I had intended to post Part 2 of The Wonderful Machine Age today, but my weekend adventure at Minnesota’s second largest fair spawned some thoughts I decided to share with you. Next week The Wonderful Machine Age will return.
The focus for the summer months (at least here in the northern hemisphere) has been on writing Rand Hart and the third book in the Justinia Wright, PI series and editing/rewriting The Troubled City (The Rocheport Saga #4). As a result, book sales have fallen off the chart. Then again marketing is not my strong suit. I don’t really have a clue how to go about it. Encouragement, though, came to me from a Google+ post by JazzFeathers. She linked to an article: “None of my Marketing Seems to Work”. There are some good suggestions in the comments. Knowing that most authors struggle to get traction for their work is a consolation. I’m in a big boat and lots of us are pulling at the oars.
But I don’t think writers are the only ones struggling with how to sell what they produce. This past weekend my wife and I were at the Uptown Art Fair. It is the second largest fair in Minnesota, drawing 400,000 people over a long weekend. That’s more than live in the city of Minneapolis. Scores of artists paid big money to be there and artist after artist was trying to interest the throngs of people in his or her paintings, prints, drawings, woodwork, glass, metalwork, jewelry, fiber art, plants, and food.
I did succumb a wee bit to the cry of “Buy! Buy! Buy!”. Two tilandsias, a wooden box, a buffalo leather wallet, and a wooden serving spoon. Tilandsias are bromeliads and cousins to the orchid. They make great pets. They’re commonly called air plants.
After I got home and read the above referenced blog post, I asked myself why did I buy what I did? I like plants and the tilandsias weren’t expensive. The box appealed to my eye and contained buckeye wood. The buckeye is Ohio’s state tree and I was born in Ohio. A bit of sentimentality there. The spoon is made of cherrywood, feels good in the hand, and is pretty. I probably won’t use it as a spoon. Maybe a paperweight. The wallet, because mine was wearing out and I liked the looks of the buffalo one.
The lesson for us authors? Price is a factor. I confess, I don’t buy new books anymore from the Big 5 publishers. They are too expensive. I buy them used instead. I don’t even buy eBooks from the Big 5 because they too are way overpriced, IMO. There were many items at the fair I would have liked to buy. The price turned me off to almost all of them. Price is one reason why almost all of the new books I do buy are by indie authors.
Another lesson is eye and sense appeal. All of the items I bought at the fair looked good to me. “To me” being operative here. Not everything looks good to everyone. But our book covers have to look good to someone or no one will buy them. And ideally they should operate at an emotional level too. Also, the first few pages of our books should hook the reader by appealing to his or her emotions and senses. We have to make the reader care. I bought the box because of its emotional appeal, the spoon because it was smooth and pleasing to the touch, the plants because they looked cool, and the wallet because the leather was so soft and supple. These are basic appeals to our senses.
The only thing left to add is need. I bought what I did because at some level I wanted it but also needed it. Of course, in truth, I needed none of those things. Save for maybe the wallet. On the other hand, we all have aesthetic needs and needs for entertainment and pleasure.
Books fill the need for entertainment and pleasure. They also fill the need for knowledge and wisdom. Our books need to hook into those needs. Which means, of course, they need to be well-written and well-edited and in some way enrich the reader.
No food was purchased at the fair. Why? Because my wife and I walked over to The Tin Fish for fish and chips — knowing from past experience we were in for a treat. As it turned out we were disappointed this time around. The lesson here is that previous good experiences linger in the mind. And failure to deliver, produces disappointment. We writers need to be craftsmen and craftswomen. Delivering consistently good products to our readers so we don’t suffer the ire of their disappointment.
I’m not sure how to convert these ruminations into sales. Because ultimately even when the book is visible to the potential reader, readers don’t buy all the books before them. I set aside five other boxes to buy the one I did. I purchased only two tilandsias out of the hundred on the table. Ultimately it comes down to does my book look appealing to the reader. And ultimately that is a decision the reader makes.
Crispian Thurlborn posted a quote from Colin Firth on Google+. I re-quote it here: “I would rather five people knew my work and thought it was good work than five million knew me and were indifferent.”
We all want to make money from writing. The sad truth is the vast majority of writers throughout all time have not. And that includes us today. The vast majority of us won’t see very much money at all. So for now, I guess, while I focus on writing and producing good books, I’m going to be satisfied with those five people who know my work and like it. And if tomorrow I hit the best seller list that will be wonderful. If I don’t, I’m still having a blast writing and publishing what I write and pleasing those faithful five.
Share This!
Wonderful read that serves to highlight the conundrum that all artists face, whether it is with pen, brush, or instrument: the measure of success.
Arts and crafts have the edge over written word basically because ‘what you see is what you get’. You don’t buy a decorative box or a Monet and then discover that it’s not what you thought it would be once you got it home. Books have to work much harder to attract a reader.
As you rightly state, price is frequently key to generating sales. Having little to no money myself, it is often the deciding factor. Appearance is the lure that all books require these days. As a reader, however, I’m actually more drawn to the title of a book rather than the cover.
I remember wandering along shelves of books where only the spine was visible and picking out a book simply because the title appealed to me. The power of a title and the imagery it can conjure is sometimes underestimated. Oftentimes, I would take a book from the shelf which possessed a great title, only to be disappointed by its cover. Did I discard it? No, I would read the blurb or perhaps the first page. As the old adage goes, ‘never judge a book by its cover’. This should be doubly so in 2015, where quite often expensive artwork wallpapers over shoddy content.
I have no illusions about making money from my work. I’m not very interested in the whole ‘business model’ approach and I find ‘mailing list’ strategies to be absolutely abhorrent, but I know it is frequently listed as something all authors ‘must do’. I personally feel that creating awareness over direct sales is the better way, albeit much slower. If someone picks up something I’ve written I want it to be because it was their choice and not because I’ve prodded them enough times with a long stick.
Knowing at least a few people enjoyed something that I wrote is all the success that I need. For me, anything else is an unexpected bonus.
I agree whole heartedly with your points, Crispian. I, as well, am drawn more by the title than the cover and, like you, have walked down that bookstore aisle and pulled out the book with the interesting (to me) title.
In the end, awareness is the better approach. I’ve purchased a couple indie books because of that prodding. They were okay, but not spectacular. What the prodding actually did, is get me to buy and now that I’ve sampled I probably won’t buy again. While good, the books weren’t good enough.
And your description is classic: “…quite often expensive artwork wallpapers over shoddy content.” So very true.
Very astute. I have been a seller at a fair with hand made paper products. Sticking out from the crowd and price are definitely the part of the game. I also watched my mother try to sell her paintings at such markets and even though her art was original, reasonable priced for art, her sells were rare. She did sell her sets of postcards. Great post and a reminder that our books are a product and in a world of cheep goods, and well crafted, unique stories are worthy of the artist time to produce.
Thanks, Alice!