In May 2017, I attended the Oklahoma Writers Federation, Inc. conference in Oklahoma City. I’ve attended the conference several times, and always get something good out of it. My needs as a writer have changed over the last ten years since I first attended, but there’s enough at the OWFI conference for raw beginners, developing writers, and published authors (those three categories are not mutually exclusive) to all get something out of it.
At the 2017 conference, I was fortunate to win the drawing for a free hour of time from one of the presenters, Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound. Joan bills herself as a publicity expert. She works with many businesses, nonprofits, and entrepreneurs to help them find free and low-cost publicity online, in print, and through broadcast media.
And, of course, authors—particularly self-published authors—these days are entrepreneurs. So whether we like it or not, authors need to think about how best to publicize their work and spend time making it happen.
I attended two of Joan’s presentations at the 2017 OWFI conference and picked up many tips there. One that struck me as an appropriate “next step” for me was developing a newsletter. I had sent occasional newsletters to people I knew when I had a new novel to market, but I didn’t stay in regular contact with readers. Maybe it was time for me to reconsider this.
I scheduled my time with Joan. I sent her links to my website and a copy of the last newsletter I had published several months earlier. We had two phone conversations and exchanged some emails. She gave me good feedback on my old newsletter format (which I didn’t like very much, and neither did she), and we brainstormed how I might structure the content in a regular newsletter.
I confess that I did not take all of Joan’s advice. She was adamant that authors should send email content to their readers on a regular, every-two-week schedule. I agree with Joan that consistency is important, but I decided on a monthly schedule. Frankly, with writing two posts a week for this blog (and content for another blog also) and trying to stay ahead of my critique group as I write my novels, I didn’t want to commit to more than once a month.
What I liked about Joan’s input was that she helped me make my newsletter easier to produce each month. A consistent look. Consistent topics. Taking advantage of what I had already written in past blog posts. Those were all points that Joan emphasized as we talked.
I’ve now been publishing the newsletter on the first of every month for over a year (just barely—I’ve sent it out for thirteen months). Has it helped me sell books? I can’t point to many specifics, though I think some readers bought my latest novel after I reported it was published.
But I can say that I’ve heard from many friends I hadn’t talked to in years, and that has been a delight. Old friends and acquaintances are very supportive of my writing, and their affirmations keep me going. Plus, it’s fun to hear what they’re doing now, so the personal updates go both ways.
The challenge now is for me to grow my email distribution list. Joan and I talked about ways I could do that, including developing a short giveaway, which I have yet to write. (Though I have some ideas.) I’ve tried a few cross-promotions with fellow writers (more free publicity—Joan should approve!).
But I’ve come to the realization that to go beyond my core network I will probably have to pay for advertising to solicit more potential readers. I’m fortunate that my writing can now support some paid advertising, though I’ve barely put a toe in the water in developing ads. Perhaps I’ll post more about that when I have more to say.
Joan sends out a twice-weekly email newsletter herself, in which she provides publicity tips. I subscribe to a lot of email newsletters on writing and marketing my books. Most I follow for a few months and then unsubscribe. But a year later, I am still following Joan. I don’t find something useful in every email, but I find enough links to good articles and tips I can use immediately that it is worth my time to open her newsletter each time it shows up in my inbox.
I’ll return the favor Joan gave me, and give her a little free publicity. At the top left corner of her website, The Publicity Hound, is a box where you can sign up for her newsletter. I encourage you to subscribe and try it. If you like what she has to say, consider “renting her brain,” which is essentially what I did last spring to get my newsletter started.
Writers, what resources or experts have you found most helpful as your writing career has developed? Post your favorite in the comments, so we can all benefit.
