One Week Down, A Bit of Hindsight
Monday, June 7, 2010 (Quickie note: Random House is helping me out with my free book giveaway, so I've extended it through MIDNIGHT tonight. Buy a copy of THE ONE THAT I WANT today, and I will send you a copy of Time of My Life. Just like that. Email your receipt to allisonwscotch@gmail.com (scanned is fine), and we'll get it out to you! Please feel free to share!)
So the first week of the book launch is over, and I have to say, I'm relieved. Very, very relieved. Like I've crossed some sort of finish line, even though I realize that a book release is a marathon, not a sprint. So maybe this is a triathlon, and I'm done the first section. Phew! I know that a lot of Ask Allison readers are aspiring writers who are eagerly anticipating their own first book launches, so I thought I'd share with you a bit of what I've learned over the course of three book publications.
To begin with, what's been interesting - and by interesting, I mostly mean stressful - about this one is that with my previous two, I was much more nervous BEFORE they came out. I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, all of those lovely things that stress wreaks on your body. This time, however, my real anxiety came last Tuesday, once the book actually HAD come out. I suppose that this is due to what I've spoken about in previous interviews - the weight of expectations that I now very firmly feel about this book's success - as well as the acceptance and understanding that no book is going to be universally loved. As a debut author, and even with my second one, I think this is what I worried most about: will they like me, really like me? And now, I kind of understand that many people will, some people won't, and there isn't much that I can do about that. So the weeks leading up to the release weren't fraught with nerves over reviews in the way that they were before. (Okay, that's not entirely true. A few months ago, before the trade reviews came in, yes, I was nervous. But now, I'm not nearly as much.) Now, it's about sales, it's about fulfilling what is expected of me, and while I can't control this much more than whether or not I can control reviews, still, it's had me anxious. (Damn you, Amazon and your stupid rankings that I can check!)
Speaking of control, as an author, you want to control EVERYTHING. Here are the things you cannot control when it comes to your book launch:
-Print run (a very big factor in the immediate sales of your book: if it's not in stores, people really won't buy it...most people just don't have the determination to see the name of a book, remember it days later and go on to Amazon if they can't find it in a store)
-Big national reviews (if this were possible, every author would find his or her way into People or The Today Show)
-Your Amazon ranking (I suppose you could continually buy 20 copies per day to keep it high, but really? Not a good use of your advance money)
-Co-op space (this is the real estate in book stores on the front table that your publisher pays for: they either buy it or they don't. Their call.)
-Buzz and word of mouth. (I suppose that this could go either way - you can self-promote, but either people love the book and start talking about it with others or they don't.)
And here are the things you can:
-Establishing relationships with readers. (This takes a lot of time and energy online, but it breeds loyalty and is worth it. Reach out to them, return their emails, get to know them. I think this goes a long way toward my last point above: that to a certain extend, you CAN generate some buzz.)
-The actual words inside the book. (Be proud of them no matter how many copies you sell.)
-Your own self-promotion. (No one, even the very best publicist, is going to care as much about your book as you do. You have to be your own best advocate while not crossing the line to smug, annoying, desperate self-promoting whore. It's not as easy as you'd think, but it can be done. Remember that if you're not confident enough to talk about your book, no one else will do it for you.)
SO. To be honest, I'm not sure that I realized with my first two books how little was in my own hands. And to be more honest, knowing what I can and can't control actually eases my stress...which is why I'm posting this. I can't tell you how many conversations I've had with new authors who didn't realize that co-op is huge, and that print run is even huger. (Yes, I made up that word.) What can I do about those things? Nothing. I'm fortunate in that my publisher has been supportive of both facets of this book but in the past, this hasn't always been true. So what? What can I worry about? Not those things. I can worry about - and DO worry about - spreading the word and hoping that people who are interested in the book actually take a few moments to purchase it, and I can do my best to try to ensure that they do that. But after that, a lot of it isn't up to me. For better or worse. That's how this gig works. You throw a book against a wall and hope that it sticks. At least this time around, I'm armed with this knowledge. Am I still super-stressed? Yes. But am I at least hopefully stressed about the right things? Well, as much as one can ever be.
(But check back next year when I look back and tell myself all the NEW things I've learned this time around!)
Any authors out there want to share their own pre-pub worries? How you've dealt with them in the past?
Reader Comments (14)
Taking notes for my own launch next April! Lots and lots of notes!
I love the rundown of what you can and can't control. I have heard of many authors getting discouraged by what they can't do, feeling resigned and helpless -- but there's so much you CAN do, just reaching out. And as invested as everyone else is in your book's success, you're still the one who cares the most. There are plenty of places to put that energy. You never know what will catch on.
(Also, how awesome is it that Random House is helping you extend the giveaway? SO awesome!)
Allison:
So is it your opinion that a house will either "get behind the book" ie, buy the co op space, ad space, etc. or not, and there's not much you can do along the way? ANy advice would be appreciated.
I don't have any pre-pub worries to share (except, OMG WILL IT EVER HAPPEN FOR ME?!) but I do have a question: If I recall correctly, TOML went back to press for 2nd and maybe even 3rd print runs, yes? How does that happen? Does a publisher look at the numbers and say, Hey, we ran out pretty quickly, better make some more? Or do booksellers say, Hey, we've got a lot of people asking for this title and no more copies to give them, better make some more? What's the process?
Great post, Allison. I'm still in the "polishing the ms" for submission stage, so this is a way off for me. However, I'll keep it all in mind and load up on the Pepto. ;-)
Hi Judy,
Generally, you have an idea about what in-house support will be like by the advance that they've paid you. And (again, generally), the bigger the advance, the more they'll get behind the book because they have to recoup that money. Now, if trade reviews come out and are incredible, and/or there is unexpected heat on the book before the publication, then that can change things. But I think if there were really obvious things that authors could do to sway in-house support, every author would do them. It's a strange thing - this business - how houses buy books and then essentially leave many of them to dangle in the wind, but like it or not, that's how it often plays out.
Anyone else should chime in here too with their thoughts...
Allison
Kristan-
Actually, if you can believe it, it went back SIX times. I know, seems crazy. The way that works is before a book launches, book sellers place a designated order. So let's say Amazon orders 1000. Your publisher totals up all these orders and then decides on your print run...they have a bit of a buffer for reorders but they don't want to print too many and lose money. So when, for example, Amazon anticipates that 1000 won't be enough, they get your publisher to go back to press (assuming there aren't enough in the buffer zone). At least, that's my general understanding of it...I've never been told explicit details, but that's what I've pieced together. When Costco came in, for example, for a later buy of TOML, we went back to press just for them. (If memory serves.)
Allison
Allison:
I just wanted to say thank you for this post. I'm still at the query stage, but this kind of information is enormously helpful, especially in regards to knowing what's ahead.
David
I'm still crossing my fingers for this stage, getting ready to leap into the giant world of submission, but thank you. Even though I'm new to your blog, you've already enlightened me with your knowledge.
I just received both your books in the mail today from Amazon. I'm already through the first chapter of THE ONE THAT I WANT. I am folding laundry with the book propped up in front of me. Cannot. Put. It. Down. Really fabulous book, Allison.
Thank you, Joann! I sent your bookplate today.
I love that you take the time to share your experiences with aspiring writers. It is greatly appreciated!
Judy, the only thing I'd add is that while co-op and print runs are beyond the control of a writer, what you CAN do is show your publisher how committed you are to making your book a success. If you've covered the basics - building a website, getting FB & twitter accounts, etc. - try to come up with other ideas that will show your publisher you will be a partner in launching your book. Like the contests Allison is running - not a lot of authors do that sort of thing, and it is helping to set her apart. Come up with a written plan of what you can do to get your book noticed, make sure your editor knows about it early on, and better co-op and print numbers just may follow. It's tough to hopscotch between "writing" and "marketing" sides of the brain, but for me, reading blogs like this one and talking to as many other authors as I can about the business really helps.
Thanks for sharing your experience. It sounds like it can be completely nervewracking. And it's got to be tough to NOT worry about everything (I'm professional grade when it comes to worrying -- LOL), since a lot of future things ride on the success of this venture.
However, when you list what is and isn't in your control. . .it makes it easier to take a deep breath and see where to focus your energies. Hopefully it also gives you a chance to actually ENJOY the wonderful aspects of having a new book out. I hope I can keep these things in mind when my book makes its appearance. :) Thanks for giving me a chance to practice before having to deal with it!
Our book was released on May 4 (How NOT to Marry the Wrong Guy) and the hardest part for me has been finding the balance between managing my day job (freelance writer--no I couldnt quit my dayjob when I got the book deal :) and time spent promoting the book (twitter, facebook, blogs, events, outreach, etc.) Fortunately, I cowrote the book with a therapist and she is providing plenty of free counseling to me. I tend to wake up everyday and say "Why isn't such and such happening" and she wakes up and says "What great things are going to happen today?" Attitude and perspective is everything.
We had originally self-published so we are grateful to have an awesome team at Broadway Books (Random House) helping us this time around. And in those moments when we feel that things are out of our control, we focus on why we wrote the book in the first place--and that was to help women have happier, healthier relationships. We just keep reminding ourselves of that! Oh, and love your books by the way!
This is all soooo helpful, thanks Allison. I think many authors (myself included) get so focused on the writing and selling of the book to a publisher that once you've done that it's easy to think that you're done. But obviously that's not true, and you're so generous to share the gory details. I remember when I heard Ann Patchett speak at Grub Street last year she talked about how it's so easy to say, "If I could only get an agent." Then you get an agent, and it's, "If I could only find a publisher." Then: "If I could only sell xx number of copies..." and so on. (I am completely paraphrasing, by the way.) There's always something else on the horizon you're striving for, so if you don't find the joy in the work AND learn your way around the practical aspects of publishing there's really no point in doing any of it. I'll be taking all of your advice to heart when my book comes out! Thanks again.