Here it is again – another story of a self-published author that has made it BIG… REALLY BIG. The difference this time? It’s true… not a product of great PR. Several stories have surfaced about Brunonia Barry and her self-published novel The Lace Reader - one of the most insightful from way back on August 1 by NPR. What I find most interesting is that this story broke before and around the time of Lorna Page’s novel A Dangerous Weakness and its associated stories. What made the Lorna Page story so much more exciting? I have no idea…
The Lace Reader and Brunonia Barry performed a miracle in self-published circles – a self published novel that ‘went traditional’ and brought the author a publishing contract with William Morrow and $2 million… pretty nifty. I’m most fascinated by how she did it – it looks like from the articles she started local and found ways to create awareness amongst her target audience. According to the NPR interview, the author visited independent bookstores, asking for the names of local book clubs. She then created ‘pull through’ interest by getting the book clubs to read her book. Not an easy feat for a first-time author.
But – that’s not the full story about the marketing efforts…
The book released in late July from Morrow – and already sits at #49 on the Amazon bestseller list – #1 in the Mystery category. The original book released to Amazon in September of 2007. Pretty incredible when you think a book went from self-published, to an agent, to traditionally published in less than a year after release. Apparently a large chunk of the initial success is due to the work of the author’s original PR firm Kelley & Hall Book Publicity. Another blog article gives a broader overview of what exactly happened (and how) to create this phenomenon…
ANY successful self publishing effort will requires a book marketing plan and awareness to succeed – as I’ve said in many places on the Dog Ear site. It will take a tremendous amount of planning and effort. You’ll need to combine several different types of marketing efforts. Make sure you know where to start and with whom to partner to make your book a success. It doesn’t require you to hire a PR firm – but it can certainly bring a whole new level of professional talent to the process. Fiction benefits from a higher level of professional contacts that non-fiction – you’ll find that the referrals and ‘Rolodex’ of an established PR firm may help get your book in the door in many critical places.
Filed under: Book Marketing Plan, book marketing, self published, self publishing | Tagged: book marketing, Brunonia Barry, lorna page, self published, self publishing, The Lace Reader
[...] blog looks good. For example, on August 25, Robinson posted Self Publishing Hits – The Lace Reader, Brunonia Barry and Lorna Page. He tells the story of self-published fiction that went mainstream with a 2 million dollar advance. [...]
Nice blog. If you’d like to hear Brunonia talk about the book com and check out my podcast at http://www.prosecast.com. She’s a great interview subject.
THanks
Cathi
Hello, this is Mike Rosen, a reporter with PBS Mediashift working on an article about self-publishing and its advantages and disadvantages. We’re trying to compile a brief guide for writers to self-publishing – with a specific emphasis on looking at who might consider self-publishing as a viable option and who would better pursue traditional publishing. It sounds like you would be someone who’d be knowledgeable about this, so I thought I’d see if you were available to talk over email sometime.
I apologize for spamming you blog like this; I didn’t notice any contact info, so I thought this might be the best way to reach you.