The P word

Something about the delicate sensibilities of many serious folks, especially those with things that they feel are important and must be said, causes us to think that promoting ideas is somehow bad, or unsporting or backwards. People should simply flock to good ideas and shun bad ones because of their inherent value and NOT how attractively they are packaged or how frequently they are repeated. And maybe that's true. Maybe people should have better filters. Doesn't matter how attractive Fox News' female anchor types are. It's still bullshit. But you know what? They make a ton and a half of money. In fact, for better or for worse I'd contend that the Republican Party in America runs ENTIRELY on the myth that they are down trodden, unrepresented under dogs. Now, I hate pretty much everything they say but that is some very clever branding right there. But let me step back from my "pinko commie traitor" sensibilities. The P word in question isn't politics but promotion. Eh. Same difference.

See, I think many of us live in an ideal world where good ideas are magic psychic magnets and people are inevitably attracted to them by the very forces of nature. This is not true. We do not live in a world like that. And your great ideas are likely to fall on deaf ears if you don't promote. That's assuming they fall on any ears at all. For instance, my being a lazy shit and never so much as mentioning this blog to my friends is why no one reads it. See that works? Promoting gets readers. Not promoting gets not-readers.

If you're looking to be an author, there's something you have to know. Especially if you're going to be even on the slightly lucrative side of mid-list. You'll be expected to promote yourself and quite possibly others. A lot. And these days, it falls more and more on the shoulders of the author themselves to arrange it. Sure, your publisher will send books hither and yon to garner review quotes from other authors and from newspapers and whatnot. But you want a book tour? That's all you, baby. Unless you're James Patterson, they are not flying you anywhere. The most they'll do is, when you say "hey, I'm planning to visit relatives out by such-and-such." they might make a few phone calls and try and arrange an interview with local radio or something. Author websites and/or facebook pages and/or twitter and/or blog is pretty much required at this point. Guess what? That's also you. Honestly? I started this blog to "practice" in case I ever became an author, or as, say, an agent or an editor needed to be able to give my authors some assistance. That's why I never expected even to have the readership I've got. If you're not already used to the idea of tweeting or blogging or SOMETHING, get cracking.

So here's a good example for you. I don't read nearly as much SF and Fantasy as I used to, but I still read Peter David. Maybe you've never heard of him, but he is actually a master of self promotion. How he manages it when he's so damn prolific is beyond me, but in certain circles he's a God. And considering his Tim-Burton like reputation for being a loose cannon, his ability to get twice as much work as even he could reasonably do is a sure sign that his books sell and his names carry weight. So why is that?

1) He writes for every damn medium ever. His best works in my opinion are his original novels like Sir Apropos of Nothing or Knight Life but he has also written a bajillion comic books, dozens of licensed novels, SF TV shows and movies, and at least one video game.
2) He's got a very sucessful blog. Feel free to examine it. Many of his posts get enormous feedback. It updates virtually everyday. If he has nothing new to say, he posts from his legendary "But I digress" opinion column from the Comic Book Buyer's Guide. Which is odd in itself since they've been collected and published elsewhere and he's just giving it away. Also, he keeps himself in the loop with the conversations.
3) He's just clever as hell. You may never have heard of an author writing a book on behalf of a punk rock band. David has. You may not expect him to appear in their music videos, but David did. And it's not the first time he's wrangled himself some cameos. It actually becomes sort of an Easter Egg for his fans to see if he shows up in something he was involved in making. Pretty sure in one B Rated movie he rushes into a scene and gets immediately killed and it was literally just there for the tradition of Peter David Cameos.
4) Non-stop tour of comic, gaming and fantasy conventions. About the only thing that kept me on my feet at the NY Comicon was the idea of seeing him. Which I didn't. Apparently some of my friends did and their response was "Hey you were right. He's really cool. I always thought he was some tosser but he's actually pretty awesome." This did not lighten my mood but whatevs.
5) David publishes different things with different people. He's got books with, to name a few, Ace, Pocket, TOR, Del-Ray and whoever publishes Marvel's movie adaptations because he writes all of those. It might strike you that being THE BEST LICENSED NOVELIST EVER is a lot like saying I AM THE BEST AT SMASHING MY OWN TEETH IN WITH A FIRE EXTINGUISHER FOR ATTENTION but may I just say...it works? 'Cuz they're quick, lucrative projects he needs to continue to live as a writer and it keeps his name in circulation.

Okay. Well. That was ramble-y. But oh wells. I had other things to say but talked too long already. It's just not a good morning. Anyway, join me again next time for a continued examination of the current landscape for various media entrepreneurs such as authors and startup publishers in different mediums.