Oh, gack! Nobody wants to talk about marketing, right? We all want it to just happen, by magic.
Sometimes it does just happen by magic. I know a FEW writers who never think a bit about marketing. They just sit in their corners and type and their books sell like hotcakes. A very few writers, actually.
I know a LOT of writers whose books sell like hotcakes. The great majority of them work their buns off marketing themselves.
I wish, I wish, I wish that when I started writing that I knew then what I know now. I’d do two things different:
1) I’d write 3 or 4 books that were all similar in subject matter, instead of skipping around all over the place and confusing my readers about what to expect when I write a book.
2) I’d market myself more effectively.
I’ve turned over a new leaf in the last couple of years. I’m now focusing myself better than I used to. And I’m marketing myself WAY better than I used to.
I intend to keep marketing myself. I have one SuperArticle, the famous Snowflake page, which has been viewed 25284 times in the first 23 days of this month, according to my web stats. No kidding, it’s averaging more than 1000 page views a day this month.
I plan to rewrite my article on Writing the Perfect Scene and turn that into a SuperArticle too. That’s going to take a lot of work. Right now it’s getting about 40 page views per day, which adds up to 14600+ per year. By the end of this year, I’d like to see it getting more than 100 page views per day. That’s a doable task.
I also have some ideas for some SuperArticles for my forthcoming novels. More about that in due time. I’ll just note that the two articles I wrote in March on the alleged family tomb of Jesus have now landed me in a documentary that is going to air on TV this weekend. (On the INSP channel.) Those aren’t SuperArticles, because they were time-limited in interest, but they still did something cool for me.
I explained why and how to write a SuperArticle in my recent e-book on Super Performing Articles.
What about you? Do you have a blog or web site that’s not attracting a lot of attention? Is there a SuperArticle you could write that could help you build a platform over the next five years? If so, I want to hear about it. Leave a comment telling what you’d like to write about.
If you’re not thinking about a SuperArticle yet, leave a comment and tell us what sort of novel you’re working on, and the rest of us can help you brainstorm some ideas. SuperArticles are a proven way to build that pesky platform that your publisher says you should have.
Start your engines!
My blog and website are trundling along, though I haven’t written up any huge articles yet. I hope to use it as a springboard for one of my novels, if/when one gets picked up, which I believe will happen eventually (otherwise why would I still be trying?). I’ve got two manuscripts that I believe are solid enough to be published, one being a more classical fantasy, and the other…I guess it’d fall under urban fantasy. The draft I am about halfway through at the moment is another modern fantasy. I’ve only attempted one science fiction story at this point, and I’ll admit being a bit loose with the facts…but at least it was fun.
Hi Randy,
I just finished Pyromarketing by Greg Sielstra. This guy has it down for the new paradigm. I have spent 20 years selling a niche product, and I developed marketing strategies very like the ones he has. A novel is also a product that requires niche marketing, because NOT EVERYONE is a potential customer for a given book.
My big mistake on entering fiction: I didn’t cater enough to my established niche market! So I’m holding off on marketing those novels while I write one that specifically addresses the wants/needs of the (admittedly narrow, but very committed) platform I already have. Then those readers might develop a taste for my general fiction. I call this leapfrog marketing.
I won’t need a publisher for that one, just a printer. Duh!
OK, Randy, I could use your help. I’m a forensic artist. I’ve written/illustrated three books on how to draw. I’m working on my novel with the main character a forensic artist. (A forensic artist stumbles upon the killing grounds of a serial killer.)
I wrote an article on the REAL story of how forensic art was used in such cases as the Unabomber, Polly Klaas, etc. I’ve given helpful suggestions on my Amazon page. Any suggestions (outside of “don’t give up your day job…”) for better marketing?
I could use some help/suggestions. My novel is set in a sort of copper age, where there are both stone and copper levels of technology. Magic exists as well, but isn’t all powerfull. An evil cult, in hopes of gaining great power, are about to bring back the dark art dragons, whose actions 10,000 years ago resulted in the gods exterminating all dragons upon the world. A few of these dragons, foreseeing this End Of Dragons, took steps to remove themselves from the world, and are now on the brink of being returned to the world.
What could my niche be? Where can I make a super article? I keep thinking this over and over and am always stuck. The only good news for me is, I still have time to figure it out since my novel isn’t completed yet.
Yes, I have the same problem that Kathryn has, well, any Fantasy-ish writer would have. What can we make into a SuperArticle? I mean, when you write about imaginary creatures and beings, what’s there to write about in a Super Article that others would find useful? It’s not like we could write about “Tips for feeding your pet dragon” or something. Also, my Fantasy trilogy is Christian in nature, but I really don’t think we need ANOTHER web site devoted to “Why Fantasy can be Christian.” There are too many of those already. Anyway, maybe I’m just not “getting it.”
Yes, I have the same problem that Kathryn has, well, any Fantasy-ish writer would have. What can we make into a SuperArticle? I mean, when you write about imaginary creatures and beings, what’s there to write about in a Super Article that others would find useful? It’s not like we could write about “Tips for feeding your pet dragon” or something. Also, my Fantasy trilogy is Christian in nature, but I really don’t think we need ANOTHER web site devoted to “Why Fantasy can be Christian.” There are too many of those already. Anyway, maybe I’m just not “getting it.”
Hey Randy!
My blog averages maybe 10 visits a day lately. Very sad…LOL! But my website gets close to 4,000 a month! Sadly, it’s mostly crawlers. Wish I knew more about it all and wish I had time.
I write romantic suspense/thrillers. I blog once a month on Writer…Interrupted about being unequally yoked. I’ve written a Marketing 101 article for Spirit Led Writer. I have a side busines of graphic design (Designer Girl Graphics). I’m a hodge podge! Got any ideas?
Hey, thanks for doing this! Looking forward to reading more.
I am having an article published–a philosophical take on a science book from the late nineteenth century.
The editor loved the concept. And then before I actually submitted it, I had realized, I still wasn’t satisfied. This is something I had worked out last fall; it was only recently that I thought “Hey–this is worthy of a query.”
Importantly, I still didn’t send it off–even after I knew the editor was interested. I studied it hard and started working it over again.
My work was worth the effort. I wasn’t expecting to get the amount of positive reception though–simply because so much passes an editor’s desk and because of the old idea: it’s all been done before.
Now novels are another story (never intended it to come out that way) Writing a novel is like walking a tightrope as far as balance is concerned and I keep falling off.
The novel I’m working on (out of my comfort zone) has some science. I wouldn’t call it true Sci-Fi, but I’m dealing with some science elements.
It’s premise struggles with the forces of oppression and suffering within a world (our world) of bizarre phenomena.
It will probably be two or more books.
I’m not so much of a “world” developing kind of writer–not the heavy fantasy or sci-fi but more like a Mitch Albom )Tuesdays with Morrie)kind of writer.
If you think of crossing that with Anne Rice, toss in a bit of Carl Sagan, Erma Bombeck and Dickens–I don’t know what you get–but I’m going to find out.
Question: How do you build a niche that crosses lines? If it’s not true to one genre, what happens then? Maybe save that until you’re “allowed” to. Probably: square peg = square hole mentality is best until you can safely write on paper toweling in purple crayon and still be published.
Blessings,
Joleena
I’m writing a romance novel set during the Second World War. My heroine, Jo Barkley, resists a call from God and joins pro-rodeo to pursue her dream of a ranch. She has to disguise herself as a young man because women were not admitted to the main rodeo events in the 1940s.
I have written four Jo Barkley books for tweens. Three of them are self-published, the fourth one seeking a publisher.
What could be the topic for my super article?
Thank you. I’ll appreciate any help you can give.
Neva
I wish I had some sage advice for those who have already commented. Unfortunately, I don’t.
I could use some input, though. 🙂 My current wip is about an undercover NARC cop whose cover is blown by a computer hacker. In the book I focus a fair deal on the college drug scene where my cop works before her cover’s blown. She also has an old friend show up who’s been fighting drug addiction for over ten years.
Don’t be fooled by the fact that my protag is a cop. This is not suspense. It’s really an allegory about major loss. Maybe women’s fiction? The style is “chick litty,” in that it’s written in the typical wry first person, present tense, but includes several deeper subplots than what you’d normally expect from chick lit. (Think Reconstructing Natalie for a reference point.) I really hope to reach a younger audience while still appealing to the usual 30-50 y.o. set.
I spent a lot of lost years before finally giving my life over to the Lord. I hope to use my experiences as part of my platform, or, I should say I feel God might be tugging me in that direction. I’ve already hooked up with an international ministry that helps young women and girls who struggle with substance abuse and other addictions/disorders. My plan is to be able to highlight them, and a few other organizations they recommend, at the end of the book for anyone who might read the book and be struggling in those areas or know someone who is.
This is the preliminary plan, anyway. I go to a conference in a week-and-a-half and hope to garner some interest from editors.
Any feedback? Or any ideas about an article? I have very thick skin, so be as honest as you want…
Like most of the other writers who replied, I too am begininng to wonder what my Super Articles are going to be about once I nearly finish my books and actually begin to write them.
See, I am fairly young, so I doubt that I’m going to have my books on the shelves of Barnes and Nobles any time soon, but it’s always god to be prepared.
I am currently in the planning process of two books, both of which are extremely different from each other. One I’m not sure will ever sell. I think that the only reason that I’m writing it is because I’ve had the idea for so long, and it was kind of my first substantial idea. I tried writing it over and over again, only to stop before it really got started because I never bothered to pre-plot. Now, I’m wondering if in the future I can write any Super Articles relaing to it. It, like a lot of people who commented, is a classical fantasy, and I’m not really sure what type of Super Article one could write that could relate to it, without it being stupid.
The next book I think will be fairly simple to write an Article about. It’s about a band trying to make it big for the last time so that the main character, the rythm guitarist, can support his new family. Then, the band does make it big, but they have to overcome problems with drugs, violence, ect. Basically I would have any articles written about that be either about music, or drugs, and how badly they mess up people’s lives.
I have a lot of time to think these articles over if I ever write them, but, once again, it’s always good to be prepared!
Okay, if the first comment was made by Josh Vogt, I can vouch for his scientific fantasy–good work. I got a glimpse at it because I am in a writing critique group with his mom, another great author.
Anyway, I could use some help marketing my ms. Unlike what I have seen so far on this blog, I write for kids. My book in a sentence is, “A twelve-year-old boy risks his friendship–and his life–to unmask crime and superstition in the mysterious Archipelagos.” I actually live in South America, but need to market my novel in the States. A little more complicated. Any ideas?
My project is right now finishing my revision of my Jesus novel of around 150,000 words and then what to do with it.
Should I publish it from a blog site in installments to get interest and feedback right away?
My viewpoint is based on historical Jesus studies and from the point of view of Jesus as an innovative Jew. Therefore it is not a Christian novel, nor am I a Christian writer.
I have written my novel to appeal to Christians and non-Christians as a new image of Jesus based on his historical teachings and not Christianity’s image of Jesus.
So where does my novel fit? How do I market it, assuming it is professionally done as a novel?
I already have The Writer’s Interface, a 92,000 words collection of writing craft tools for writing a novel, starting to sell at the new site, so I am confident about writing this novel. I have already 350,000 non-fiction books in circulation.
I know, Randy, that you have announced that you are planning now to write a Jesus novel in parts. Anne Rice has already published her first part of a Jesus novel.
I believe that good writers can write good novels on their differing images of Jesus and find a large audience, so novelists writing Jesus novels are enhancers of a special genre developing more than competitors. At least I announce this as a genre here. The genre of Jesus novels, of which there are a number already. I wish I knew someone who has a list of all of them!
My plan is to develop my new website: www.Jesusnovels.com as a genre site for reviews and information for all Jesus novels that are good novels, regardless of the image of Jesus they use for their story. Thus I hope my own Jesus novel will be in good company. I welcome reviews and articles and announcements, but the site is not set up yet. Any help or leadership in fact? I’m interested in cooperation and not control.
Any suggestions for a broad-view publisher of a historical Jesus novel? Or how to market it? The right agent who knows how to sell to the enormous interest in Jesus right now?
Any suggestions of what to include on the JesusNovels.com site to make this a focalizing Jesus novels genre?
What about paid subscribers to a chapter a month on my Jesus novel? Could this work?
This is my passion and my work of ten years now. Thanks.
I have a novel completed about a down and out woman over 50 who gets her dream job as a fairy godmother–but then it turns into something of a nightmare. I have part of a second novel in outline–still struggling with snowflake–and parts of a third volume written. It’s somewhere between Terry Pratchett and Esther Friesner.
I want to target the over 50-post menopausal woman who likes a laugh now and then, maybe who has come through the feminazi stage to lighten up and look for her third age.
have researched fairy godmother websites, and found about thirty, along with two that are actual coaches for reaching one’s dream. There are also a couple of books on the SuperArticle that I had hoped to write–“how to be your own fairy godmother.”
My personal website is low traffic, and the only other one focuses on goddesses rather than fairies. I could writer “Be your own Goddess” but that doesn’t match the book. All suggestions appreciated.
By training I am an English teacher, and at the moment I work as a webmaster for a college. I have a good bit of life experience–who hasn’t at 56? I probably ought to write redneck memoir, but don’t have the emotional distance to manage that yet, althought I am workign on it.
I write mysteries. I’ve written four novellas, 2 contemporary and 2 historical, published through Barbour. I think they make great lunchtime reads and I know there’s readers out there who think the same, because they buy the collections every time they come out. So there’s a market out there. But my most current works are mysteries, plus I’m planning a contemporary suspense and a historical suspense. I don’t know that I have a ‘super article’ in me. I’d love to write one that would benefit people. I currently am a contributor to the blog Keep Me In Suspense along with a few other authors.