What sells you when you decide to buy a book? Perhaps
you were drawn by the cover art. Did the title catch your eye first? Was it a
blurb on the back? You may have read a review and decided long before you
ruffled the pages that this was the next item for your to-be-read pile.
As an author, all these are valuable tools to employ.
Some are harder to come by. Not everyone is going to see their book reviewed by
the New York Times. For
self-published authors, a mention there might happen only if the book becomes a
surprise hit and warrants a news story. To be sure, that’s quite valuable in
itself, but again not a likely outcome.
Reviews on Amazon and Goodreads are something all of us
should be seeking for our books. But even these might be hit or miss. To be
sure, it’s nice when people indicate a book is now on their “Want to read”
list, but it’s more significant when “AvidReader123” writes a three paragraph
review of glowing praise, especially if Avid has written half a ton of other
reviews that people found helpful.
Let’s go back to the blurb. These are certainly nice to
have. And for the unknown writer, they can be more than just nice. Imagine how helpful it would be if your publisher got Stephen King to
blurb your debut psychological thriller. That could certainly translate into sales.
But blurbs from brand name authors are awfully tough to get, too.
Agents know to protect their authors from blurbing too often. I know writers who are kept on a strict one-blurb-a-year diet.
Ok, so Stephen King won’t blurb your book and neither
will his son Joe Hill. But what if one of those guys tweeted your book’s debut?
Might that be worth something to you? What if George Takei shared mention of
your novel on Facebook? Think his followers might take notice? Honestly, I
think those might be more valuable than a blurb these days.
Of course, such electronic real estate is also hard to
come by. Heck, finding a twenty dollar bill on the ground might be more common.
But it still might be easier to get a tweet than a blurb.
Think of your own social media habits. Don’t you share
things you found interesting? You’re writers: what are you reading? That’s a
form of endorsement in itself. If you tweet out what you’re reading, some of
your followers might check it out, too. Perhaps you’d enjoy sharing a bevy of
your favorite covers on Instagram.
The key is having a well-stocked toolbox. Some tools are
sharper than others, some cost more or have limited use. But assess what each one can do for you -- and for others. In the end, you
get back what you give.
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