Look at all those self-published guys with double-digit sales. That's what author-promotion without publisher-promotion gets.
No, that's what lousy distribution and no pre-orders gets you. Many books with major publishers die on the shevles, even with promotion. Self-published books never even get on the shelves.
Getting more interviews and getting invited to speak at more places don't strike me as major inducements. I did a four-state seven-city tour once. Never again. I'll schedule elective oral surgery instead.
I'm sorry you had a negative experience, Jim.
I just got back from 8 days in Italy, with my family. My publisher brought us there, and they paid for everything. I wouldn't have an Italian publisher if it wasn't for meeting them while touring the US.
I've been invited to speak in New York by Google, I've been featured in Forbes, and I've gotten free rides to over a dozen conferences, book festivals, and conventions. Not because my publisher set these things up. But because these people contacted me, having heard about my promo efforts or having met me on the road.
I was recently invited to a major chain store regional meeting. I was the sole author there, and I spoke for forty minutes to a group of 250 bookstore general managers, along with some higher ups including the vice president of the company. How much is that worth?
I've had well over a hundred interviews, newspaper, radio, web--again, my efforts, not my publicist's efforts.
My publisher is behind me, but the more I do, the more they do. For my first book, they printed up promo material, had a big launch party at BEA, and made sure my books were in the stores. But they forbade me from touring, because a publisher must pay a store coop money when the author does a signing, They figured I was a new author, and I couldn't sell enough books to justify the coop cost, so they told me I couldn't do any signings.
I did signings anyway, calling them 'drop-ins' instead of official signings, then staying for six hours and handselling hardcovers. Success at one store led to invites from others, which eventually led to the DM of a chain calling me up and inviting me to over a dozen stores. The increased sales in these stores made a blip on the inventory radar, leading to increased sales nationwide in this chain.
For book #2, my publisher toured me. 11 cities. That wouldn't have happened if not for my success with book #1. I used the rental car and dropped in an additional 95 stores, in between interviews and official signings.
For book #3, my publisher paid all expenses for me to visit 618 stores. I met over 1300 bookstore employees. Shook their hands. Pitched my series to them. Gave them free signed books. Then I thanked each, by name, in the acknowledgments of book #4. How much is that worth?
For book #4, my publisher has received it's biggest preorder ever. They're dumping all of their marketing dollars into front-of-store coop and discounts.
I'm just a midlist mystery author. But I've earned out my advance on my first 3 book, six figure contract, and my brand is growing.
I think self-promotion had a little something to do with it.
Can everyone do the same thing I did? No. But the fact remains, the more promotion you do, the more books you'll sell, the more good things that happen.
As writers, we get paid for our words. We're paid, because publishers sell our words to readers. If the readers don't buy our books, the publishers will stop paying us.
It is obviously in an author's best interest to help those books sell.
