When it comes to vehicles, I’m not much of an
aficionado. I want something that makes me smile, will get me from Point A to
Point B, and won’t kill my budget. But if money weren’t an object, I’d get this
dreamy ride. I’m smiling just thinking about it. I was an inch away from owning
a vintage VW camper van in college, but my sensible father “steered” me away
from it. Dreams crushed, I settled for a pale green Ford wagon with no heat and rusted-out
wheel wells, a steal for $100 that got me through a couple years of commuting
to Ohio State.
This beauty, a yellow and pewter all-electric 2024 VW
Microbus, is my new car crush, as cool as it gets and totally my personality. Park
this anywhere and a crowd is sure to gather. Drive it around and enjoy the front-to-back window roof and sleek interior.
Ooh, yes. People everywhere have a car crush on VW bugs and camper vans, their
emotional heartstrings all aflutter whenever they see one. VW’s slogan says it
all: fahrvergnügen!
This means, loosely, “enjoy the drive!” Oh, I would indeed. What’s
your car crush? What makes you stop in your tracks and turn around for a better
look? If you want to see one up close, where do you go? What is the “it” factor
that checks all the boxes for you? That “it” factor—that’s what you want in
your book and your life as a published author. (See what I did there?)
The "IT" FACTOR
Discoverability is the elusive “it factor” to successful
publication, the holy grail, regardless of the mission for your book. Discoverability is a
measure of how easily your key audience finds, or “discovers,” your book, and
you. You can have the most stunning cover, the most intriguing
title, an absolutely ingenious plot or thesis, flawless writing—your book could
be perfection—but without discoverability, all that effort, all that your book
has to offer, will have a very short shelf life. (Gee, Leslie, that’s
depressing.) if you are publishing your first book, how do you create an “it”
factor? How do you build and maintain it? For Volkswagen, a unique concept and
the cultural phenomenon of the 60s planted the seed. But, it took decades of vigorously
protecting their brand, of zealously maintaining their standards, and carefully
listening to their audience to transfer that “it” factor to new generations.
Discoverability
is more than marketing. It’s more than timing, more than catalogs,
advertisements, social media presence, market reach. Discoverability is more
than a perfect listing, finely tuned metadata, and all the administration that
goes into releasing a book into the world. You can have all of these things in
place (and you should), you can spend thousands of dollars on advertising, and
still not be widely “discovered” by your readers. Why? Sometimes it’s because of
poor execution, targeting the wrong audience for example, but most commonly the
reason is because discoverability requires you—the
author. There is simply no substitute for your involvement. You cannot
write a book, turn it over to a publisher, leave the country, and expect your
book to be discovered, purchased, and read by anyone. Sorry. That’s the hard truth. That’s the reason publishers
as a whole ask about your “following” and carefully curate your social media
presence. That’s why they ask about your availability, or require it. That’s
why so many authors with truly stellar books are “rejected” by traditional
publishers and many hybrid publishers: no established audience or no
infrastructure to build and maintain an audience, no brand, recognition, or
reputation, and no desire to build and maintain their “it” factor, their book’s
path to discovery.
Yes, it’s
hard. It’s uncomfortable. Organically building or tapping into an audience for
your book often requires a completely different skill set. This is where your
mission comes in. (I will mention the importance of mission every chance I
get.) If you have an internal motivation for getting your book into the hands
of a lot of readers, you will find a way, you will muster the courage, to put
the gas in the tank. Your mission almost always defines your audience, who you
want to reach with your “it” factor. Focus on them. Learn their language. Where
are they hanging out, online or in person? What is their culture? What do you
know about them? How can you reach them? Yes, your publisher can help you with
this, but without you, their efforts will be fruitless.
BOOKSELLERS AND YOUR BOOK
I have a
good handle on how to increase discoverability in the online world, and for my
clients who have vertical markets we have an entirely different method for
discoverability. Cracking the code on bookstores and libraries is a totally
different model, however. How do booksellers and librarians “discover” your
books? I recently polled booksellers in a 200-mile radius and asked several
questions about discoverability. Specifically, I wanted to know how booksellers
learned about new books and how they went about ordering them. Because of the
target audience for most of my books, I focused on Christian Bookstore owners.
Here are the most frequent overall responses from my extremely ad hoc and
informal poll, taken during a period when author events were stricken by COVID.
- How often do you order or find new books from a catalog? [ “Never.” “I get so many…they go right in the trash.” “I don’t have time to read catalogs.” “Not often.”] This means you should consider catalogs as nothing more than an opportunity for exposure. Watch your spending. Design the listing for maximum visual impact and don’t expect immediate sales results.
- What sales reps do you see, and do you ever order from them? [“Oh yes, we see the guy from Genesis. He’s so nice. But, no, we don’t order from them.” “No, I have never heard of IPG.” “No, I don’t have time to meet with sales reps.”] Takeaway – don’t sign on with a distributor because they promise sales team representation. Treat this perk as an exposure op also and weigh its value accordingly.
- Do you attend bookseller conventions? Do you find new books there? [“Yes, I try to go every year.” “Yes, I look forward to it.” “Yes, when I can afford to go.” “Yes, I pick up new titles there.” “No, I haven’t been able to go.”] Message: Find the right events and a way to have a noticeable presence there.
- From whom and how do you order books? [“I order online from Ingram.” “I order from Ingram/Spring Arbor.” “I will never order from Ingram.” “I order online mostly from Anchor because they have the best customer service.” “Our books are ordered at corporate – we have no say.” “I order some direct, some through a couple distributors.” Find out where your audience shops, how those locations order your book, and make sure your book is available there. Every book should be available at least as a paperback through Ingram.
- Do you stock books from local authors or indie publishers? [“We have a local author section.” “We rarely order from indies unless we know the author.”] Check out your top 4 bookstores’ local author section and ask how to be included.
- How do you decide what new titles to order? [“I check the best-seller lists.” “I go by the author.” “I just have a sense about it.”] A few owners referred to this subjective “Spidey-sense” decision-making process, which suggests repeated exposure will influence them. Find a way to increase exposure for your book, so it’s ingrained in their “Spidey-sense.”
8 DISCOVERABILITY TIPS
Here's what
I learned from my beloved VW affliction, from years in the publishing industry, and from my gracious booksellers, that can
translate into helping you find your own “it” factor:
- Start and maintain an online presence
that meets a need for your audience well ahead of your book release; not a
billboard for your book, but a genuine, organically grown group of like-minded
folks who also are in your core audience and enjoy staying connected. Protect
your followers, and follow or “like” them back. Practice kindness and
encouragement here; it will come back to you.
- Establish an email list of people who
want to know about what you’re up to. Protect it and grow it. Communicate
regularly with relevant content. Enlist them to help you when the time comes. Your
email list is probably the most valuable thing you have; treat it like it’s
precious gold, because it is.
- Be a stand-out presence at the right events.
This could be a series of carefully planned and executed author signings or
speaking events, or a very memorable presence at a bookseller’s show or convention
(such as a sci-fi fan event, homeschool convention, hobby show, etc.) that
draws in your audience. Show up every year on strategic dates. Exploit your
presence with lots of photos, posts, and refreshed marketing language before,
during, and after each event. Schedule media interviews during the event.
Enlist a skilled friend to help set up, keep you together, take photos, and
cover your exhibit when needed.
- Be a friend and frequent shopper at
your top 5 book or gift stores. Encourage them with positive notes or online
praises. Follow them. Learn how they handle local authors’ books. Do an author
event there and make it easy for them. Find creative ways to repeat with a new
type of event later in the year. Cross-market them in your social media. Find
out how they like to order and ensure your book is available there. Then, when
you have earned the right, ask them for other non-competing bookstore
referrals.
- Keep your brand alive and growing by
releasing your next book or version quickly and/or by booking ongoing public
events. Or both. It can take 5-7 new publications to establish a positive
reputation. Keep the standards high and be consistent—and patient.
- Protect your existing reputation by
minding your public presence. You may want to rant about a divisive issue on
social media and have every right to do so, but in life you have to pick your
battles. Is it worth alienating half of your audience? (Spoiler alert: no, it
isn’t.)
- Do all the other stuff, too—the
listing management, regular metadata refreshing, PR, all of it (see Paragraph 4
above) – if your publisher doesn’t do this, find someone who does or do it
yourself. If you are doing your own marketing, involve your publisher. They
just might rise to the occasion and help you, or at least ensure you aren’t
being scammed or using inconsistent or incorrect marketing language. At
minimum, they should cross-promote your efforts.
- Finally, adopt a VW Minibus mentality – enjoy the journey, keep it fun, relax, and learn to savor the strange attention. This is a long-term process that won’t see results of any substance for awhile, so pace yourself.
Until next time, fahrvergnügen!
Comments
Post a Comment