How does marketing a book work?

Hi Daniela -

Of course it all depends on the publisher, the author, and the type of book, but, in general, traditional publishers mostly invest in generating as much "free publicity" (as opposed to "paid advertising") as possible. This is because the time and money they invest in generating free publicity (which really isn't "free," in that sense) generally results in more "media impressions per dollar," and usually results in more sales per impression (or per X number of impressions) than a paid advertisement.

So, how do publishers go about attempting to generate "free publicity?" All sorts of way: Sending out press kits (including advance review copies) and then following up with their press contacts to line up author interviews and book reviews; scheduling and paying for "satellite media tours" for their authors (that's where you sit in a studio and do multiple, back to back interviews on media outlets around the country); setting up and paying for book tours, either virtual tours and/or in person; sending authors to book fairs and scheduling them to speak at related events; designing and printing collateral materials (e.g. business cards, bookmarks, press packets, etc) to help their authors and their sales staff promote the books; etc.

I think that's one of the big things that first time authors don't realize: At least at the present time, traditional publishers - particularly the big houses - have long established relationships with most national media outlets (including major book reviewers), and stand an excellent chance of getting exposure for their authors/books through those channels. Those are the media hits that can really sell hundreds - or even thousands - of copies almost instantaneously.

Good Luck!

Ultimate Cheapskate said:

...following up with their press contacts to line up author interviews and book reviews; scheduling and paying for "satellite media tours" for their authors (that's where you sit in a studio and do multiple, back to back interviews on media outlets around the country); setting up and paying for book tours, either virtual tours and/or in person; sending authors to book fairs and scheduling them to speak at related events; designing and printing collateral materials (e.g. business cards, bookmarks, press packets, etc) to help their authors and their sales staff promote the books; etc.

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Well, yes--I agree with you about the "free" publicity; but I'm not so sure about interviews and book tours. Publishers do that sort of thing sometimes: but tours are notoriously bad at selling books unless they're for authors who are already established. Many writers who are published by trade press get very little promotional activity which they can see, and so they assume that nothing has been done to sell their books. This isn't quite the case, though.

A lot of the marketing efforts carried out by trade publishers are aimed at the bookselling community, and not at readers. So they advertise in trade magazines which booksellers will read; they produce full-colour, detailed catalogues which they supply to bookshops; they send ARCs out to appropriate bookshops. All in the hope of getting those professional booksellers interested in the books concerned, because when a good bookseller loves a new book she can make a big difference to its success.

On top of this, publishers send out review copies and so on: and yes, they are increasingly using social media. But tours and so on? They're not so effective, and not so common.

Old Hack said:

Well, yes--I agree with you about the "free" publicity; but I'm not so sure about interviews and book tours. Publishers do that sort of thing sometimes: but tours are notoriously bad at selling books unless they're for authors who are already established. Many writers who are published by trade press get very little promotional activity which they can see, and so they assume that nothing has been done to sell their books. This isn't quite the case, though.

A lot of the marketing efforts carried out by trade publishers are aimed at the bookselling community, and not at readers. So they advertise in trade magazines which booksellers will read; they produce full-colour, detailed catalogues which they supply to bookshops; they send ARCs out to appropriate bookshops. All in the hope of getting those professional booksellers interested in the books concerned, because when a good bookseller loves a new book she can make a big difference to its success.

On top of this, publishers send out review copies and so on: and yes, they are increasingly using social media. But tours and so on? They're not so effective, and not so common.

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I agree that old-fashioned book tours and signings aren’t a very effective way to sell books and are becoming a thing of the past. Although satellite media tours seem to be quite popular with at least the major publishing houses, and virtual/blog book tours are something that even self-published authors can arrange on their own.
That said, my publisher has financed nearly ten weeks of books tours for my two books (total) over the past three years, although admittedly my tours have been rather unique. Being the “Ultimate Cheapskate,” I do my book tours by bicycle and stay in the homes of fellow cheapskates (also www.CouchSurfing.com) along the way. I then take what I save on the per diem ($200/day) my publisher gives me, and donate it to local libraries in the areas where I tour.
As you can imagine, this approach has generated considerable media exposure (national as well as local) for me and my books, which the publisher feels more than justifies the expense. The reality is, the signings I do along the way usually attract decent sized audiences and sell a fair number of books, but that wouldn’t begin to pay for the cost of the tours. At any rate, taking a different approach to book touring is something to think about.
(P.S. – I’ve also found that libraries will often offer at least a modest honorarium to authors who speak at their facilities, and it seems to me that one could put together a book tour financed, at least in part, by arranging a sufficient number of library talks along the way.)

Old Hack said:

A lot of the marketing efforts carried out by trade publishers are aimed at the bookselling community, and not at readers. So they advertise in trade magazines which booksellers will read; they produce full-colour, detailed catalogues which they supply to bookshops; they send ARCs out to appropriate bookshops. All in the hope of getting those professional booksellers interested in the books concerned, because when a good bookseller loves a new book she can make a big difference to its success.

On top of this, publishers send out review copies and so on: and yes, they are increasingly using social media. But tours and so on? They're not so effective, and not so common.

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This is pretty much what I've seen happening for my books (catalogs, review copies to bloggers and a few trade publications, social media mentions).

A lot of the specific promotion depends on your publisher, your book, and your advance, too. I'm a midlist author, so no one is going to send me on book tours. I arrange my own book signings. If I want to attend a conference or convention, I pay for it out of my own pocket. I arrange media interviews.

Like a lot of my peers, I do the bulk of my own publicity.