Authors feel underwhelmed by their publishers' marketing support, what should we do about it?

Publishers margins are under pressure and saving small amounts across the board can make a huge difference from both a sales perspective as well as author acquisition. 

In a recent survey of what authors think about their publishers, the results made interesting reading. The survey was of more than 800 experienced authors,  more than half had published 6 or more books and nearly 80% had a book published in the last year,  with 56% published by one of the Big Five and 60% of authors from North America.

The respondents were impressed with the publisher’s editorial and design support but had very negative views on the marketing front with some 50% of authors giving a poor or non-existent rating.

Authors are more sophisticated these days with their own networks and their own ability to engage and drive readership. Whether a big five publisher or small independent or academic press,  the results were the same across the board–authors feel neglected, are not asked for their feedback and would consider switching publishers. In fact, Amazon publishing was praised for providing good relevant feedback. 

Read the full article here

So what can we do about this?

Top tips for how publishers can how help their authors on the marketing front:

• Ensure your author appears well on Google search
• Ensure your author is visible on your website – add a photo, a bio, an interview, a video, all titles
• Ensure your author uses their website and socials well – give them a discount code for author driven sales
• Some authors have a large community filled with fans, book lovers and special interest readers. Encourage your authors to reshare your content with their communities!

• Set early expectations on how your authors should market their books and provide marketing guidance
• Give your author a realistic expectation of book sales and what they can do to help (and what will hurt)
• Create a 3 minute-video promotion on why you wrote the book.
• Ask your authors to provide supplementary content – i.e.  book signings, character analysis

Listen to one another - don’t assume your author understands the industry. On the flipside, listen to your author.