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The Writing Life Team Up To Promote Your Books By Lee Harris, Jonnie Jacobs, Lora Roberts and Valerie Wolzien Originally published in The Third Degree (the national MWA newsletter) We mystery writers seldom receive the kind of promotion support we'd like from our publishers. If things are going to get done, we have to do them ourselves—an undertaking that is expensive, tedious, time-consuming, and often depressing. The four of us who have adopted the collective persona of Nuns, Mothers and Others discovered, quite by accident, the benefits and joys of collaborative effort. We tour together, share a web page, develop group ads and promotional materials, publish a newsletter, and have recently added bumper stickers and buttons to our list. The advantages are many. The old adage—many hands make light work—couldn't be truer. (This article, in fact, is a cooperative endeavor.) Whether it's the layout for an ad, the planning of a book tour, the mailing of newsletters, or the search for a webmaster, the tasks are infinitely easier when we divvy up the work and pool resources. It also saves on expense. An additional, and unexpected benefit, is the "halo effect." Each of us has a reader base; when those readers receive a newsletter or attend a signing, the other three benefit by reaching a new audience. And because two of us live in the east and two in the west, we have a presence in parts of the country where we don't reside. We've lost count of the times we've heard, in effect, "I love your books and I'm going to try those of your companions as well." And we shouldn't forget to mention the biggest benefit of all—friendship and support. It's a lonely business, both the writing and the promoting. It's wonderful to feel part of a team. The Writers Why us? Pure serendipity. Lee Harris and Valerie Wolzien met because of a jar of homemade strawberry jam. Lee's neighbor brought over a welcome-to-the neighborhood jar of jam, and mentioned that another neighbor was also a mystery writer. They connected, discovered they wrote for the same publisher, and began doing signings together. Jonnie Jacobs and Lora Roberts published their first mysteries within months of each other, with similar titles. Tired of being confused, they took the bull by the horns and started signing together to make it clear there were two books and two authors. The twosomes met at Malice Domestic. The following year we decided to pool our resources and do a book tour through the Midwest, a trip that covered over 1200 miles. Booksellers wanted a catchy title or theme. We started with East Meets West in Your Backyard, but when it became apparent that people were envisioning beansprouts and zen, we decided to rethink. In a fit of late night email madness, one of us jokingly suggested Nuns, Mothers and Others (after our sleuths, not ourselves.) The name stuck. Book Tours We've gone on the road six times in as many years. One person does the initial—and most difficult—job of contacting stores and mapping the itinerary. Ideally, any day that doesn't involve long hours traveling contains at least two events. We keep in touch by email so the planning process isn't a solitary one. The others each have a job to do as well. Maps, motel reservations (we pair up in rooms to keep the cost down), and a rental car—one with a large trunk. (A Lincoln Town Car is ideal, but we've made do with other models and have actually walked the lot of the rental agency opening trunks before signing on the dotted line.) We each make our own plane reservations, but coordinate so that arrival times synch. We send out individual publicity packets, but have found that stores like a group press release and photo as well. While mystery and independent bookstores are the backbone of our trips, we've spoken at libraries, luncheons, local conferences and on radio shows. Groups such as these enjoy having a "ready made" panel of authors. And the local press feels its getting more bang for its buck with four of us so we do well with publicity. Once again, there is power in numbers. We shouldn't overlook the practical considerations either. Ever try to navigate the freeways in a strange city by yourself? Or decompress after a signing by sitting alone at the hotel bar? Believe us, having people to share the frustrations and laughter helps! Newsletters During the long car rides of our first tour, the idea of a newsletter was born. We brainstormed the format and chose our first topic—Our Sleuths, Ourselves? Since then we've done eleven newsletters, each addressing a different topic—everything from a holiday newsletter with recipes to Publishing 101. Sometimes we include a complete book list; more often we do not. Once we choose a topic (email again), each of us writes a defined number of words on that topic. Our readers get to hear four views on the same subject (and they usually vary greatly). We include the title of our latest book, our email addresses and webpage. We mail multiple copies to interested bookstores and single copies to our mailing list (which grows every week), as well as distributing copies at signings, conventions, book fairs and the like. The Webpage These days, readers expect authors to have web sites, but many writers feel they don't have the time or skills to learn how to develop and maintain their own sites. We decided to share the expenses (and hassles) of a web site. Lora's teenaged webmaster designed our first site, with heavy input from her. Since then we've hired someone to update and maintain it. Our site isn't as sleek and glamorous as some, but from feedback we've received, that's often a plus. Each of us has her own personal section which includes a welcome note, a bio, a book list, as well as interviews and mystery related articles we've written. We've also archived all the past newsletters and we've included a section for posting upcoming signings (group and individual) as well as a travel log where readers can learn such interesting tidbits as what we were doing at a bar in rural Wisconsin at 9:00 in the morning this last spring. We're not joined at the hip, obviously. We do events alone and in other pairings. We each have promotional items that are ours alone. But we all feel we've benefited greatly from working together. Lee Harris is the author of a series featuring ex-nun Christine Bennett. Jonnie Jacobs is the author of two series. One features suburban mom and amateur sleuth Kate Austen; the other, attorney Kali O'Brien. Lora Roberts is the author of a series featuring freelance writer Liz Sullivan. Valerie Wolzien is the author of two series. One features suburban mom Susan Henshaw; the other, contractor Josie Pigeon. They share a webpage at http://www.NMOMysteries.com
More Writing Life: Be Your Own Best Editor, by Jonnie Jacobs and Lora Roberts
Lee Harris ~ Jonnie Jacobs ~ Lora Roberts ~ Valerie Wolzien ©2005-06 by Lee Harris, Jonnie Jacobs, Lora Roberts and Valerie Wolzien. |