And now for a few harsh words about operating in the Networked Economy.
The problem for most indies—particularly new ones—isn’t producing a book. Once you’ve gotten a full draft written, the rest is mechanics. Cover art is cheap. Editing is relatively cheap. Conversion from word processor to ebook, and even paper, is cheap.
After you have the manuscript, everything is cheap mechanics except for one aspect:
Marketing.
It’s the one thing every indie wants to tribe up to handle, because yelling in the woods alone is, well, lonely. It’s also counterproductive. It scares away readers, attracts predators, and exhausts the author.
It doesn’t have to be like that.
We’ve known the market is a conversation since the Cluetrain left the station in 1999. We’ve known about the importance of being remarkable since the Purple Cow mooed in 2003. But too many authors still operate as if ad buys and exposure gets sales. As if a 5-star Amazon review opens the floodgates to a river of wonga while a 1-star one kills your career. As if there are only so many readers in the world and they’re all taken.
You don’t need a co-op to produce a book, and you don’t need a company to network. People have been networking since the tribal days, and it’s only gotten easier now that we don’t need drummers to bash out our messages on the jungle drums.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll probably have to say it again: Face to the fans. Network at your back.
“I don’t have any fans.”
– Keep at it. You’ll get some.
“I don’t have a network.”
– Build one.
“I don’t have time to build a network.”
– You’re reading this post, aren’t you? You’ve already had more than enough time to work on a network. It takes a few minutes a week to lay the groundwork. You can spend more, if you’re having fun. If you’re not having fun, you’re doing it wrong.
“But don’t I need friends and views and likes and followers?”
– Not really. A few connections to start is usually enough. You don’t need to be everywhere and probably shouldn’t be. Chasing numbers is what everybody tells you to do. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be (Look up the “Million Follower Fallacy” and “You Followed My Bot”).
What you need is work that people can buy—or at least get for free. You can’t promote the book you’re going to write, only the one you’ve written and published. More is better. A blog where you publish your short stories is fine, but that’s not where the juice is. Get your work listed in a marketplace. Even—God help you—Wattpad if you must, but there are better alternatives (almost anywhere, JMO).
What you need are a few people who are in the trenches with you. RMFW is filled with people just like you. Check in with the IPAL and PAL people to learn more about those avenues. RMFW has an open Facebook group where you don’t even have to be a member to ask a question or look for help. If you’re reading this, you’re already part of a network. Claim your node.
What you need is to stop thinking like you’re on Mad Men and start thinking like the artist you are. One with a global marketplace and a global reach. One where the distribution channels funnel you directly to customers in their pajamas around the world with a few key clicks.
Anything else is just roadkill.
Resources:
The Cluetrain Manifesto by Rick Levine, Christopher Locke, Doc Searls, & David Weinberger
Purple Cow by Seth Godin
Photo credit: Wikipedia
This post was originally published for the Writer’s Discussion Group on Google+ in 2015. We’re still fighting the same battles as new soldiers step up to the front lines of publishing.
Hi Nathan, Thanks for the info. I guess I still haven’t caught the clue-train, however, because I have no idea what you mean by ‘Face to the fans. Network at back your back.’ What do you mean by network? More importantly, how does one network? Thanks for the clarifications! 🙂
Your network is comprised of your fellow writers, your peers, your allies. The people who you count on to have your back. Who do you ask when you need to find a new cover artist? Who do you turn to when your editor drops into the void? Who are the people you can count on when you need somebody to brainstorm a story idea? They may not even write in your genre, but they’re the people you can turn to when you need help.That’s your network.
‘Face to the fans’ refers to the notion that you communications need to be to the fans. So your blog, your tweets, your Facebook presence all need to be oriented to your fans.
Way too many writers talk to fans about the writing and not about the things fans care about. I see it over and over. I understand it because the marketing advice authors get is focused on a warped sense of content marketing. Sure, write a bit of backstory about your universe that didn’t make it into a book if you like, but not how you manage your time in order to get the words on the page. Fans don’t really care about how writers craft believable characters–but they might like to know how Luke and Laura came to be.
What ever your writer-face puts out in a fan-oriented channel should be something the fans want to know. Mostly, my fans want to know “What are you working on now? and “When can i get the next book?” A few want to know why I’m not publishing the story in the format they want it or the book they’re looking for right now, but that’s a great problem to have.
That’s not to say you can’t write author-stuff. Just keep author-stuff off the brand related channels.
This blog post is a good example. I write about being an author here in order to try to help fellow authors. It’s not a channel my fans use to find out what I’m up to. This is a back channel to my peers and colleagues. RMFW is part of my network. Y’all have my back. None of this stuff appears in the places my fans look for news about me or my stories.
Face to the fans
Network at my back.
Does that help?
“How does one network?”
Mostly you show interest in the field and communicate with others who are likewise interested. You’re networking now.
The most fertile ground for networking comes when you interact with others who write what you write? Not just in gross terms – like Romance – but actually in the niches within each genre. So if you write Sweet Western Romance, getting to know those authors is networking. Reading their works is networking. Finding them at conferences and in forums is networking.
Like I said in the other comment, network also includes people who don’t write in your niche — and some don’t write at all.
Added info on the Clue-Train Manifesto.
Back in the late 90’s, a group of people looked at the internet as it related to markets and marketing. It was an important influence on my thinking because it looked at markets as conversations. It posited that broadcasting commercial messages might not be the most effective way to reach customers, and that the companies that would survive would be those who could deal with a conversational structure.
The first five of their 95 Theses
1. Markets are conversations.
2. Markets consist of human beings, not demographic sectors.
3. Conversations among human beings sound human. They are conducted in a human voice.
4. Whether delivering information, opinions, perspectives, dissenting arguments or humorous asides, the human voice is typically open, natural, uncontrived.
5. People recognize each other as such from the sound of this voice.
When we look at our “face to the fans” remembering that we are not talking to them, that we are talking with them, can make a huge difference in our messaging, our presentation, and our relationships with them.
Thanks for the clarifications, Nathan. 🙂
I’m hearing I need to talk with readers via blog, tweet, facebook. Any tips on how to get started on that–and more importantly, how to get readers to pay attention to any of those? Thanks again!
Well, you get to pick the channels you want to use. I know a lot of people who get mileage out of Pinterest and Instagram.
As far as I’m concerned, the best ones are the ones you like and use. For me that’s twitter, facebook, blog, and podcast for fans. I use blogs (like this one), forums (like SFWA), facebook, and google+ for network.
If you’re not using anything yet, maybe get a facebook account and catch up with what RMFW is doing there. We have an open RMFW group where we can have conversations about social media and how it works.
As for connecting with readers, I’ve always found the best way to be interesting is to be interested. When you show interest in what somebody else is doing, that can jumpstart the process of forming the connection you want.
And as an aside, the best way to jumpstart your audience growth is to borrow one from somebody who already has one. A couple of people who write what you write and already have an audience can help you get some fans of your own. This is where a network is more valuable in the early stages than later.
Nathan, thank you for sharing your thoughts, and giving your advice. I always find your posts informative and helpful!
Thanks for commenting. 🙂
Great direction and encouragement.
Thank you!