Friday, October 17, 2014

Shhh... Don't talk about your work

I find myself in an interesting position. My first piece of finished work is up on Amazon, and my book is coming. I plan to talk/publicize about it some. But I just listened to the great Rocking Self Publishing podcast by Simon Whistler w/ author Nathan Lowell. And it is shaping my approach.

This Nathan character is brilliant and fascinating to listen to. I love his simple concept of letting the work (mostly) stand on its own. His marketing advice is minimal and he likes to call it "contrarian", but it is sensible. Word of mouth spreads of its own volition. Yes, granted, it will need a little shove, but if your work is good, once you get that little pebble shoved off the top of a mountain, it will build steam until you have a thoroughly satisfyingly massive avalanche.

*BOOM*

Or at least, so goes the theory. It's a theory I like, and I plan to adhere to. Time will tell if it is effective or not. I'm only going to put out work that I'm proud of, so hopefully there is someone else out there that likes it, too.

Hello? Anyone out there?

And not to gloss over, but Nathan also talks about Podiobooks. Lots of good content. It is a long listen, but worth it for the author/creator.

UPDATE - 2/29/2016
Hello from the future! Yes, you in the sweats, you in the tie, and you in the vintage cartoon T-shirt. After (mostly) following this approach, I want to add a VERY strong caveat:

No one will stumble across your work.

There will be no avalanche.

Hopefully that didn't just destroy your hopes of publishing success, if it did, keep listening and pick yourself up off the floor.

Everyone out there is busy. Readers have full Kindles, and no one knows your name. Success will not be had by clicking "publish". Instead success will come from telling people about your work. Not in a blatant roar, not in a mass of tweets every day: Buy my Book! Buy it Please! It's Awesome! I'll Pay You to Read It!

No, not that, but when you run into someone and start talking about books, mention yours, talk about it, give them a free taste if you can. Ask if they like it, to review it.

So yes, don't brandish your book about like a weapon, but make sure you adjust the hilt at your hip, flash a bit of the metal at your reader. Time will build connections, and if the work is good, one day that will all matter.

4 comments:

  1. Nathan is one of my favorite authors out there. The way he approaches writing has shaped what I look for in stories now. Good, vibrant story telling has become more important to me than style. All because of this guy.

    He also helped shape many of my views on book marketing and publishing. We don't agree on everything, but he's very generous of his time and experience.

    Have you listened to any of his stories on Podiobooks? I warn you: he's addictive! He also does amazing voice work: try the Guild of the Cowry Catchers by Abigail Hilton, available on Podiobooks, too, and Down from Ten by J.D. Sawyer, available here: https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/down-from-ten/id322989355?mt=2. All for free. ;)

    Enjoy!

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  2. Hi Lucie, welcome to the blog and thanks for your comment.

    Nathan was addictive enough to listen to on RSP, so I can only imagine him in story form. Thanks for the recommendations, I'll try to carve out some time, but I am stuck with a stoneage Blackberry that doesn't play very nice with the more media-intensive websites.

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  3. Thank you!

    I download all my podcasts manually via RSS to my antique MP3 reader. It's all scratched and ugly, but never fails me. ;)

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  4. Ah, I see Podiobooks can download straight mp3's. Nice, didn't know. Yes, my phone can do that. It can actually do that.

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