Judging from the tone of the articles, you seem to lump me in with people complaining about how publicists aren't selling their book right.
I wasn't trying to lump you into anything. You said you believed that much of the promotion was done by e-mail. It's not. The point of the articles (at least why I sent it) wasn't the issue of complaining, but the description of the duties of the publicist. It's in there.
Except for the publicist, whose primary duty IS sales.
Correct, but copy writing is NOT sales. It's necessary, but an add-on duty that they sometimes get stuck with when the editor doesn't have time.
First, the promotion budget depends heavily on whether the book is hardback, trade paperback or mass paperback. As I understand the few publicity departments I've had contact with, it's much like any other corporation. Time spent in an 8-10 hour day is "billed" to various projects. If Line A has a budget of $30,000, then each hour spent on the project, or each product created is removed from the budget until it's gone. The budget for promotion includes time AND materials, so whether it's a hard cost of an advertisement in Publisher's Weekly, versus five hours spent in five meetings with bookbuyers, it's all the same budget. I haven't ever heard that it's a fixed percentage of the proposed sales, but I suppose it's possible at some publishers.
Since hardback books are the highest cost to produce, the incentive to promote the book is greater, so they get more dollars overall. Trade paperbacks are second, and mass paperbacks last.
ARCs are the primary item produced for the budget. They are sent in packages to magazines and newspapers in markets where the book is likely to sell. Next come cover flats, (not the art itself as a budget line item, but the production of the product). These are sent to booksellers and distributors. The "sell sheets" are on the back of the ARCs and the cover flats. It includes the "marketing bullets" of what the publisher is doing to promote the line or the book. The one from our latest ARC says:
Marketing Bullets:
National print avertising in Romantic Times Bookclub and Affaire de Coeur
National print publicity
Special Paranormal Romance Website
Local author signings
Major promotional efforts at Romance Writers of America conference
Promotional Materials Available
All covers will be foiled and embossed.
Then it lists the name of the publicist in charge, with phone, fax and e-mail.
They also produce color brochures of the books in the line for distribution to individual booksellers (not the buyers for the chains.) This is to encourage individual stores to purchase from the home office. They will also occasionally produce pens for bookmarks for an individual line (seldom for an individual
book, though)
For about $1,400, I think I can direct-mail a one-page color sell sheet to about 1,000 booksellers. Obviously, I'd like to time this sell sheet to arrive as close as possible before that publicist meeting.
Now, why in the world would you want to step on the publicist's toes like this? You're shooting yourself in the foot by making them look like a fool, and making yourself look like a novice. The best thing you can do for promoting your book is to step OUTSIDE the official channels to sell to alternate markets they aren't reaching. Most publicists are happy to have an author contact them to find out what is planned for the book. You can then prepare an "Additional Marketing Plan" which will detail the efforts YOU intend to take to help sell your book. I already posted my marketing plan over in the "Ask the Editor" thread. I'll try to find the link.
That marketing plan was held up to the publisher as a model for other authors to follow, and we've been asked if they can submit it to others of their authors. Our efforts doubled our sales run due to distributor orders and end buyer pre-orders. Now, some authors don't believe in marketing separate from the publicity department, but I'm a big fan of it. However, the goal is NOT to step on the publicist's toes but, instead, to reach the markets that they don't have the time or money (and sometimes, the
vision) to reach.
You can do lots of things that are separate from the publicists. You can reach book groups who specialize in the genre you write. You can approach additional web reviewers and extra newspapers that they might not have approached. Usually, in the galley stage, you can ask for a certain number of ARCs that you can send out yourself. We last requested 50 and I've sent out every one! I do postcards that I mail out to membership lists for writing organizations I belong to (in fact, I got two PMs when I first arrived on the AW forum that said they'd received the one I sent out just this month and planned to buy it!) I ask if the publicity department has any promotional goodies available. I was able to get 2,000 ink pens with the publisher's logo and website that I could place with MY bookmarks at conferences and conventions. No charge, and they shipped them at their cost. Half of those went in tote bags for the U.S. Census Bureau's annual convention -- again, along with a postcard about my book!
Go to conferences. Very often, representatives for the booksellers attend and are happy to meet with authors. THAT'S where you can interest them with a sell sheet.
I haven't tried posters or flyers yet, but there are a number of magazines that have special promotion tools available that will distribute items to bookstores where their magazine is carried. It's a small fee with big reach.
Just a few thoughts. But I really wouldn't jump in the middle of the publisher/distributor/bookseller dance. Someone's toes will get stepped on and you could easily earn more enemies than friends.