June 13, 2007My second novel with Midnight Ink, THE SERPENT’S KISS, will hit bookstores on July 1, 2007. It may already be available. Hey, visit your local bookstore and ask or order online!
Back on March 9, 2007, on my blog, I wrote Marketing Your Novel, Part 1, where I broke down what marketing efforts and costs I was making to promote this novel. Well, it’s time to update it and I’m going to be as candid about time and money here as I possibly can. So here goes:
Website hosting and fees to-date: $393 and approximately 2 hours total (on my part)
(Most of that is my hosting for the year, already paid in full. There will be additional fees coming soon to cover e-newsletters and some site updates.)
AuthorBuzz: $895 and approximately 2 hours to write them.
Postcards: $424 to have them printed up (About 2500). I could have gone cheaper by using online sites, but I had problems with graphic matches and getting help, so I went with somebody I could talk to on the phone. (About 1 hour total)
Mailing labels: $40.27 (1 hour to run out to Office Max and get them)
Postcard postage: $534 (15 hours to print up labels, stick them on postcards and then affix stamps to postcards, then drop them off at post office). These were primarily sent to libraries, independent bookstores, former purchasers of my books, and Michigan bookstores. (What? You didn't get one and you want one? E-mail me with your address).
Case of THE SERPENT’S KISS: $278.80. I ordered a case of books (40 books) to be used for promotional purposes. Although I might sell a few, mostly these are give-aways. I created a list of media sources and reviewers in the area—TV, public radio, newspapers, university alumni association—and sent them copies with a personal letter.
Padded mailing envelopes (20): $16.81 (4 hours to get envelopes, create letters, address envelopes, and get to post office)
Postage for books (to-date): $49.33
Total: $2631.21 and 25 hours.
That’s actually a little bit lower than I expected it to be. I’ll be giving out at least 5 books (and as a result, more mailing envelopes and postage) and there will be more Website fees. After the book is officially out I’ll be hitting the road to visit bookstores and possibly giving some book talks. I’ll be involved in a book talk at the Romeo Public Library in early September as well as the Kerrytown Book Festival in Ann Arbor. The brochure for Magna cum Murder is on my desk, but I’m holding back, waiting for my October business and family schedule to gel a little bit. It’s the end of October and I know I’ll be traveling to Washington, DC for a business trip and it looks like there’s a school event I’ll probably be required to attend with my oldest son. (I’d also like to drive down my Visa bill a bit before I throw anything more at it; my nonfiction business has expenses as well, so the above total is only a portion of my overall writing expenses).
Is it worth it? Will I have $2631.21 return on investment (ROI)? I don’t know. I commented to my wife that I was trying to do all these postcards and mailings on the weekends so I could free up my workweek for “more obviously profitable writing activities.” The truth is, I don’t know if any of this will make a damn bit of difference or bring in any kind of ROI. We do so on faith and because to do nothing clearly won’t make a difference.
I do know this: if a single TV station gets a copy of THE SERPENT’S KISS or one of the big local newspapers gets my package and decides to do a piece, then it’ll probably result in equivalent sales (at least the TV ones will). THE SERPENT’S KISS is also very Detroit-centric, with the Detroit skyline on the cover, so it’s a book local people ought to be very interested in. I also know that nobody will buy my wonderful, exciting, high-octane, thrilling, edge-of-your-seat, rollercoaster of a thrill ride novel if they've never heard of it. So I guess I'm yelling from the rooftops.
So we’ll see.
And hey, if you haven’t ordered or purchased your copy yet…
Cheers,
Mark Terry
