Sandy's Soapbox
My 2nd book in my 4-book DIY/Maker series is out (http://shop.oreilly.com/product/0636920021612.do *plug* *plug*) and I'm learning the difference between promo and publicist. The project was not an RPG, but my building of a satellite that will be launched into space to convert the ionosphere to music (projectCalliope.com).
The lessons seem applicable to RPG publishing as well. It started as a blog with the intention of culminating in a book. Along the way, I acquired an agent, and the book got picked up as a 4-eBook/POD series instead. I've therefore had the same project get coverage through my solo efforts, then with an agent getting me a publisher, then finally with the publisher bringing in their publicist.
Pre-book, as a solo freelancer doing his own marketing, I got some interviews for my blog/project through word of mouth (including Wired & NPR). It was fairly organic-- first little fish interview, then bigger fish see that and call me, then biggest fish notice them and call me. I had to do a fair amount of networking, but that was already part of building my project. This was highly successful. It also was sufficient to persuade an agent to take me on as a client.
Having a book proposal and an agent lead to an eventual deal with O'Reilly Media. While that process is a separate story, it is worth noting that eBooks have fundamentally changed the role of publishers, and that my agent and I did discuss the difference between self-publishing or going with O'Reilly. That boiled down to, at heart, the eternal conflict of time versus money. Self-publishing would earn me more money but take up more of my time.
Further, I was a Maker/DIYer by definition (building a satellite in your basement qualifies), but I was not part of the Maker/DIY faire-holding culture per se. Going with O'Reilly would give me stronger inroads into Maker culture, which I at that time had been only on the edges. Enough framing, though, here are the results.
For my first book in the series, O'Reilly Media sent out comp review copies but I was swamped and didn't do much self-promo. Despite my silence, after several weeks, I started to get calls for interviews. About half were already in my network and had heard of the book, and wanted updates. The other half were outsiders, of whom the strongest was 10 minutes on Harry Allen's radio show, but I didn't see much of a pattern.
For the second book, O'Reilly put a Publicist on to be more active pushing it. 1 week after release, I already have 4 interviews scheduled, including one with Business Week and one with the Economist. It's definitely nice having someone else handling this, and I find I'm getting good coverage with less effort.
It is simplistic to say a publicist is a boon-- of course having someone skilled and connected will help. A publicist does cost money-- someone has to pay (and not me!). Obviously, the return on investment is a factor, but in this case, it's the publisher's dime. Further, their publicist is not having to spend as much time gaining quality interviews for me as I would have to do solo. She already has the connections and the network, and is making use of it for my book (among others). Sometimes, it's just a matter of having a big enough network.
How do you get a network? Some people try to build networks directly, through schmoozing. I've found the best networking is not when you have an agenda or want something, but simply networking with colleagues and like minded people in an organic fashion, because you share what you do.
You may have noticed that Monte Cook has gotten over a quarter million via Kickstarter for his latest project. That is not "Monte Cook, virtual unknown, suddenly gets $250K", rather, that is Monte Cook, established industry vet who also spend over a decade building his personal brand, is able to monetize his reputation via Kickstarter. He built a platform (very skillfully, and based on good work).
In this regard, building your personal platform and reputation is not a means to an end, rather, it's kind of like being awarded experience points for the things you'd be doing even if you weren't awarded experience points. Then, sometimes, you find your platform supports you when you need it.
Economically, these books are more valuable as platform building than as direct revenues (esp. as book 1 is under 1,000 in sales; book 2 obviously is just out). In comparison to the freelance whitepaper/proposal work I was doing concurrent with book 1, each book is a comparable level of effort but reaches 100x the number of people while paying about 1/10th as much.
That's standard for today's publishing environment. The stuff that gets most read is probably your blogging, column writing, or essays. That's the stuff you're writing for free or for cheap for 10,000 people to enjoy. Wide audience, little pay.
The items that help pay your grocery bill are the more targeted items-- magazine articles, books, things that maybe 1,000-2,000 people will pay for.
Finally, you'll have a few big projects. Consulting, doing a kickstarter, something big that may reach a comparatively small number of people, a few hundred people. But those people are willing to pay more for your high end stuff. They're the real income, the stuff that pays your mortgage.
(And if you're Monte Cook, multiply these audience sizes by 10, i.e. his free stuff reaches 100K, middling reaches 20K, kickstarter reached 2K... the ratio remains but his reach is vast.)
Most important, doing good work in a field you enjoy around people you respect (aka platform building) can bring you dividends that aren't a pure dollar amount. If you attribute me being hired for my current job (professor) in part 'because he wrote the book on this stuff', however, my ROI is excellent.
Some people say about writing "don't quit your day job", I'd argue that writing can be your dream job, or it can get you your dream day job.
Until next month,
Sandy
