The following are the full details of a presentation given by Anne at the Independent Publishers

Anne McCullagh Rennie

'Inspiring, uplifting, internationally best-selling author'

Below are the full details of a presentation given by Anne at the Independent Publishers & Author’s Bookshow 2005 held at The NSW Writers’ Centre, Rozelle, on Sunday November 27^th2005

‘Publicity and promotion – whose job is it anyway?’

with

Anne McCullagh Rennie

‘the author who speaks’

An informative, entertaining discussion aimed at helping novice
and established writers successfully publicise
and promote their products and themselves.

Discussion:

The answer’s simple - It’s your job to publicize and promote your books! The good news is: You can do it very well The bad new is: Forget any grand, fancy ideas about publishing houses promoting for you. Until you are well known, publishers and booksellers are not interested in spending large amounts of money to promote you. When you self publish, self-promotion is the only option.

Points to consider before you start :

Know where your book fits in the marketplace, and come up with easy catchy phrases that make your book and yourself stand out from the millions of other authors and books that come on the bookshelves each month.
Make it easy for booksellers to say "Yes" to accepting your novel, non-fiction because it fits easily into their book list.
Successful self-published authors go on to be accepted by publishing houses for their second and subsequent books. Some self-published authors choose to stay with self-publishing as the process is quicker and you can make more money.
Start publicizing your book from the very first idea.

Here are my TEN TOP TIPS to help promote your fiction and non-fiction:

Which book do you want your book to sit next to on the bookstore shelf?
Can you say what your book is about in one sentence?
SHOW and TELL
Credibility - do you have it?
Are you attracting the media with personal stories?
How to prepare your manuscript to be noticed.
Stay attractive to publishers
Are you thinking right to promote yourself and your books?
Do you stand out from the herd?
Leave a paper-trail!

1 Which book do you want your book to sit next to on the bookstore shelf?

By answering this question you focus exactly where your book fits in the marketplace and make the publisher, distributor and booksellers jobs much easier. Do not deceive yourself that ‘everyone ‘ will read your book. They won’t! Be specific about age and gender and if you get overlaps that’s a bonus. The answer will also show you what your book will look like - the size, shape, style of cover, number of pages, chapters to aim for so that you increase your prospects of being accepted by a publisher or bookseller.

I wanted my first novel Reach for the Dream to sit next to The Thornbirds, A Town like Alice, Evan Green’s Alice to nowhere. Reach for the Dream went straight into the bestseller list alongside A Town like Alice, and is currently in the bestseller list in Switzerland alongside The Thornbirds. Which book do you want your book to sit next to in the bookstore shelf.

2 Can you say what your book is about in one sentence?

Once again this question focuses on what your book is about and who it appeals to. People don’t want to listen to an author droning on about their book. Captivate them. Make it snappy:

‘Our family biography You can call me Ellie is one Australian family’s story of love and determination in bringing up two girls one of whom has Down Syndrome.’

'Song of the Bellbirds is a bittersweet tale of love and heartache set in the wheatfields of Queensland and the opera houses of Europe and America.'

3 I thought I’d do a bit of SHOW as well as TELL in this session, so I have brought along a number of items:

My novels, cookbook for arthritis sufferers and family biography are displayed. Love, Obsessions, Secrets and Lies, a book of short stories by some of the biggest names in Australian popular fiction, is a great example of how to write short stories. Analyse it. Get ideas from it. Learn about length, plot line, style and content by reading these stories.

Create promotional flyers. Here are my three one-page flyers that give:

· the front cover and details of my latest book You can call me Ellie with a summary of all my titles on the other side.

· the Secret to Pain Free Living and arthritis.

· Christmas Gifts Discount offer.

Create eye-catching business cards using the front cover of your book. With the publication of my first novel, Reach for the Dream, Global Networking Specialist Robyn Henderson www.networkingtowin.com.au challenged me, asking - 'Why isn't the front cover of your book on your business cards?' I took her advice and put it there. Now I have one business card showing a group of my books and another for my latest book. On the back put your one-sentence description, list of other titles and contact details. A well-scanned, crisp picture tells a thousand words and looks very professional. Then hand out your cards.

Don’t be bashful. People will accept more than one card. In fact if you are chatting with a group and don’t give cards to everyone, they will feel left out! Say: ‘You can call me Ellie is our family biography and these are my novels and cookbook for arthritis sufferers. Plus here is a book of short stories .’ My business cards are still my greatest marketing tool. I have given away over 14,000. The reaction was interesting when I started.

First others laughed,

then they criticized,

then they copied!

Be courageous. Step out of your comfort zone and be noticed.

4 Credibility - do you have it?

Here is some examples of credibility. Come up with your own:

You can call me Ellie. I have over 30 years of raising children, one of whom has Down syndrome. I went to school with a girl with Down syndrome. My younger daughter Ellie has Down syndrome. She went through regular school got her school certificate. She can ski, swim, cook – and is emerging as a talented Australian artist.

Pain Free Living, cookbook for arthritis sufferers I was crippled with osteoarthritis in my early thirties. I got rid of all symptoms of arthritis by making simple changes to the foods I was already eating. With my doctor’s help, I then weened myself off all medication for arthritis. That was 14 years ago!

Song of the Bellbirds is 'a bittersweet tale set against the wheatfields of Queensland and the opera houses of Europe and America’. My ambition was to become an opera singer. I studied singing at the Royal College of Music London and the Akademie of Musik, Vienna. I researched the area around Toowoomba and talked to locals.

Reach for the Dream. ' a classic Australian tale told against the harsh compelling beauty of the Outback' (currently No 3 on the bestseller list in Switzerland). I listened to tales from my mother in law who was born and brought up in the outback and father in law who was born and brought up in the country town of Yass..

Ride with the Wind ‘from Pony club to the Melbourne Cup, a gripping saga of love, ambition and the unswerving conviction of an unforgettable woman’. - I talked to jockeys, race horse trainers and owners, attended trackwork before dawn, was invited to Gay Waterhouse’s stables, met owners of Melbourne Cup winners Ken Lazarus ('Kensei' 1987) and Nick Moratis ('Might and Power' 1997) and held the Melbourne Cup. Nick Moratis names a horse after my novel 'Ride with the Wind'. What is your credibility?

5 Are you attracting the media with personal stories?

Journalists and TV and Radio presenters want a catchy headline plus a few lines for their story. Use the one sentence description plus part of the back blurb of your book. Come up with interesting stories:

‘When my eldest daughter Patsy was two my husband nearly died of cancer …’

‘I only once gave up on Ellie …’

You might be interested in an article I wrote published in the November 2005 edition of Newswrite, the NSW Writers' Centre monthly magazine: ‘Making the most of your TV, Radio and print interviews.’ It is a useful check list for both novice and established writers

6 How to prepare your manuscript to be noticed.

Many great authors started by self-publishing. World renowned Science fiction writer Isaac Asimov is a classic example, who first self published before being accepted by a major publishing house. Self published authors work with professional editors who deal with publishing houses. Prepare your manuscript so that it looks professional. Make big margins down each side, use double spacing, and a readable font. - Times New Roman, 12 point, or similar font is clean and easy to read. Don’t make the font too small. Type the title, chapter, page number, your name, contact details and date of this edit on every page. Editors and publishers will drop your manuscript, spill coffee on them have their children scribble on them! I know! It happens to me – frequently! But that’s Okay it just adds character. Remember, editors love their job and will fall in love with your work and get as involved as you. Click here to check out my article on getting published

7 Stay attractive to publishers.

Be polite. Be flexible. The publishing industry is a small world. Everyone talks to everyone else and the players regularly change places. Stay being polite despite rejections and criticism. Be prepared to change your story line even when you write non fiction. You want your story to sell – so does the publisher. Not every detail needs to go in. I deleted 10,000 words in You can call me Ellie to bring down to a 250 page book that satisfied my publishers New Holland. I rewrote large sections of When the Snowgums Dance and changed part of the initial story line of Reach for the Dream. Get a reputation for being easy to work with and you and your manuscript will stand more chance of being considered.

8 Are you thinking right to promote yourself and your books?

As an author where do you want to end up? In 1992 I decided I wanted to be one of Australia’s internationally bestselling authors of popular fiction. I had written a cookbook for arthritis sufferers. Shortly after making that decision I met my agent Selwa Anthony. Since then I have published four novels, two of which are currently on the bestseller list in Switzerland. This year my family biography was published. If you know where you want to end up as an author you will attract the people you need to get you there and you will be successful- if you have the courage to keep going. Writing is not for the faint- hearted and you must think long term. It takes years of heard work, determination and rejections to become an ‘overnight success’. But that’s just part of what being a writer is all about.

9 Do you stand out from the herd?

International speaker and author Max Hitchins works with members of the hospitality industry, helping them improving their marketing skills to create better business I learned many of my marketing skills from Max. He calls himself ‘the hospitality doctor’. Max chose to work in a specific niche and has built up a very successful career. Visit Max at www.hospitalitydoctor.com to check out how he markets his business. I call myself ‘the author who speaks’ It is easy to work out what I do! Come up with a catchy phrase for your particular flavour so people remember who you are and what you do.

Give your publisher/ publicist the answers to the above questions and you’ve made their job a lot easier. More importantly you know that what you have given is accurate and is how you want to promote yourself and your books. When editing your own publicity flyers ask yourself ‘As a reader am I interested?’

Conclusion:

· Which book do you want your book to sit next to on the bookstore shelf?

· Can you say what your book is about in one sentence

· What makes you competent to write on your chosen subjects?

· Are you willing to stay polite and flexible even when your novel or nonfiction is being harshly edited?

· Are you thinking right to promote yourself and your books?

· How do you stand out from the herd?

10. And my final TIP: As you have seen me do today - Leave a paper trail!

Publicity and promotion – it’s your job. Anyone else who comes onboard is a bonus! Stay in control, present the angle you want. Do the work. Watch how successful people publicize and copy their ideas. Most of all have fun!

It’s been a pleasure talking to you today. Thank you for listening.

Anne McCullagh Rennie

Click here to email Anne with your comments on this article and on the discussion.

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