.
I was proud, and so complacent,
and thought, yeah, I’m so great!
I didn’t grow a following,
didn’t hone my craft,
and comes now the dread knowing
that I was really daft.
The self-pubbed books just did not sell
(Marketing? What’s that?),
and failure’s what I learned to spell
as my dreams fell flat
I can still inspire, so let my fail
be, for you, cautionary tale!
I’m always surprised by how few email list followers my favorite authors actually have compared to the numbers I’m recommended… I’m not sure whether that should make me feel better or worse about the fact that email is my main platform.
I’ve never heard of Word Weavers! I’ve been desperately trying to find a good Christian writing group near me and found out there’s a chapter in my city. I just reached out to the coordinator of the local group. So excited to learn more about this and join! Thanks for the tips!
I really wish I would have started earlier in getting those things lined up! I’m trying to catch up now ☺️ great tips!
Tamela, thank you for the suggestions. I launched my website in June, wrote my first newsletter in August, and have numerous blogs. I’m on a roll, and looking forward to moving forward.
I love “Too Early for an Agent.” So true! Having been a former Literary Agent and small publisher, Tamela, you are “spot on.” Knowing these points, before pitching “The End Begins,” to your agency, I had a new website done (www.ronmumford.com) with book reviews/reader comments and began testing a marketing campaign with one of my self-published books, “One in Christ, Finding Your Soul Mate God’s Way,” forming a marketing team, posting on seven social media platforms and hundreds of Christian groups in Facebook and LinkedIn for six weeks (3 Posts per week) to see if we could truly build our following and sell books. Prayer and persistence pays off. God is truly our marketing manager.