I'm not selling a whole lot of books right now, so it is easy to think not much is happening. At the same time there is progress. I tried distributing fliers again, this time in my neighborhood of Riverdale, New York, and found it to be a rewarding experience. I went out with a big sign, early afternoon on a week day and the people who came by were quite receptive. I think the flyer's provide a good introduction to the book and the Riverdalians who took one read it as they were walking away. I'm not sure that always happens on the Internet. A few people came by a second time for a chat. Once it got personal. An older woman told me her grand daughter had taken her own life. The woman took a fliers and asked me why I didn't have any copies on hand to sell. Another young African-American woman came by twice and explained that she worked in the mental health field. As she was walking away the second time she said,
"I'm looking forward to reading it."
A young man took a card for the web site and said he wanted to read an excerpt. That web site is http://www.cuttingthroughtheknot.com. An old retired New York City Police Detective was looking for a ghost writer to write his biography. He stopped to tell me some stories. All of this happened in an hour and a half.
It takes some hutzpa to position yourself alone on a street corner. At the same time I left feeling that my book has a role to play. These people seemed genuinely interested in a humorous and direct look at the subject of mental illness. I also felt like going public with this story is actually a good deed that has the power to make others feel less ashamed. It is possible to feel that the gesture is too small and insignificant to really matter. How can an hour and a half on a street corner really measure up in the mighty world of book publishing? But, I suppose, you have to start somewhere, and in my case putting a friendly human face along with the book seems to be a plus.
On other fronts, I left a couple of phone messages for the managing editor at the Cornell Daily Sun, and e-mailed him copies of my two reviews. Here I must be patient. Managing editors and newspapers have their own schedules and priorities. One nice thing is that the second edition of the novel, Cutting Through the Knot, is now available as a Kindle edition on Amazon.com. I publicized this fact on Facebook. There may be additional marketing possible around the advent of a Kindle edition. The price on Kindle is a mere five dollars. This may actually be a bit high, by Kindle standards, but that is where I set it.
The bottom line is that there an awful lot of self-published books out there. It is not at all easy to get noticed. I'd like to reach the people who have concerns about mental illness and tell them there is a positive story here. How to do that remains a challenge.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
Distributing Flyers
Tried an approach yesterday I haven't seen written up any where else. I took a couple of hundred yellow fliers with a description of the novel, that would be Cutting Through the Knot (Second Edition), boarded the 1 train and rode it down to Battery Park in lower Manhattan. I proceeded to a strategically chosen spot on a plaza with a full view of the Statue of Liberty, a suitable emblem for the book, which is in part about freedom, and prepared to go to work. I was standing with my back against a low wall right next to the line that leads into the loading area for the ferry ride over to Lady Liberty. Every one pretty much had to walk by me, if they wanted to get on the boat. A surprisingly high percentage took the flyer.
There were advantages to this position. For one thing the tourists would be standing still at least for a couple of minutes after they picked up the publicity, with nothing else to do. For another thing these individuals were out of their normal routine. They had already decided to go some place different and to see something new, so they might be open to new ideas as well. The disadvantage was that some of them may not read English in the first place. There was one other advantage, I got to look out at the water in the harbor as I was handing out the fliers. I didn't try and make a big impression. I just stood there and kind of nonchalantly handed out the pieces of paper, with an occasional,
"Thank you," or "Have a good day."
The flyer itself said the rest, a quote from my one real review, a picture of the cover and a few paragraphs of description. At the bottom of the page it said the novel was for sale on Amazon.com. I could see the tourists reading it in line. None of them wound up on the ground.
I guess I can see why this approach isn't written up in the literature. It did feel a bit arbitrary, handing out a couple of hundred of fliers to this seemingly arbitrarily chosen group of prospects, but when you consider that at the moment I'm dead in the water, I feel good about it. I have to start somewhere. Sure on line reviews might be better, but at this point even a couple of new sales would be satisfying, because a couple can lead to a couple more. I think I feel good about it for another reason. The flyer speaks about laughing at mental illness, about looking at it head on. Putting that message in two hundred people's hands, however arbitrarily chosen, felt to me like a good deed. Later yesterday afternoon I went into my local Staples and ordered a two foot by three foot backed laminated sign, so that next time I can do it better.
There were advantages to this position. For one thing the tourists would be standing still at least for a couple of minutes after they picked up the publicity, with nothing else to do. For another thing these individuals were out of their normal routine. They had already decided to go some place different and to see something new, so they might be open to new ideas as well. The disadvantage was that some of them may not read English in the first place. There was one other advantage, I got to look out at the water in the harbor as I was handing out the fliers. I didn't try and make a big impression. I just stood there and kind of nonchalantly handed out the pieces of paper, with an occasional,
"Thank you," or "Have a good day."
The flyer itself said the rest, a quote from my one real review, a picture of the cover and a few paragraphs of description. At the bottom of the page it said the novel was for sale on Amazon.com. I could see the tourists reading it in line. None of them wound up on the ground.
I guess I can see why this approach isn't written up in the literature. It did feel a bit arbitrary, handing out a couple of hundred of fliers to this seemingly arbitrarily chosen group of prospects, but when you consider that at the moment I'm dead in the water, I feel good about it. I have to start somewhere. Sure on line reviews might be better, but at this point even a couple of new sales would be satisfying, because a couple can lead to a couple more. I think I feel good about it for another reason. The flyer speaks about laughing at mental illness, about looking at it head on. Putting that message in two hundred people's hands, however arbitrarily chosen, felt to me like a good deed. Later yesterday afternoon I went into my local Staples and ordered a two foot by three foot backed laminated sign, so that next time I can do it better.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Marketing Strategy
My marketing strategy is based on a model employed by my father in starting what became a thriving Internet business. He began with one client, The Washington Post, and not a whole lot more, but it turned out that was all he needed. He went to his other prospective clients and said,
"Hey, I've got The Washington Post."
And they all said,
"The Washington Post, they're pretty important. This must be a good business. Maybe we should get in on this too."
From this he began. As he took on other influential clients he displayed them to companies in similar fields. The same thing continued to happen. Some fifteen years later, the business is going strong and bringing in a steady income. I'm sure this says something fundamental about human nature. I couldn't say what it is. I just know it worked.
So that is what I would like to do. I'm compiling a long list of the arts editors at an assorted collection of universities and colleges. I'm taking down the managing editors as well, all with their e-mail addresses. If I get that review in the Cornell Daily Sun, I plan on writing to them all and doing just what my father did. I'll say, though not in these exact words,
"Look, The Cornell Daily Sun reviewed my novel. They know a thing or two. Don't you think you should do the same thing."
I also plan on sending it to the community newspaper in Ithaca, the Ithaca Times, and to the Cornell radio station, WVBR. If I can land either of those two, I'll proceed to other radio station and community papers in small cities with universities in them.
All of this depends on my getting that review in the Cornell paper. This is true. But I think I am going to get it. Also, I can't think of any other way to proceed. There are so many thousands of self-published books out there, and so many thousands of authors trying to publicize them, it is enough to drive a man to despair. But I do not despair. I'm building my list of papers and editors, and if I get the review I'll be ready to roll. If I didn't truly believe in my product, as my father did in his, all of this would be a waste of time. Here again I can say positively that I do believe in it. Cutting Through the Knot (Second Edition) has something to say. Learning to laugh at yourself lies at the root of recovery from many forms of mental illness. This to me is worth blogging over and worth making the effort necessary to publicize a self-published novel over. Humor cuts through the knot, of obsessive rumination, anger, despised self-image, inordinate amounts of fear, and the whole complex of distorted emotions associated with severe obsessive compulsive disorder. That is a lot of what the book is about. And I think it says it well.
"Hey, I've got The Washington Post."
And they all said,
"The Washington Post, they're pretty important. This must be a good business. Maybe we should get in on this too."
From this he began. As he took on other influential clients he displayed them to companies in similar fields. The same thing continued to happen. Some fifteen years later, the business is going strong and bringing in a steady income. I'm sure this says something fundamental about human nature. I couldn't say what it is. I just know it worked.
So that is what I would like to do. I'm compiling a long list of the arts editors at an assorted collection of universities and colleges. I'm taking down the managing editors as well, all with their e-mail addresses. If I get that review in the Cornell Daily Sun, I plan on writing to them all and doing just what my father did. I'll say, though not in these exact words,
"Look, The Cornell Daily Sun reviewed my novel. They know a thing or two. Don't you think you should do the same thing."
I also plan on sending it to the community newspaper in Ithaca, the Ithaca Times, and to the Cornell radio station, WVBR. If I can land either of those two, I'll proceed to other radio station and community papers in small cities with universities in them.
All of this depends on my getting that review in the Cornell paper. This is true. But I think I am going to get it. Also, I can't think of any other way to proceed. There are so many thousands of self-published books out there, and so many thousands of authors trying to publicize them, it is enough to drive a man to despair. But I do not despair. I'm building my list of papers and editors, and if I get the review I'll be ready to roll. If I didn't truly believe in my product, as my father did in his, all of this would be a waste of time. Here again I can say positively that I do believe in it. Cutting Through the Knot (Second Edition) has something to say. Learning to laugh at yourself lies at the root of recovery from many forms of mental illness. This to me is worth blogging over and worth making the effort necessary to publicize a self-published novel over. Humor cuts through the knot, of obsessive rumination, anger, despised self-image, inordinate amounts of fear, and the whole complex of distorted emotions associated with severe obsessive compulsive disorder. That is a lot of what the book is about. And I think it says it well.
Monday, August 30, 2010
University Market II
I am aware that up until this point, this blog may be of marginal value. My book, "Cutting Through the Knot (Second Edition)," does not have a commercial publisher and of all the manifold ways there are to market a book I am pursuing precious few. Still, there may be some reason for keeping a record of this kind. It shows, if nothing else, how one author is making the attempt to market his own novel. I don't seem to me making much progress on the next one, so this also keeps me writing.
I've been in touch with the managing editor of the Cornell Daily Sun and there is some reason for optimism here. He received the book, and he is looking for someone to review it. In fact he said,
"I'll shoot you an e-mail when I get someone."
He didn't have to say that. I actually think there is a pretty good chance I'll get reviewed. Will the review be positive? Here again, I think it will. I believe the novel is well written and funny, and that it deals head on with mental illness with an honesty that may well be unique. It is also a suitable book for the Cornell market. Like it or not, mental health is a big deal up there. I don't want to say it in a flip way, but last Sunday the university was faced with the task of removing the body of a sophomore from the Fall Creek Gorge. He jumped off a bridge. The protagonist in my novel, never considers this, but he does have an emotional breakdown while on leave from that university and living in Ithaca. It would seem to me that the community is ripe for some additional discussion along these lines. But hey, that's just me.
If I do get the review I think I may be able to use it to approach university papers on other campuses. They may be more likely to join in once The Cornell Daily Sun has gotten the ball rolling. With e-mail and the Internet getting in touch with the editors at other papers would not be at all difficult. So that's it. That is all I'm really doing on the marketing front. I've been in touch with the Sun advertising department and if I do get a review I'm planning on running a small ad in the on-line edition. They are not expensive. I know, it's a big "if." I just have to wait and see.
Maybe this is a good time to say something more about the novel's value as a mental health document. It's a good read, I've been told. I'd like to think it is Literature, with a capital "L," but it is also a painstaking honest look at the process of recovery from severe obsessive compulsive disorder, a condition closely related to other forms of mental illness including addiction. The central character is brought along by a highly skilled and brilliant psychiatrist, until he gets upset, flushes his medication down the toilet and winds up in a mental hospital, until he runs away from the hospital flies to California has breakfast and comes back. Right, I'm giving some of it away. The point is, the doctor really knows his stuff, and says all kinds of interesting things about O.C.D. and how, at the root, it can be treated. And it's funny. Really at times it is. Read it. Tell your friends.
I've been in touch with the managing editor of the Cornell Daily Sun and there is some reason for optimism here. He received the book, and he is looking for someone to review it. In fact he said,
"I'll shoot you an e-mail when I get someone."
He didn't have to say that. I actually think there is a pretty good chance I'll get reviewed. Will the review be positive? Here again, I think it will. I believe the novel is well written and funny, and that it deals head on with mental illness with an honesty that may well be unique. It is also a suitable book for the Cornell market. Like it or not, mental health is a big deal up there. I don't want to say it in a flip way, but last Sunday the university was faced with the task of removing the body of a sophomore from the Fall Creek Gorge. He jumped off a bridge. The protagonist in my novel, never considers this, but he does have an emotional breakdown while on leave from that university and living in Ithaca. It would seem to me that the community is ripe for some additional discussion along these lines. But hey, that's just me.
If I do get the review I think I may be able to use it to approach university papers on other campuses. They may be more likely to join in once The Cornell Daily Sun has gotten the ball rolling. With e-mail and the Internet getting in touch with the editors at other papers would not be at all difficult. So that's it. That is all I'm really doing on the marketing front. I've been in touch with the Sun advertising department and if I do get a review I'm planning on running a small ad in the on-line edition. They are not expensive. I know, it's a big "if." I just have to wait and see.
Maybe this is a good time to say something more about the novel's value as a mental health document. It's a good read, I've been told. I'd like to think it is Literature, with a capital "L," but it is also a painstaking honest look at the process of recovery from severe obsessive compulsive disorder, a condition closely related to other forms of mental illness including addiction. The central character is brought along by a highly skilled and brilliant psychiatrist, until he gets upset, flushes his medication down the toilet and winds up in a mental hospital, until he runs away from the hospital flies to California has breakfast and comes back. Right, I'm giving some of it away. The point is, the doctor really knows his stuff, and says all kinds of interesting things about O.C.D. and how, at the root, it can be treated. And it's funny. Really at times it is. Read it. Tell your friends.
Monday, August 23, 2010
Bookstores
There is a chance I may see my book, Cutting Through the Knot (Second Edition), on the shelves of the Kinokuniya Bookstore, the one on Forty-First Street and Sixth Avenue here in New York City. If I do, however, it will be because the book buyer knows me. It is in the nature of print-on-demand publishing, that the process is not generally suited for bookstores.
The problem, as I understand it, is that the bookstores can't return unsold copies of these books. They have to lay out the money up front, and they don't know if they will get it back. This is a risk the stores don't have to take with conventionally published books, and it is a function of the fact that conventional publishers produce larger numbers of books at one time. When a main stream publisher delivers books to a bookstore they come with the agreement that the publisher will take back the unsold copies.
Bookstores will order a copy of a print-on-demand book, if the customer has put up the money in advance. There may be other exceptions. I did a reading of the first edition of my novel at a Borders Books in Ithaca and as I was leaving, the manager purchased two additional copies from the supply I had bought. With the reading and the book on display she was confident she could move that number, that she wouldn't be taking a risk. The Cornell Campus Store, where I also did a reading, had a number of copies on hand that I did not provide. I can only assume that me being an alumnus and the reading taking place, they decided to spring for it, and take the loss if necessary. When I approached a Barnes and Noble here in New York City, they made if very clear they could only order a print-on-demand book if it was prepaid.
My book is being produced by an operation called Lulu. One of their principle attractions is that they do all the set up for free and receive payment only when a book is sold. It is possible that there are other self-publishing companies that charge more at the initial stages, and do have bookstore distribution. As I look optimistically ahead, this will come for me when I get taken on by a main stream publisher.
In there mean time, there is the world wide web, just waiting for the writer who has the right key to unlock its untold wealth, the right combination of words, the right Internet postings and hopefully a pretty good book to back them up. A review copy of my novel will be delivered to the offices of the Cornell Daily Sun in Ithaca today.
The problem, as I understand it, is that the bookstores can't return unsold copies of these books. They have to lay out the money up front, and they don't know if they will get it back. This is a risk the stores don't have to take with conventionally published books, and it is a function of the fact that conventional publishers produce larger numbers of books at one time. When a main stream publisher delivers books to a bookstore they come with the agreement that the publisher will take back the unsold copies.
Bookstores will order a copy of a print-on-demand book, if the customer has put up the money in advance. There may be other exceptions. I did a reading of the first edition of my novel at a Borders Books in Ithaca and as I was leaving, the manager purchased two additional copies from the supply I had bought. With the reading and the book on display she was confident she could move that number, that she wouldn't be taking a risk. The Cornell Campus Store, where I also did a reading, had a number of copies on hand that I did not provide. I can only assume that me being an alumnus and the reading taking place, they decided to spring for it, and take the loss if necessary. When I approached a Barnes and Noble here in New York City, they made if very clear they could only order a print-on-demand book if it was prepaid.
My book is being produced by an operation called Lulu. One of their principle attractions is that they do all the set up for free and receive payment only when a book is sold. It is possible that there are other self-publishing companies that charge more at the initial stages, and do have bookstore distribution. As I look optimistically ahead, this will come for me when I get taken on by a main stream publisher.
In there mean time, there is the world wide web, just waiting for the writer who has the right key to unlock its untold wealth, the right combination of words, the right Internet postings and hopefully a pretty good book to back them up. A review copy of my novel will be delivered to the offices of the Cornell Daily Sun in Ithaca today.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
The University Market
The protagonist in the novel, Jordan Fineman, has completed his junior year at Cornell University, and is encountering serious emotional problems, a phenomenon, rightly or wrongly, Cornell has become associated with. Early in the story, Jordan's father and sister drive up to Ithaca on a spring night, to cart Jordan down to New York City for his first meeting with his psychiatrist and there are references through out about his desire to return to Cornell and to complete his degree. In more general terms, the novel deals with that stage in life, "the college years," pursued in an unconventional manner.
For all of these reasons, it seems logical that if there is a market for this novel, it might be among younger, college age people. In particular it seems logical to approach the Cornell market. They read a lot of books. Most of them are assigned, but you never know. I'm attracted to this idea additionally because it is finite and, in fact, approachable market. The country is so vast, there are so many public radio stations, so many newspapers, so many web sites, that attempting to place one paperback book before them is daunting, no matter how filled with hope and love you may be.
So I've made a start at Cornell. I called the paper and asked about the price of running a series of small ads. In the context of that discussion, the managing editor suggested that the paper might be interested in including some editorial coverage of the novel, either as news, or as a review in the arts section. I gave him my best pitch, and we agreed that I would send him a copy to review. He sounded interested. In the category of "hope and optimism," if I got a review in the Cornell paper, it might be possible to use it to approach other university papers around the country.
For all of these reasons, it seems logical that if there is a market for this novel, it might be among younger, college age people. In particular it seems logical to approach the Cornell market. They read a lot of books. Most of them are assigned, but you never know. I'm attracted to this idea additionally because it is finite and, in fact, approachable market. The country is so vast, there are so many public radio stations, so many newspapers, so many web sites, that attempting to place one paperback book before them is daunting, no matter how filled with hope and love you may be.
So I've made a start at Cornell. I called the paper and asked about the price of running a series of small ads. In the context of that discussion, the managing editor suggested that the paper might be interested in including some editorial coverage of the novel, either as news, or as a review in the arts section. I gave him my best pitch, and we agreed that I would send him a copy to review. He sounded interested. In the category of "hope and optimism," if I got a review in the Cornell paper, it might be possible to use it to approach other university papers around the country.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Amazon.com
Amazon.com has played a big part in this process. There are other on-line book stores, BarnesandNoble.com, for one, and many smaller sites, but Amazon.com is the big gorilla. I don't know how the sales break down in terms of percentages, but Amazon definitely seems to be the place most people have heard of. I have found that they shoulder that responsibility admirably.
My novel, that would be Cutting Through the Knot, in case it slipped your mind, is in its second edition, the second version being similar to the first but re-edited and with the minor mistakes cleaned up. Amazon has handled the shift from the first to the second editions well. They kept the first one up and moved the comments seamlessly to the second edition's page. I have also found that they have handled all sales cleanly and without foul up. My page lists new as well as used copies of the novel, the used copies at a lower price. I have no idea where the used copies have come from as it is not very likely that any one who has purchased the book has already sold it back. I also give them credit for keeping books like mine, which to date have not shown many sales, on public display right in there with every one else.
This brings us to one of the key features of the Amazon.com listing, the sales ranking number. The sales ranking number has been the subject of some popular discussion. There are a number of web sites devoted to its proper interpretation. One key feature of this number is that it can fluctuate widely. I've been under 100,000 and over 3,000,000, depending on how aggressively I've been marketing my novel. The number may reach a more constant level if the book is receiving a consistent level of exposure. Still, it is a number, a series of digits quantifying your books place in the world, and it is easy to become enthralled by it.
I entered the world of Amazon.com, through my self-publishing site, Lulu.com. For one hundred dollars, they got me an ISBN number and a listing on Amazon and other on-line book sellers around the world. I find this to be a remarkable thing. I was just listening to Don McLean sing, "I knew if I had the chance, I could make those people dance," in his classic song "American Pie." Well here it is. The chance is here. If you have something to show off, you can go right ahead and do it. I concede that the ease of publication can be problematic. The first edition of my book was in some ways not professional, and I paid a price for that in the blog notice already mentioned. At the same time, that first edition got me an agent and an editor and made the second edition possible. The positive feedback I received also encouraged me to push ahead.
The world of publishing is changing very quickly. It is easier than ever to get a book in the public market place. The tricky part is getting any one to notice it.
My novel, that would be Cutting Through the Knot, in case it slipped your mind, is in its second edition, the second version being similar to the first but re-edited and with the minor mistakes cleaned up. Amazon has handled the shift from the first to the second editions well. They kept the first one up and moved the comments seamlessly to the second edition's page. I have also found that they have handled all sales cleanly and without foul up. My page lists new as well as used copies of the novel, the used copies at a lower price. I have no idea where the used copies have come from as it is not very likely that any one who has purchased the book has already sold it back. I also give them credit for keeping books like mine, which to date have not shown many sales, on public display right in there with every one else.
This brings us to one of the key features of the Amazon.com listing, the sales ranking number. The sales ranking number has been the subject of some popular discussion. There are a number of web sites devoted to its proper interpretation. One key feature of this number is that it can fluctuate widely. I've been under 100,000 and over 3,000,000, depending on how aggressively I've been marketing my novel. The number may reach a more constant level if the book is receiving a consistent level of exposure. Still, it is a number, a series of digits quantifying your books place in the world, and it is easy to become enthralled by it.
I entered the world of Amazon.com, through my self-publishing site, Lulu.com. For one hundred dollars, they got me an ISBN number and a listing on Amazon and other on-line book sellers around the world. I find this to be a remarkable thing. I was just listening to Don McLean sing, "I knew if I had the chance, I could make those people dance," in his classic song "American Pie." Well here it is. The chance is here. If you have something to show off, you can go right ahead and do it. I concede that the ease of publication can be problematic. The first edition of my book was in some ways not professional, and I paid a price for that in the blog notice already mentioned. At the same time, that first edition got me an agent and an editor and made the second edition possible. The positive feedback I received also encouraged me to push ahead.
The world of publishing is changing very quickly. It is easier than ever to get a book in the public market place. The tricky part is getting any one to notice it.
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