I've appreciated reading other people's thoughts on marketing and am struck by how much we'd rather write or draw than market.When I was in college if you asked me to pick out 100 classes I'd like to take, I would not have chosen one marketing class. So many other choices were so much more interesting.
Now as an author I need to do marketing and I need to have a sense of what works for me and what does not. One of the ways I approach this is to think that a baseball player who gets a hit three out of ten times is very good. I keep that ratio in mind as I send things out.
Today's marketing success is a nice cake picture in PW Children's Bookshelf. They chose a sports theme so TAKE YOUR BEST SHOT was a good fit. Great to see that big cake there.
I do not think about marketing when I'm writing a book, but once it's finished I try to be creative with what will be fun and work well. For TWO OLD POTATOES AND ME, I partnered with Finnegan's Beer who use some spuds in the beer and give away profits to folks in need. On a couple of basketball books, I've worked with the NBA and their Read to Achieve program. I've got a new picture book coming next year and I've already met folks at the YMCA who are interested in doing some things together.
Each book is it's own adventure and I don't pretend to be a professional marketer, just someone who tries a bunch of things and sometimes bats above .300
4 comments:
I love the baseball analogy-- so forgiving when it comes to marketing. Like you John, I never thought to take a marketing class in college, but somehow, when a book is finished, there is a window of time to think creatively about it and you have definitely come up with some wonderful ways to get your books into the hands of readers-- I think of your work with students as your readers early on in writing a book, as one of the best marketing tools I have ever witnessed.
Love the cake photo! Congratulations on your newest book!
I'm always struck by your healthy sense of balance, John. You don't seem to let yourself get weighed down, but keep an upbeat attitude--the baseball analogy speaks to that. Thanks for sharing your outlook.
Hope that PW picture brings attention to your newly completed 4-book series. Congratulations, and have fun coming up with more creative ideas.
You make a good point, John, about how every marketing strategy we try isn't going to work. That's an excellent thing to keep in mind, both when exploring new ideas and after implementing them.
John,
I would never have chosen to take a marketing class in college, either, and you're so right that each author has to find what marketing methods work best for him/her. Great analogy to a baseball player's batting record!
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