In this series of posts, we have been discussing the various issues and key obstacles facing the incredible writing community when they make the courageous leap from writer to author.
All of these have been experienced and identified by Hayley Paige, with attention subsequently directed towards overcoming each and every one of these in an effort to provide a more enjoyable and less chaotic journey for the average writer.
Already fraught with a mountain of complexities and challenges, becoming a published writer has, with the development of technology, created both a greater abundance of choice but, similarly, a more pronounced degree of uncertainty and confusion as businesses and various methods of press compete to be ‘the best’.
But is there ever a ‘best’ solution? Surely this depends on the situation…
We recently came across a Tweet that really resonated with us, and before we go into the core of this article and the Aim Pain we are tackling in this moment, we would like to highlight this here:
The underpinning of this thought being: writers need to pursue the avenue that is right for them.
That being said, however, it is so important to consider the very best option on your chosen path.
This article addresses Authors’ Main Aim Pains 3 of 5, which is that of Advertising and Marketing.
For the average writer, whose skills can clearly be located in the Writing arena more so than that of Advertising and Marketing, the prospect of promoting and selling a book can be daunting, at best, and completely debilitating and overwhelming at worst.
It is as a direct result of poor (or altogether absent) advertising and marketing that most books flop.
And by ‘flop’, we mean selling only a handful of books, the majority of which go to friends and family.
This can be so disheartening when writers invest so much of themselves—of their heart and soul, time and energy—into this beautifully crafted work that, it would seem going off sales, is destined to never be read.
Disheartening and entirely heartbreaking.
It is with this considered, and with recognition of how quickly a dream can spiral into a nightmare, that Notebook Publishing, through Hayley Paige’s dedicated design and implementation, has devised its own unique Advertising and Marketing strategy.
Not only is this a very individual and manually completed approach to providing all of Notebook’s authors with the very best exposure to the reading community, but it is also offered completely free to all writers publishing with us.
And because this is not an automated, computer-initiated process, there is careful attention to detail, a sound rationale for every activity, and keen results-directed focus.
We recognise that, following the complete elation of publishing a book, holding it in your hands and seeing it displayed online and in stores, there is then a paralysing fear: what if it doesn’t sell?
And that kills so much enjoyment and excitement.
A book needs to be given the very best chance of success, and that means a well-considered, pre-emptive and carefully designed marketing approach, in the lead-up to publication, at launch, and after.
It is a sad situation that this is rarely done.
Which is one of the main reasons that these projects fail to gather much traction.
Self-publishing authors commonly underestimate, or are entirely unaware, of what needs to be done and how much time should be invested in promoting a book.
Traditionally published authors are required to leave this in the hands of their publishers, whilst also being required to self-promote through social media and, oftentimes, through the application of self-funded or royalties-funded book tours.
And those opting for intermediaries are too often required to pay obscene amounts of money for any measure of exposure.
Notebook Publishing seeks to overcome this as a point of priority. When a new writer joins our exclusive Authors Circle, we want them not only to achieve their individual goals for their book, but to be happy in the knowledge that their book achieved what they wanted.
If it doesn’t, how can they feel inspired to write their next one? And to pursue the life of writing they have seen before them, whether for a lifetime or even more recently?
In addition to the Advertising and Marketing strategy we have devised, we also direct our very best efforts to securing book signings and talks for our authors.
We’re not sure any other publishing house in the world does all of this with the sole intention of satisfying our writers’ goals!
And all of this without us ever taking a penny of our authors’ royalties.
We want success for our writers. It’s of huge importance to us.
And now forms part of our very core.
