What many authors don’t realise is how critical marketing is to the success of their title once they’ve overcome the hurdle of getting an agent, finished the stellar content, and got the book on the shelf.
Store placement and promotional work are key to sales. Many publishers now want an author to have a ‘platform’ or personal marketing strategy of how they can get the title picked up by book clubs, reviewed on Amazon and recommended to target audiences.
Book fairs are another important place where publishers trade information on their upcoming lists and books which they expect to do well. They are labyrinthine affairs with winding stalls and stands organised by language, region or nationality, filled with publishers.
For this reason, authors often think this is the best place to find a publisher. But that is not the case; those at the fair are not looking for new books per se, but rather to increase the company profile and sales of their current list.
At the Frankfurt Book Fair (the world’s largest book fair) the rights agents of the major publishing houses have meetings scheduled throughout the day at every half hour to talk about their catalogue to prospective book buyers and also those who may be interested in translation.
Book fairs generally are not open to the public; they are a chance for publishers, agents and distributors to share information and ensure that the next bestseller has been promoted as much as possible to the hidden faces of the industry who get your book into the hands of readers.
If you have a published book, then it’s important to ask your publisher and/or agent what fairs they will be attending and how they will encourage interest in your book. If you happen to live near a fair that is open to the public, it’s a good idea to pick a certain talk and attend. It will show you how publishers and agents promote authors as well as how authors themselves interact with the public outside of TV or bookshop-type talks.
(Reading & Writing Development Director)
As a writer and illustrator of children's books, living in a small land-locked country in southern Africa has its drawbacks when networking and trying to publicise one's work. Thank goodness for the internet, (when it's working!) which now enables those of us out of the main stream to join it.