Your experience mirrors everything I've learned over the last decade in children's publishing. I no longer look for book store events, though I love supporting my indies in other ways that are sometimes more effective (like directing readers to a local store for signed books). I focus on festivals in areas that I want to visit and that are a good chance to see friends. I only travel seriously when my publisher pays for it, and I try to get marketing value out of appearances bc the book sales are never going to be massive.
Yes to all of this, Melanie! I think those signed books through an indie are the best use of time and money for everybody. And it's nice to keep those bonds with our local bookstores! I'm so with you that I'm only going to travel when the publisher pays for it, because self-funded excursions just haven't given me sales that are worth it. Thanks for sharing this!
This post was the first time it has even occurred to me that we can ask our publisher for travel funds! What did you pitch for this look like? Even working with a large publisher, I’ve not ever had book-related travel offered up…but I also haven’t ever made book touring a big part of my promo (and after reading your experience, will likely stick with that approach). thanks again!
Thank you for sharing this post! It’s a real conversation that needs to happen, especially for midlist authors! We all have this dream of a tour and an amazing book launch. My reality has been unless you’re a huge seller with lots of anticipation, bookstore events can be crickets! I’ve settled on doing something locally with a favorite indie and getting my friends and family there to celebrate. A few people trickle in but my past two launches have mostly been people I know. Even with strong conversation partners. I’m in a big city with lots going on. I love the other advice you gave as u know with more books the friends and family have other things to do and will likely dwindle down in numbers. So setting expectations with yourself is so important!
You’re so right, it’s such an important conversation! And I think it’s easy for us to fall into the trap that if we don’t get big attendance, it makes us or our books worth less, which is so not the case.
JJ, this is SO fantastic and timely! I took notes! It’s both interesting and helpful to hear the ins and outs and whys of what has been working and not working, and what you’re experiencing with promo-ing YA vs. picture books. I’ve been thick in book release mode these past 2 months, along with you, and I’ve been trying to pay close attention to what seems to be working best for my book and audience. You’re inspiring me to create a similar post soon, to reciprocate the generous sharing you’ve done here. Thank you! 💕
Oooh I would love to know how picture book promoting is, and the particular challenges or positives of having wee ones be your main audience, and if parents are still bringing their kids out and about these days!
I feel this so hard!! But I still do the in store events as an act of goodwill. I did one last Saturday and sold Zzzzero books. But I did make 2 books recs for an old man who was chatty but not interested in my books. He special ordered both of them (as they were not in stock), and that was a win! Onward!
I’m an indie author, but this resonates with my experience. At a book festival, I usually sell 10-30 copies (though at LATFOB I sold 150 books in two days 🤯). Being posted at a table in a store moves 5-10 copies. Speaking events can be fun and legitimizing, but I typically only connect with 1-2 new readers. I’ve found that readers are way more likely to take a chance on books by unfamiliar authors if they’re at a festival.
Love this yet again! I also very rarely find in-person events to be worth it, partly because I'm not that big of a draw and partly because I'm a lot of books in and if you want to see me in person, there's a good chance you already have. The best has been teaming up with other authors people really want to see - I did a panel with two other authors, one a huge bestseller and one a popular local author to the area - and it was fantastic, but yeah, solo stuff is just not for me. (Also, ten years ago, tons of friends showed up to stuff. Now they all have kids or have moved out of the city, and it's so much harder to show up. I get it! I never go to anything, and I used to go to *everything.*)
For visibility, I'm still a fan of Goodreads giveaways - my publisher just did one without even telling me (I literally would never have known about it if I hadn't stumbled upon a single entry in my GR feed) and it got more than twice the entrants of any of my other books for whatever reason. I've never really clocked whether social media ads make a difference, though my publisher always does them, for which I'm grateful. I *love* festivals, but haven't been invited to one since TLA got canceled in 2020. And I have no idea how well preorder campaigns work, as the only one I have stats for is the one I ran myself, but that book sold about double my other big 5 novels in its first week. Coincidence? No idea! tl;dr I know nothing but I'd like to figure it out!
Lol, I know nothing but I'd like to figure it out is so real! I love the idea of teaming up with other authors for a panel, so you're all in it together. And I like those Goodreads giveaways too! I think they help people discover books that may not have heard about before. Thank you so much for sharing this, Dahlia!
Wow, every one of your posts is gold! Thank you for your transparency and vulnerability ❤️ If you have a moment, I’d love to know more about how you accessed bookscan numbers. For some reason, I thought you had to have a paid account, so is that something you ask your publisher or can look up on your own?
Your experience mirrors everything I've learned over the last decade in children's publishing. I no longer look for book store events, though I love supporting my indies in other ways that are sometimes more effective (like directing readers to a local store for signed books). I focus on festivals in areas that I want to visit and that are a good chance to see friends. I only travel seriously when my publisher pays for it, and I try to get marketing value out of appearances bc the book sales are never going to be massive.
Yes to all of this, Melanie! I think those signed books through an indie are the best use of time and money for everybody. And it's nice to keep those bonds with our local bookstores! I'm so with you that I'm only going to travel when the publisher pays for it, because self-funded excursions just haven't given me sales that are worth it. Thanks for sharing this!
This post was the first time it has even occurred to me that we can ask our publisher for travel funds! What did you pitch for this look like? Even working with a large publisher, I’ve not ever had book-related travel offered up…but I also haven’t ever made book touring a big part of my promo (and after reading your experience, will likely stick with that approach). thanks again!
Thank you for sharing this post! It’s a real conversation that needs to happen, especially for midlist authors! We all have this dream of a tour and an amazing book launch. My reality has been unless you’re a huge seller with lots of anticipation, bookstore events can be crickets! I’ve settled on doing something locally with a favorite indie and getting my friends and family there to celebrate. A few people trickle in but my past two launches have mostly been people I know. Even with strong conversation partners. I’m in a big city with lots going on. I love the other advice you gave as u know with more books the friends and family have other things to do and will likely dwindle down in numbers. So setting expectations with yourself is so important!
You’re so right, it’s such an important conversation! And I think it’s easy for us to fall into the trap that if we don’t get big attendance, it makes us or our books worth less, which is so not the case.
JJ, this is SO fantastic and timely! I took notes! It’s both interesting and helpful to hear the ins and outs and whys of what has been working and not working, and what you’re experiencing with promo-ing YA vs. picture books. I’ve been thick in book release mode these past 2 months, along with you, and I’ve been trying to pay close attention to what seems to be working best for my book and audience. You’re inspiring me to create a similar post soon, to reciprocate the generous sharing you’ve done here. Thank you! 💕
Oooh I would love to know how picture book promoting is, and the particular challenges or positives of having wee ones be your main audience, and if parents are still bringing their kids out and about these days!
Yes! All great questions! I will formulate something in the new year! Thanks for the inspiration.
I appreciate how you may all this out. 💜💜💜💜
Zoraida! That means so much! Thank you!
I feel this so hard!! But I still do the in store events as an act of goodwill. I did one last Saturday and sold Zzzzero books. But I did make 2 books recs for an old man who was chatty but not interested in my books. He special ordered both of them (as they were not in stock), and that was a win! Onward!
That goodwill is so important! I would have done the exact same thing in your scenario and ended up an impromptu private shopper for that chatty guy!
I’m an indie author, but this resonates with my experience. At a book festival, I usually sell 10-30 copies (though at LATFOB I sold 150 books in two days 🤯). Being posted at a table in a store moves 5-10 copies. Speaking events can be fun and legitimizing, but I typically only connect with 1-2 new readers. I’ve found that readers are way more likely to take a chance on books by unfamiliar authors if they’re at a festival.
All the yes to festivals! 150 copies is PHENOMENAL! Thank you so much for this input, Lizzy!
HUGE congrats on your launch, JJ, and also WELCOME TO THE CLUB :,) this resonates - thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you so much, Allison! This club has a lot of great people in it! ❤️
Love this yet again! I also very rarely find in-person events to be worth it, partly because I'm not that big of a draw and partly because I'm a lot of books in and if you want to see me in person, there's a good chance you already have. The best has been teaming up with other authors people really want to see - I did a panel with two other authors, one a huge bestseller and one a popular local author to the area - and it was fantastic, but yeah, solo stuff is just not for me. (Also, ten years ago, tons of friends showed up to stuff. Now they all have kids or have moved out of the city, and it's so much harder to show up. I get it! I never go to anything, and I used to go to *everything.*)
For visibility, I'm still a fan of Goodreads giveaways - my publisher just did one without even telling me (I literally would never have known about it if I hadn't stumbled upon a single entry in my GR feed) and it got more than twice the entrants of any of my other books for whatever reason. I've never really clocked whether social media ads make a difference, though my publisher always does them, for which I'm grateful. I *love* festivals, but haven't been invited to one since TLA got canceled in 2020. And I have no idea how well preorder campaigns work, as the only one I have stats for is the one I ran myself, but that book sold about double my other big 5 novels in its first week. Coincidence? No idea! tl;dr I know nothing but I'd like to figure it out!
Lol, I know nothing but I'd like to figure it out is so real! I love the idea of teaming up with other authors for a panel, so you're all in it together. And I like those Goodreads giveaways too! I think they help people discover books that may not have heard about before. Thank you so much for sharing this, Dahlia!
Wow, every one of your posts is gold! Thank you for your transparency and vulnerability ❤️ If you have a moment, I’d love to know more about how you accessed bookscan numbers. For some reason, I thought you had to have a paid account, so is that something you ask your publisher or can look up on your own?