For the next few months, we are going to be talking about
marketing on the blog - so stay tuned for tips from TBA clients, posts from our
agents, and lots of interviews.
To start with, we have a very helpful interview from the
archives, originally posted by Susan Hawk in June 2013:
Today, I’m excited to have a guest visiting the blog,
Nellie Kurtzman, a Director of Integrated Marketing at HarperCollins Children's Books. Nellie has worked on a number
of remarkable books – launching campaigns for the Percy Jackson and the
Olympians series by Rick Riordan, the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer, Lemony Snicket’s
Who Could That Be At This Hour?, The Dark by Lemony Snicket & Jon Klassen
and Holly Black’s The Coldest Girl in Cold Town. Currently, she's working on Soman Chainani's The School for Good and Evil and the soon to be released Dumplin' by Julie Murphy.
Nellie and I worked together some time ago at Penguin
Books for Young Readers, when she was the Advertising Manager and I was in
Library Marketing. I saw then, and it’s
only become more true, Nellie is one the savviest, most creative people in kids
books. So I'm delighted that she took
some time to chat with me about how she approaches marketing, especially for
debut books. Here are her thoughts on
what’s really important for a writer to consider, what marketing to undertake
before your book is sold, and once it's about to hit the bookstore shelves!
You’ve created marketing plans for plenty of debut
authors. When you have a new debut to
launch, is it helpful if the author has already done some marketing on his or
her behalf? What kinds of marketing
efforts make the biggest difference?
It helps if a writer has a social media presence;
otherwise, you’re starting from scratch.
What kind of presence to go after is a changeable thing, as various
outlets rise and fall in popularity but right now for a commercial teen or
upper middle grade book, I’d suggest Tumblr; for a book that will have a big
home in schools or libraries, Twitter.
Facebook can be used more generally, and I’ve seen it be
most effective once a book is published and has some traction. A robust Facebook page will draw readers and
that’s usually more possible once the book is out in the world.
An author website is also important, because most likely
the publisher won’t be able to create one for you, and if you have a strong,
existing site the publisher can piggyback off that and work with you. Blogs are especially useful for books with a
strong school and library presence.
Outside of social media, I love it when a writer has a
clear understanding of who their reader is; what market will be at the core of
her sales. Is your book very
commercial? Is it the kind of book that
will garner library and school awards?
Is it for younger readers, or older?
This information is the basic building block of every plan marketing and
sales will create. If you have a good
sense of this, it will help you understand your publisher’s approach, as well
as inform decisions you make in your own marketing efforts.
It’s also great if an author has taken the time, early
on, to think about any contacts and connections they have, and how to leverage
them. If you have a marketing idea you’d
like to share with your marketing group, think it through so you can pass it on
when the publisher begins building plans for your book. Though your publisher may choose to go
another direction, if you have the details ready it’s helpful.
Once the book is published, what’s good for writers to
do?
Keep up with the social media you’ve created! Establishing a presence isn’t enough, sites must
be fresh and varied. Of course you can
post about upcoming appearances and accolades, but be sure to include content
that is incremental to your book. For
instance, if you have a fictional book about baseball for MG, highlight new
info about the sport. Post images that
resonate with the subject and tone of your book. You don’t want the sites you’ve created to
become dormant, or too exclusively self-promotional. Readers are as interested in the subject
matter of your book, as they are in you -- think of social media as a way to
extend the world building that’s inside your books.
It’s also important to keep your publisher informed of
all your marketing efforts. This way you
won’t replicate each other’s work, or send mixed messages. For instance, if you plan to use a tagline on
your book site, run it by the marketing department first, to be sure that
you’re both using the same one. This is
true for all marketing efforts, not just those in social media – if you’re
planning an appearance, creating promotional material – anything – let your
publisher know.
Are there any marketing tools that you think aren’t that
impactful – maybe something that people typically do, but may not need to?
Videos. Writers
often request that we do a video, and if something does catch on, it can
help. But these days, video content is
pervasive, and the chances that something will break through dwindles
accordingly. And if only 500 people see
your video, it won’t have an impact.
Don’t sweat it if your publisher doesn’t plan to make one.
Do you have any tips for writers about working
effectively with their marketing department?
The first step is to find out how you’ll be communicating
with the marketing department. This
varies from house to house, so ask your editor if you’ll be talking directly
with someone from marketing or publicity.
If not, ask your editor if she’ll be relaying information to them. Most houses begin creating marketing about
nine months in advance of the publication date, so check in before then. You want to make sure that lines are open so
that you can send updates about your social media, etc, as discussed above.
And one more small parting piece of advice. Before setting up an appearance, talk to your
publisher first. This way you can be
sure that you’ve got the right info to pass along about ordering books etc.
Good luck with your marketing!
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