The Carolyn Crane method of book discoverability

One of the funniest things about this whole book promo thing that I think people forget is that writers are artists. We are artistic types. Whatever our day jobs, we have enough artistic bones in our bodies to drive us to writing books, which is not exactly the most lucrative use of a person's time. (Or, not lucrative in the way that the lottery is not lucrative.) And it can be lonely. But we do it! 

So, we’re a bunch of artists being put into the position of salespeople and marketers. Even me, I’m in advertising – you’d think I’d be good at selling, but I’m not, really. I’m not 'strategy' I'm a 'creative.' I just write what they tell me. (Describe this product in three lines. Give us ten funny headlines. Now go away.)

So with promo, I muddle through. I kind of love that we’re all muddling through. And now for a few thoughts on discoverability, the holy grail of writerly marketing.

Trading Cards

I had to laugh about Allison’s post on trading cards this week. I, too, have the most awesome trading cards ever!! What’s funny is, who wants trading cards? Mostly people who already like your books.

I worked so hard on these trading cards! (Want a set? I give them out free! Because I'm artistic like that. I send them anywhere at the moment. Email me at carolyn (at) authorcarolyncrane.com).

Personally, I’m much more comfortable doing art projects than selling anything. Which I think helpfully underlines the point I made above. Writers are generally artists. 

Also, note the amount of time I spend doing cartoony posts. I'm not a humor writer, though some books have funny parts. And I'm not writing cartoon books, so are my cartoons totally shitty promo and misleading?

That's a point I have discussed with a certain smart friend. Actually, when it comes to books, I dislike too much Funny. LOL. 

Discoverability: data!

I get most of my reader intelligence from myself, as I am a reader. I have two lists of books I’m thinking of buying. One is on my Goodreads to-read shelf, and another is a list in this little red book I keep at my desk, where I write ideas and things. What moves a book onto one of those lists, and what moves it from there to me actually buying it?

That is the ultimate mystery!!

As a reader, for me to move it to the buy category, one of three things needs to happen:

1. It’s an auto-buy author for me.
2. I’m in the mood for that exact kind of book and I read just one or two squeeing reviews from people I trust – that can result in an instant purchase. (this is especially true for dirty books! LOL)
3. There has been such an accumulation of good reviews and buzz that I finally go for it. 

So, two of those methods are word of mouth. This is backed up by an interesting post on discoverability over at the Goodreads blog – 79% of Goodreads users discover books from friends offline, 69% from friend updates.

Also, they found searching is the top way a book gets added to a shelf. When a person does a direct search, it means they heard about it from somewhere else. Out on Goodreads, I think the update stream is really what gets me to add a book to a shelf. When people talk about a book, it either reminds me of it or sparks my interest.

Freebies and contests

Some authors and publishers hold contests and give away a boatload of ARCs and freebie copies to everyone on the planet as a way to generate buzz and reviews ahead of a release.

I am currently struggling with this as the October 30 release date for MR. REAL approaches. Is giving away tons an awesome idea? Or a way to radically decrease the pool of people who might buy it? Does it cheapen the book? Or help it blast off in a big way? Is the mass giveaway best for an unknown author? What about a new self-pubbed series from a moderately known author like me? 

If anybody has answers out there, let me know. Seriously!!

Write the best book

This is really comfortable advice for the artistic writer. It provides a sense of control – if you work hard enough, if you do those 5 extra drafts, if the book is awesome enough, it will be found. The cream rises to the top.

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Without discoverability, a good book can languish. In fact, one meh book on a giant list of mediocre books tends to do better than one amazing book on a list of two. That’s something that’s been proven out there over and over. There are entire posts about it. Crank out more books! People say. You don’t have to make them perfect. Some writers are naturally high quality and fast, but I’m not. Plus, I have a day job.

When I see articles about how to write faster, I always read them. I want speed, AND to make the books perfect.

Because writing isn’t just about sales, it’s about putting something cool into the world. I think this is where the artistic and sales sides conflict for many writers. Quantity vs. quality. There’s a point where  you just can’t sacrifice quality for quantity. 

As an artist, you have to be able to look at yourself in the mirror and feel like you’re doing something worth doing. I think most writers have a line in the sand on that. And I say, good. Let your inner artist stomp all over your inner salesperson!