Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Control
Recently another author blogged about the fact that looks don't matter in writing, particularly when it comes to selling your book to an editor, but also in the marketing of your book. Anyway, a spirited, sometimes prickly discussion ensued, and towards the end the author commented that the reason she is so passionate about this topic is because, for her, it's about having and maintaining control of her destiny. As she put it (and I'm paraphrasing) she can work really hard, become a better writer, write a better book, and market harder. But she can't make herself look a certain way, so it's better to focus on the things she can control that will help her book sell (I feel compelled to point out that this is not a case of sour grapes at work - the author I'm referring to is very pretty and definitely has looks to leverage if the opportunity arises).
And I couldn't help thinking that if maintaining control of your destiny is a major thing for you, then perhaps writing is not the best career choice. Maybe it's just me, but I could lose weight, dye my hair, work out a whole bunch to fit some physical ideal, and it would happen a lot faster than it took to sell a book. And even beyond selling a book to the editor, there are a LOT of things that affect how your book sells once its published that I have almost zero control over. And I'm taking this list not just from my experience, but from other far more established authors who have hit bestseller lists and have still been burned. Here are a few I can think of off the top of my head:
- My cover
- How hard the sales team pushes my book to booksellers
- My reviews
- If there's glitch in shipping, causing my book to not show up in a major chain for the first 2 weeks it's out
- If my book comes out the third week of the month, after readers have already blown their budget on the other new releases in my genre
- If a bigger author gets moved into my month, thus eating up all the marketing $$
I'm sure you can all add to this list, just as I'm sure some of these things get a little more under your control as you get more established. My point though, is that while I'm trying to do what I can to steer my career in the right direction, there are so many things that you have no control over that can derail you. So I don't know, but I'm thinking a little diet, a little nip and tuck, maybe some botox, and I can be a beauty queen a hell of a lot faster than I can be a bestseller.
And I couldn't help thinking that if maintaining control of your destiny is a major thing for you, then perhaps writing is not the best career choice. Maybe it's just me, but I could lose weight, dye my hair, work out a whole bunch to fit some physical ideal, and it would happen a lot faster than it took to sell a book. And even beyond selling a book to the editor, there are a LOT of things that affect how your book sells once its published that I have almost zero control over. And I'm taking this list not just from my experience, but from other far more established authors who have hit bestseller lists and have still been burned. Here are a few I can think of off the top of my head:
- My cover
- How hard the sales team pushes my book to booksellers
- My reviews
- If there's glitch in shipping, causing my book to not show up in a major chain for the first 2 weeks it's out
- If my book comes out the third week of the month, after readers have already blown their budget on the other new releases in my genre
- If a bigger author gets moved into my month, thus eating up all the marketing $$
I'm sure you can all add to this list, just as I'm sure some of these things get a little more under your control as you get more established. My point though, is that while I'm trying to do what I can to steer my career in the right direction, there are so many things that you have no control over that can derail you. So I don't know, but I'm thinking a little diet, a little nip and tuck, maybe some botox, and I can be a beauty queen a hell of a lot faster than I can be a bestseller.
Comments:
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Since I was a part of the discussion you mentioned, you know I agree 100%. I had exactly the same reaction. Publishing is definitely not the industry you want to be in if you seek control over your destiny (if such a thing even exists). I think it is very naive to suggest otherwise. As you've pointed out, SO many things can go wrong. I'm with you, I'd advise the makeover:)
# posted by 
: 11:16 PM
: 11:16 PM
Thanks Jasmine! Though after a full year of mommy hood, I'm definitely feeling in need of some smoothing out and tightening up!
Hi Jami - Great post - Gee, I wonder where you heard some of those bad luck stories :) It's true a lot of publishing is out of the author's control. It is still my belief, after watching authors self promote for the last fifteen years, that most authors really only break into the top levels with the publisher muscle behind them. But I do think along the way there are things you can do to increase your odds ...
You can stay on top of the market, find out what other writers are getting in terms of marketing, think ahead of the curve and propose new ideas to your publisher. If you can offer ideas that will help them better market your book, they'll usually listen. If the ideas are cheap, they might even do them! You can also try to get more input on covers and back cover copy, which are so important. And you can get a good agent, one who is really looking out for your best interests. You can sometimes even control the pub schedule if you can write quickly or offer up linked books ...
But I totally agree that control freaks have a lot of trouble in publishing. I had an author friend who was a fabulous writer but got dumped by her publishing house after three books, not for anything to do with her writing, just editor changes and a line closing, and she just never recovered from the idea that she could have failed in something she did really well. It just wasn't logical to her, but unfortunately a part of writing! She hasn't written since and got into other work that doesn't drive her nuts half the time.
You can stay on top of the market, find out what other writers are getting in terms of marketing, think ahead of the curve and propose new ideas to your publisher. If you can offer ideas that will help them better market your book, they'll usually listen. If the ideas are cheap, they might even do them! You can also try to get more input on covers and back cover copy, which are so important. And you can get a good agent, one who is really looking out for your best interests. You can sometimes even control the pub schedule if you can write quickly or offer up linked books ...
But I totally agree that control freaks have a lot of trouble in publishing. I had an author friend who was a fabulous writer but got dumped by her publishing house after three books, not for anything to do with her writing, just editor changes and a line closing, and she just never recovered from the idea that she could have failed in something she did really well. It just wasn't logical to her, but unfortunately a part of writing! She hasn't written since and got into other work that doesn't drive her nuts half the time.
Great advice Barbara, especially for newbies like me! I'd love to hear more about the cheaper marketing ideas that you think have worked.
How true, Jami. Writing is not a good job for control freaks. Barbara's right, there are things you can do to improve your chances of publishing and staying published. For me, the best thing is to stay nimble, move with the times, change when the market changes. Because when your editor leaves, your line folds and your agent retires, then you have to be ready to shift into another gear. All of those things have happened to me and many others. What makes a successful writer? Tenacity, determination, and the ability to roll with the punches. Because I'm afraid there are plenty of those both ahead and behind us.
# posted by : 10:10 AM
: 10:10 AM
I love your post, mainly because I am the original control freak. I make myself nuts sometimes--as well as everyone around me--but I do believe that by trying to hang on to some of the control over your career, you get more out of your publisher. I do a lot of my own promotion and started sending monthly reports to my editor so she'd know what I was doing. I believe that my efforts have helped pave the way for more support from my publisher than I, as a new author for them, might have had. In my case, I get more satisfaction from that than a make over could ever give me, because at my age there's nothing but old stuff to remake--and it's WAY past fixing!
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