Today’s issue of Dave’s Daily Kick was titled “Hooking Credibility,” and I’m not sure what I think of it. At the end, Dave’s brother Tailspin Jim had the following to say:
What I’m about to add is so basic that [Dave] would never think to include it, but you may be like the vast majority of Kick readers who just don’t have his depth of background on this subject or who would be benefited from taking a look at it.
Each hook or marketing ploy is like firing a bullet at your reader. You probably won’t kill their resistance with the very first shot. You want to fire bullet after bullet until they collapse and make the decision to buy.
Not only does this statement smack of everything I hate about sales and salespeople, but it seems to fundamentally clash with the new reality of publishing.
With social networking and the internet, writers can now connect directly with their readers. For those going the indie route, this is absolutely essential. The key element to success, from what I can see, is developing an ongoing relationship with your fans–one in which they take the role of patron, not merely consumer.
There’s a huge difference between thinking of readers as patrons and thinking of them as consumers. If they’re just consumers, then the end goal is to get them to buy your product, and there’s nothing wrong with spamming them or shamelessly plugging yourself if that’s what works.
But if they’re patrons, the end goal is to develop that relationship–to connect with your readers on a meaningful level, both before and after they buy your work. And in this brave new world of publishing, that seems like the best coarse to take. Consumers have to be sold on each individual book; patrons are sold on you, so they’ll read everything you put out.
And as a reader, that’s how I buy. Whenever I find an Ende or a Wilson or a Le Guin in the bookstore, I rush to grab it, because those are the writers who speak to me. I’ve bought just about every Sanderson in hardcover because I love his work and want to support him.
That’s why this comparison of bookselling to “a series of bullets being fired from an automatic rifle at the prospective buyer” rubs me in all the wrong ways. I’m not just peddling widgets; I’m creating art and sending it out into the world, waiting patiently for it to return back a hundredfold. And if I work hard to create the best possible art and treat my readers (aka you guys) as my patrons, I sincerely believe that it will.
So to all of you who have read my books, regardless of whether you bought them or downloaded them from Smashwords for free, I just want to say thank you! The greatest honor any writer can have is to be read, period.
I also want you to know that I’m never going to “shoot” you with a bunch of cheap sales tricks or “hooks” that get in the way of the story. I’m just going to write damn good books and put them out where you can find them, trusting you to rate, review, like, and share them if you feel they truly deserve it.
I will never, ever, EVER put a gun to your head to get you to buy my work. I’d much rather you jump at the chance to read a Vasicek, because that’s what speaks to you.
The metaphor does have some bad connotations, but it does bring up the point that you can’t just rely on one promotion to get you readers. You have to constantly promote by getting more reviews and more mentions. Then you’ll stick enough in someone’s memory for them to give you a shot.
Yeah, I didn’t get such bad vibes when reading the email… It just seemed to be saying you needed to do a good job with things like the cover, the first page, quotes from respected people, etc in order to leave as good a first impression on potential readers as possible. Don’t think those are really tricks. =/
I mean, have you ever chosen not to read a book or watch a movie because of the way it was advertised, and then a few years later you relent and give it a try–and find out it was absolutely awesome? I think the email was just saying writers need to be concerned about how they promote and present their books, because if any one element gives a bad first impression, they’re risking lots of people not giving their books a try.
Yeah, you are overreacting a little bit. I think it is good advice. I have to admit that I’m not going to go out and buy random books. The author will have to convince me that they did their homework and part of that homework is showing professionalism. To me that professionalism is having a good cover, getting quotes, updating fans with information regularly and doing everything mentioned in the email.
It’s not what he’s saying to do that I think is wrong, it’s the mindset behind it. I don’t buy random books either, but when I see a new title by an author I love, I don’t need to be “shot” full of hooks before I’m convinced to buy it. In fact, if the book has more hooks than substance, I’m liable not to buy it. A lot of indie authors are spending too much time promoting their works with all of the hooks listed without actually writing a good book.
Also, I think that most of the advice on the kick is outdated. Ebook covers are too small to put cover quotes and awards, etc. Dave is still in the mindset of mass appeal and selling to bookstores, not of making an individual connection, like Tracy Hickman says is so important.
While that approach seems idealistic, it hardly seems profitable.
Would I love to have a relationship with all of my readers? Of course. But some readers don’t want that from a book. Some people just want to pick something up and have a fun ride.
That’s why I imagine you have to have a balance. Because while we (as both authors and book snobs) certainly want more from our books than just a quick flash in the pan, there are massive amounts of people who just want to read a book and be done with it. There’s a reason pulp romance sells so well (and why it’s encroaching into the YA territory in the terms of paranormal romance): there’s a MASSIVE amount of readers who just want to pick up a book because the cover looks good, and aren’t going to go out of their way to read.
Again, balance. I started reading the Dresden Files because I thought the covers were cool. I knew nothing about the man, his first book was actually pretty not great, and I hadn’t heard anything about them except I liked the covers and it had good quotes. I ended up staying because I loved the books and now will buy anything with Bucher’s name on it. But if I hadn’t been bombarded with the marketing and the persistance of it in bookstores, I would have never even considered it (none of my friends ever read Butcher; I started the trend, so I had no other way in).
While I agree it isn’t all impersonal marketing, I still think there is a place for that. If you really want to hit all of your readers, you have to consider the ones that AREN’T like you as well as the ones that want to invest. Which is why I still think this advice is sound, to a point.
What I mean is I’m here for them, and they can feel connected to whatever degree of depth they feel comfortable. If they just want to be lurkers (and I know I’ve got a few already), that’s totally fine.
Sure, it’s important to have a killer cover and write a good blurb, but word of mouth is still king, and that’s not going to happen unless my readers feel like I’m doing more than peddling widgets. Brandon Sanderson is the one who taught me the bit about patronage, and I think he’s an ideal model of how to do it right.
I agree it’s oddly phrased, but a lot of the books I’ve read I didn’t pick up until I’d heard of it several times. I never saw any “advertising” for Hunger Games, for example, but a friend recommended it to me. Filed the name away. When I heard it the second time, I thought, “Hmm. Maybe should put that on hold.” After I heard it for, say, the twentieth time, I actually checked it out from the library and read it. Then I bought it. Because the best hook is a great book.