In whitefox publishing's Book Promotion for the Independent Author Guide, freelance creative consultant Miriam Robinson discusses the evolution of book promotion for independent authors.
Q. Can you tell us a bit about yourself and what your role as Programme Director involves?
I have one of those freelance jobs (and job titles) that doesn’t immediately make sense, which used to really bother me—having a straightforward way of describing our work feels so fundamental to our identities—but I’ve recently decided to embrace it, because it works for me and my life. So I’m a freelance creative consultant, which means that I do all manner of jobs, mostly in publishing, for anyone who needs help with anything from brand consultancy to marketing, project management to events to copywriting and proofreading. Some of my most interesting contracts have come from someone who wasn’t quite sure what they were looking for, to whom a mutual connection has said, ‘I bet Miriam could do that!’—and we figured it out together. I’m also a fledgling podcast host and longsuffering writer. I’ve been freelancing for magazine for years, again doing everything from being part of the incredible team who produces The British Book Awards to writing columns to marketing their conferences, but my longest–running gig with them is as director for their Marketing & Publicity Conference. This essentially involves taking the pulse of what comms teams across the industry are concerned about, what they want to learn and who they want to hear from, and programming a day of talks, panels and workshops which meet those needs. It’s very much about introducing delegates to new skills or helping them brush up on old ones, but—and this feels crucial when there’s so much burnout around—I also really try, alongside the endlessly creative team at to put together a day that energizes marketers and publicists to go back into their jobs with fresh, creative thinking, alongside a sense of their own boundaries and potential.
Q. What is a common myth or misconception about marketing and publicity that you wish more authors knew before publishing?
I can’t even imagine how infuriating, heartbreaking and nerve-wracking it must be as an author to pour every piece of you into a book, only to see it struggle to get to readers. I do, however, get very frustrated when I hear anyone disparaging the work that marketing and publicity teams do, suggesting that they’re not working hard enough, or creatively enough. These are some of the hardest-working people in the industry, often holding not only the myriad day-to-day practicalities of their job (and usually someone else’s job) but a significant creative burden and an unquantifiable amount of emotional labour, which doesn’t necessarily get clocked in performance reviews. I promise, they are doing everything (and more) that they can.
Q. What advice would you give to authors looking to promote their book pre- and post-publication with a limited budget?
Two things: prioritize and learn. The first is probably obvious, but even with a budget of a squillion pounds, you need to be making choices based on your audience and on your own USP—where are your readers, and how can what you’re saying resonate with them? What I mean by this is don’t make decisions based on trends or the latest platform just because it feels like you should—if your audience isn’t on TikTok, for example, you shouldn’t be there just because you think everyone else is. And unless you have a ton of time, I’d also argue against creating countless bits of content that might never go anywhere. Think about content you can repackage for multiple spaces—as a brilliant colleague of mine once said, learn to ‘sweat your assets’ (we also decided this should be the name of our new lifestyle brand—watch this space for the t-shirts). Learning is also crucial. Often people get disheartened because a campaign doesn’t work or a book doesn’t immediately sell. But the amazing (if not slightly exhausting) thing about the current media landscape is that we always have another chance. Take a look at what you’ve done—who was your copy speaking to, did your graphics do what they needed, is your audience on the platform you’re using (see above)—and try and try again. I rarely abandon something after one try—if you think something didn’t work, don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Look at what can be learned, tweaked, adjusted, and try again. Any effort can teach you something and investing time in testing and learning will always bear fruit in the end.
Miriam Robinson is a freelance creative consultant, podcast host and the Programme Director for The Bookseller Marketing & Publicity Conference. She recently launched the third season of her podcast offering authors an opportunity to return to a crossroads moment in their lives and write the story of what might have happened had they gone in a different direction. In 2013 she won the Kim Scott Walwyn Prize, which celebrates exceptional women in publishing, after rising from bookseller to Head of Marketing at Foyles in less than four years. Follow Miriam on Twitter.
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