Jump to content

deleted01

Members
  • Posts

    5,838
  • Joined

About deleted01

  • Birthday August 1

Profile Information

  • .
  • Gender
    Female

Recent Profile Visitors

The recent visitors block is disabled and is not being shown to other users.

deleted01's Achievements

Council Member

Council Member (8/8)

  1. Mind if I piggyback off this and post your interview? https://dracarya.wordpress.com/2015/07/17/ask-the-author-zoe-sumra/
  2. If any British authors (or those willing to travel) are free on 7th March, there's a literary festival in Tamworth that's looking for authors. No payment can be offered, but there is the possibility for funds to be found for travel (to an extent) and accommodation.
  3. I'll certainly check those out, thanks Myrddin. We're in the middle of a few things at the moment, but definitely focusing on agents at this time. I've sent a few friendly emails to publishers I know through my interviews, just to test the "who you know" theory. Worth a shot I guess. But yes, contacting publishers directly will wait. The author did manage to get a publishing deal before on her own, but she settled for a poor deal because she was new to it, and without representation. It's all a learning curve, I guess. We're also talking about extending our services to authors and making a business of it. With the interviews, experience in marketing, PR work, social media management and lists of contacts between us, I'd go so far as to say we have a decent shot at making it work. To the authors (published or aspiring) here, what do you think is a reasonable amount to pay for promotional work and marketing on your behalf? There are some companies that charge an extortionate amount for not very much work.
  4. We'll more than likely be going down the traditional route, unless it goes tits up. I know the drawbacks of self-publishing all to well, though there will be promoting going on regardless. We've applied to multiple agents, just playing the waiting game at the moment. Ideally, we'll find a great agent, who will find us a great publisher, and do all the legwork while the royalties roll in. But that rarely happens. I'd settle for a decent publisher who actually knows what they're doing this time. Thanks, I've never heard of Prometheus before, I'll check them out.
  5. An author I'm working with is in need of an agent and a new publisher. We're working hard together, sending out query letters to agents, but if anyone has any advice on the subject I'd greatly appreciate it.
  6. When looking for reviewers one day, I simply Googled "top book reviewers". People make lists of everything. There are also some big sites for fantasy in particular - Fantasy Faction to name one, and a couple of people review books on here I believe.
  7. I know this thread has momentarily died, but here's my interview with TrackerNeil. Buy his books, you ruffians!
  8. deleted01

    Board Issues 4

    Oh, FB, how many times have we told you that Internet Explorer is a bad, bad idea? Chrome works for me. Am I the only one getting error 503 when I try to send a PM?
  9. It's definitely a "who you know" thing. Having contacts in the publishing world and within the press, and knowing book reviewers and other authors, can be a fantastic way of opening doors. Since doing this PR work, I've noticed that, while having a publisher can be a great thing, it certainly isn't always. Some publishers (no names, no pack-drill) are utterly useless, and do sod all to promote their books or authors. So establishing your own contacts can be the way to go. I was invited to the PPC (Publisher's Publicity Circle) Christmas party tonight, simply because I interviewed Patrick Rothfuss in August, and am now acquainted with the publicity manager at Gollancz. (Unfortunately I couldn't make it to the party, but you win some, you lose some.) Anyway, sometimes it's a case of putting yourself out there. I'm by no means successful, in that I'm still bloody unpaid for everything, but I've found that through talking to one person, you can meet another and another that can drastically change things. Lovereading.co.uk is a fantastic website, I have to say. Prior to publication, they send out a copy of a book to their panel of reviewers, of which I'm a member. I already have it set up so Julia's second book is on the list, as she missed out with the first. I'm not sure if they take self-published books - I'll have to check. If they do, they're a fantastic first step.
  10. As above - Facebook if you have it, or send me a PM if it will let you. I keep getting error 503. I recently rented a market stall to sell Julia's books, and it was a bloody disaster. I didn't have enough time to generate interest, and I'm not the author, so nobody cares about me being there :p Lesson learnt. Eta: Goodreads is a great place to start. I love it. It might also be worth chatting to established authors who do a lot of their own promotion - Mark Lawrence is one that springs to mind. Despite being with a pretty big publisher, he communicates with fans on Facebook and Goodreads a lot, as well as promoting his books.
  11. Ah, agents, they can be a blessing or a curse. Best of luck. If I can help further, feel free to give me a shout.
  12. I've learnt a lot about marketing over the past few months. If anyone's interested, here's my advice. The most obvious thing is to go with a decent publisher who will push the hell out of your book. If you're going down the self-published route, the best advice is to start early, and be prepared to work damn hard. - Build a fanbase and mailing list, preferably before the book comes out. I've spent time contacting the top book reviewers, which is a good place to start imo, plus the press and other authors. - Do interviews. Lots and lots of interviews. Papers, magazines, TV, radio, blog tours... I interview authors regularly, and my offer to interview anyone here is an open one. I don't charge - be wary of anyone who does. - Attend events. If your publisher or an agent can set up a book tour, fabulous. There are companies that do it for you, but again, be wary of costs. You can set them up yourself, really, but it can be time-consuming. Also book fairs, school events, etc, are great. - Offer preview copies, rather than the whole book. Proper reviewers should get a full version of course, but people you connect with on social media or whatever can make do with a teaser copy. You don't want to give it away for free too much. - If you're doing self-promotion, social media is your best friend. Become acquainted with it. I had to learn how to utilise Twitter lately, and it is a brilliant tool. Most of the above may be common knowledge, so sorry if I've insulted anyone's intelligence. :)
×
×
  • Create New...