How to Sell Your Books: Four Takeways from BOWS

The third annual Business of Writing-Success conference was a smashing success for the 42 attendees at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art on October 11, 2014. 

One of the best features of BOWS is that it reaches out to presenters whom people wouldn’t normally associate with writing. After all, what does a voice coach or a sales trainer have to do with writing a book?

Quite a lot, as it turned out.

Each presenter provided something unique and valuable for writers who want to sell the books they have worked so hard to write. For example:

Takeaway #1: The Importance of the 30-Second Speech

Dan Compo, an actor and voice coach, lectured on the importance of creating a 30-second speech to present to anybody who wants to know what we do as writers. The 30-second speech answers four questions, Compo said: 

• What is your name? 
• What is your profession? 
• What have you recently done? 
• Where are you going?

But delivering a 30-second speech is not easy. “We seek authenticity in your performance,” Compo said of anyone who might be listening to the speech. “Being authentic is really difficult.”

Compo quoted famed acting coach Charles Conrad, who said, “Get the attention away from yourself. Focus on your listener, not on you.”

Takeaway #2: Setting Goals

Robin Wayne Bailey, best-selling author (he refuses to limit himself to the label of science fiction writer) of Frost and the Dragonkin trilogy, discussed the importance of having goals in writing. 

His goal, he said, is one every writer can identify with: to make money. “I’m not here to create art. I’ll let the public be the judge of that,” Bailey said. “I have to make you keep turning the page.”

Bailey said he has three goals for writers: 

• Write every day. 
• Finish everything you write. 
• Submit for publication everything you finish. 

He allowed that he may put aside a project for a while, but he always comes back to it. "I generally have five or six projects going at once," he said.

Although he acknowledged the importance of social media, Bailey cautioned writers not to get too caught up in promoting themselves. His rule is that if he spends one hour on the Web promoting his work, he must spend an hour doing what he calls “real writing.” 

“You must have product to sell,” he said.

Takeway # 3: Build a Following BEFORE You Write a Book

Deb Clem-Buckert, a parenting blogger who was a regular blogging contributor for The Kansas City Star, discussed the importance of building a brand and a following before searching for a book deal. 

“I was  very calculated in how I built my brand,” she said of her blog, which includes personal stories as well as recipes. Her blog reaches out to women who have similar experiences in parenting, yet Clem-Buckert established her own niche, since her child is a teenager. Other similar blogs, she said, are written by the parents of toddlers.

Clem-Buckert emphasized the importance of social media for writers. “You have to have the followers before you write the book,” she said.

Takeaway # 4: Learn to Sell Like a Used Car Salesman

Michael DeLong, an award-winning sales trainer, presented on one of the most unusual topics: how to sell your books like a used car salesman. “You’ve got to know how you appear to other people,” said DeLong, who recommended that authors videotape themselves before giving a pitch. 

He also said authors should get to know something about the person or publisher to whom they are pitching their books. “You know what the publisher can do for you,” he said, “but what can you do for them?”

However, DeLong also cautioned writers about being overconfident or cocky. “Don’t have on your mind the answer to the question before they ask it,” he advised.

  

That was just in the morning session. Four more presenters gave takeaways in the afternoon. If there is interest, I will present more in a future post. Meanwhile, start planning now to attend the next BOWS in 2015 so you can take away your own gold nuggets.

Why Writing Your Book is Not Enough (and What You Can Do About It)

The third annual Business of Writing - Success Workshop will be held this Saturday, October 11, from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, MO.

The first BOWS inspired me to write one of my most successful posts on this blog, How to Succeed in the Business of Writing if you DON'T Live in the Kansas City Area. (It was a follow-up to another post with the rather bombastic title How to Succeed in the Business of Writing.)  In the follow-up post, I wrote about some of the wonderful pieces of advice I received from presenters at the first workshop.

That post quickly became my most visited post on the site, and, though it's since been eclipsed by other posts, it remains in my Top Five--a pretty impressive feat for a two-year-old post.

Such interest tells me that readers truly care about what it takes to succeed in the business of writing. As most of us probably know, it's not enough to write a wonderful book. You have to sell it. You have to understand concepts such as marketing and branding. You have to use social media to your advantage as an author. And you have to make nice with bookstore owners so they will carry your book.

BOWS has turned out to be a goldmine of advice from professionals of every stripe--publishers, lawyers, social media experts, and the like. BOWS isn't a workshop for writing--it's about what to do after you've written that book. If you don't possess this knowledge, the work you've poured your soul into will gather dust on your shelf (or on your hard drive) until it is thrown out by your survivors (or erased from your computer) after you die.

Don't let that happen to your story.

If you're in the Kansas City area on Saturday, come to BOWS. You'll be glad you did.

More information can be found here.

The Power Club Book Signing Saturday, June 15, 2013

On Saturday, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., I'll be at the 7th Annual Author Extravaganza at Town Crier Bookstore, Emporia, KS, signing copies of my recently published novel, THE POWER CLUB.

I won't be alone, of course. Judging by Town Crier's website, about 40 other authors will also be there, including members of my critique group, the legendary Monday Night Writers.

Based on the writers I've known and met in the past, genres represented will include fantasy, flash fiction, humor, poetry, science fiction, thriller, children's and Young Adult.

Last year, I attended my first Author Extravaganza and it was a blast. The bookstore seemed crowded for all two hours, not just with writers but with readers. I chatted with several and, even though I had only published a comic book, GOLD DUST, at the time, it was well received.

This year, both GOLD DUST and THE POWER CLUB will be available.

So come on out and say hello!