Professionalism
“Professionalism seems to be in increasingly short supply these days.”
“Why are there people who are convinced that they are in charge of what can or cannot be dispersed when it comes to disseminating truth? Much of this rhetoric emanates from . . . leaders who have promoted blindness to the truth while increasing their power over people. It has progressed to the point where they become obsessed in their considerations of image . . . . In doing so, they have abused the trust that was placed in them by their followers.”
- Rabbi Yossi
Authors Marketing & Promotional Responsibilities
“Ask anyone – in these days of a less-than-thriving economy, and reduced budgets for book promotion, publishers increasingly count on authors to do much of the promotion for their own books.”
- Ann Crispin
“The sad but very true fact is, unless your name is Stephen King, John Grisham, Nora Roberts, or some other household name, nobody is going to spend any significant time or money marketing your book. Even if you land a traditional contract, you will still be expected to do most of the grunt work. Don’t believe me? Just ask any midlist or other relatively unknown author. The publisher might send out a few review copies, and might even arrange a couple of interviews and/or appearances. But, if the book doesn’t succeed almost instantly, they are going to quickly turn their attention back to one of their best sellers, or to someone who they hope will be their next best seller. Whether you land a traditional contract or whether you self-publish, you are the one who will need to promote your book. Sure, if you have money socked away you can hire a PR firm but doing so can be incredibly expensive and, to be quite honest, they’re just not the author. Nothing beats an author connecting one-on-one with potential book buyers, online or off. It’s like comparing a press release to a personal email from the author herself. There is no comparison and sales results will certainly show for it.”
- Angela Hoy
“To be successful, you need . . . to know how to act in a social network to attract people. Interacting with people and learning about them is one of the major keys to being successful. You’re not selling your book, you’re selling yourself. Be someone who people will want to get to know.”
- Author, Victorine E. Lieske
“The author needs to be aware, also, that actions made against their publisher in the public eye can easily backfire on the author, permanently impacting the author’s sales and marketing efforts for his or her own published and future works.”
- Author, William Speir
“ . . . [I]‘ve learned never to underestimate writers’ ability to be delusional about the value of their work (and that includes me, though on the opposite end of the spectrum).
- Victoria Strauss
“Rejection is nature’s way of telling you to write a better book.”
- James D. MacDonald
Reputation Management
“I will never believe “I’m the sh*t.” Well, at least not for an extended period of time. We’ve all seen it. The author that hits whatever level and now seems to wear the “I’m the sh*t” tiara. Don’t do it. No matter if you top every bestseller list. It’s okay when you get a good review or hit a list or write a passage that rocks to think to yourself–yep, I’m the shizz nizz, baby. But keep it to yourself–please–and don’t let it go to your head. No one’s that awesome.”
- Roni Loren
References
“Can an Old Dog Learn New Tricks? Internet Book Promotion.” Writer Beware™ Blogs! 9 Mar. 2011. Web. 16 Mar. 2011. <http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2011/03/can-old-dog-learn-new-tricks-internet.html>.
“Contest Alert: TheNextBigAuthor.com.” Writer Beware™ Blogs! Web. 04 Mar. 2011. <http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2011/03/contest-alert-thenextbigauthorcom.html>.
“Interview: New York Times Fiction E-Book Best Sellers, Author, Victorine E. Lieske « The Write Agenda.” The Write Agenda. Web. 16 Mar. 2011. <http://thewriteagenda.wordpress.com/2011/03/11/interview-new-york-times-fiction-e-book-best-sellers-author-victorine-e-lieske’s/>.
“Making Light: How To Get Published.” Patrick & Teresa Nielsen Hayden. Web. 31 Mar. 2011. <http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/012744.html>.
“Reputation & Credibility Management, Should a Publisher, “traditional” or Otherwise, Be Concerned with the Online Activities of Their Authors? Do Blog Postings Impact, Sales, Marketing Efforts, Public Relations and Public Perception? « The Write Agenda.” The Write Agenda. Web. 16 Mar. 2011. <http://thewriteagenda.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/reputation-credibility-management-should-a-publisher-“traditional”-or-otherwise-be-concerned-with-the-online-activities-of-their-authors-do-blog-postings-impact-sales-marke/#comments>.
“The Ten Commandments of the Successful Author.” * Fiction Groupie *. Web. 31 Mar. 2011. <http://fictiongroupie.blogspot.com/2011/03/ten-commandments-of-successful-author.html>.
Twitter. Web. 30 Mar. 2011. <http://twitter.com/#!/victoriastrauss>.
“When Authors Aren’t Willing to Market Their Books.” WritersWeekly.com. Web. 05 Mar. 2011. <http://www.writersweekly.com/the_latest_from_angelahoycom/005129_01072009.html>
