Tuesday

Four Things NOT to Say When Pitching Your Book to a Publisher

When authors pitch their book to a publisher, they are essentially selling. But many authors are poor salespeople when it comes to books — not because they’re incompetent but because ideas that may seem innocent or even positive to most people suggest something else entirely to publishers.

I have easily reviewed several thousand proposals and have identified the four most common statements that authors make but should avoid:


1. “Given that the number of [teenagers/graduates/entrepreneurs/young parents/etc.] is currently estimated at [enter numeral] million, the market for this book is huge!"
There really is no such entity as the “general" marketplace, and writing for a (sufficiently large enough) niche is actually a good thing. People have so many choices -- the more specific a book is in catering to their particular needs or tastes, the more likely they are to buy it.

Example: Mock it all you want, but Fifty Shades of Grey focused on a readership that no one even thought existed ("mommy porn"). Since it was the only book in that arena, it didn’t even have to be well written.


2. “I envision a series of books that use this approach in different --"
Committing to a series of books is a scary thing for a publisher. If the publisher contractually agrees to a series, he or she is obligated to publish follow-up titles even if the first one bombs. No publisher wants to commit to that kind of long-term loss. Don’t say anything about a series -- you don’t need to. If your book is successful, your publisher will come begging for a series.

Example: Keep in mind that the most successful serials (such as the For Dummies series or the Chicken Soup for the Soul titles) were not initially pitched as serials, but the first books sold so well that the publisher decided to make them so.


3. “Given the popularity of books such as [enter name of New York Times bestselling title here] or the books of famous authors such as [enter name of bestselling author here], this book will inevitably draw an audience."
Not exactly. The popularity of a particular issue or subject is important to some extent, but in most cases, books in the same arena as yours sold because the author is popular or appeared on Jon Stewart’s show (or something similar). The author is the draw, not the subject matter. So unless you’re as famous as that author, the fact that you are writing about a related topic makes little difference. Also, an author who doesn’t bring anything new to the subject matter but just parrots what someone else said and adds in a few minor details just shows a lack of originality.

Example: When Rhonda Byrne’s bestseller The Secret started racking up sales in the millions, every self-help author suddenly had a take on the law of attraction (the generic philosophy Byrne’s book was based on), and the marketplace was flooded with “Me, too!" books. All of them were summarily ignored -- and bombed, as they should have.


4. “To promote the book, I intend to build a dedicated website, appear on radio shows, utilize social media, and speak as often as possible."
Here’s the problem: intending to do anything offers no guarantee that you will, nor does it guarantee that you will be successful. I can say that I will ask the queen to endorse my book, but it remains unlikely that she actually will. Publishers can go only on what authors have already achieved, not on what they intend to achieve. An author wont suddenly become a social media maven or a successful speaker appearing on nationwide media just because he or she now has a book. Remember this rule above all else: books do not start movements; movements start books.

Example: Almost every (nonfiction) bestseller had its momentum building well before the book came out. From Freakonomics to The Secret to Free, these books were written by authors who were actively speaking and writing about their work first. The book was just the capstone. And regarding social media, how many requests have you had to “like" someone’s Facebook page? Do you even bother to go back and visit the page even if you do "like" it? Remember that a top author can boast over 5,000 such "likes," but a farting cat can garner over a million. So, yeah, your competition is a farting cat, and it's beating you senseless. And how many times have you bought a book because of the author's Twitter feed? Think of how many authors you know -- and how many of their websites you have actually visited.

12 comments:

  1. Thanks... good advice that is simply put and actually makes sense here. I especially loved #4 because I find that it applies to anything in life. This is a difficult lesson for dreamers (myself included).

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    1. Thank you, Yolande. Yes, #4 is difficult because dreams by their very nature can be a challenge to translate into reality. That said, there's nothing wrong with putting your dream into the marketplace first to see how it fares before writing the book, no?

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  2. Kind of embarrassing. I have said each of these things on both books - and said them more than once. Which means that I must believe them - so I will begin unbelieving, so I can stop saying. Just sayin'. Thanks for your wisdom.

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    1. No problem at all to say these things, but just recognize the limitations inherent to them is all.

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  3. All points made and illustrated beautifully. As part of an indie bookstore, we have authors coming in all the time who have self-published their book and want to speak at our store. If they don't have a marketing platform already, they usually don't have a chance of presenting.
    One correction to point #3: Jerry & Esther Hicks did not bomb, but then again, they were kind of the reason Rhonda Byrne created the movie to begin with, and then cut them out.

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    1. Very good point about the Hicks, but yes, there is some back and forth regarding origins there. By the way -- I am in your store now and then because my roommate from school lives in Mountain View. Love the place!

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  4. Great tips, thank you! I'm pleased to say I haven't done any of the things on this list, but you've now convinced me to write my second book about the leadership secrets of a farting cat. Why spend time talking about my executive clients or my own life experience when feline flatulence is the surer path to fame?

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    1. Hey! I'm already working on that book! Don't you dare steal my farting cat leadership book idea!

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  5. Thank you for these tips. Successful platforms depend not only on providing a benefit to your audience, but also on learning and practicing public speaking and presentation skill. Although I've taught public speaking, at one time, I was so terrified of speaking in a group that I got nauseated. One tip I give to writer's groups is to encourage and help each other to be better speakers.

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    1. Totally agree with you, Nancy. I have seen a number of truly gifted authors who can write beautifully but speak awfully and it hasn't helped their book sales for sure.

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  6. Would #4 apply to memoirists? If so, do you have any ideas for memoirists? If not, what should a memoirist do? Thank you!
    chivvis

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  7. Memoirs are a tough racket and I should say up front that they are not my strong suit. That said, it really depends on what kind of a memoir it is and how much energy the publisher is going to put behind it.

    For example, when Ishmael Beah published "A Long Way Gone," he really had no competition because, well, how many child soldiers from Sierra Leone have a memoir? And frankly, if you were going to have a competition for the toughest life experiences ever, it would be hard to top his (and we live in a culture that is obsessed with one-upping others with our material goods, achievements, and, yes, even sufferings). So he probably didn't need much of a platform because the story was so compelling and the publisher probably did a lot to market the book.

    However, most memoirs I have seen are from people who recovered from abuse or trauma by parents or loved ones or from disability or disease. Let's face it, those topics (though not at all easy to write about or experience) are a lot more common, making it harder to get noticed.

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