Here’s a guy with one hell of a memoir in him, but does he have the marketing chops to sell it?
Thanks to our fall intern, Laura Zapico, a student at Cal State Long Beach, Brown Paper Press will soon have a handbook to share with our new authors. It’s been something I’ve wanted to do for some time, along with the 43,000 other things on my back-burner to-do list, but thanks to Laura (thank you, Laura!), who is studying technical writing, we are almost there.
Along with going over the nuts and bolts of Brown Paper Press — who we are, what we do, what you can expect from us and what you can expect we’ll expect from you (wow, surely I could have worded that better — whatever, I’m in a hurry. One thing not to expect is perfection, obviously….) — the handbook also will contain resources and advice for newbie authors.
All the best advice is on the Internet already, of course. (Probably multiple x multiple times.) Ours is just a curated list specific to our business model and the nonfiction genre. But honestly, some of the advice is better shared before the book deal, so I’ve decided to drop them here.
To all those wonderful memoirists who have been submitting their stuff to us, and other small presses, this is for you.
There is a right way to sell a memoir. This is from 2010 but terribly interesting and useful. It’s a compilation of tips provided by a roundtable of reputable agents.
Being pollyannaish about book sales won’t do you any favors. Here is your come-to-Jesus, courtesy of Electric Literature.
The magic word is marketing, and you’re the magician. This one, from Michael Hyatt, lays out why authors must be prepared to take responsibility for their own marketing.
https://michaelhyatt.com/four-reasons-why-you-must-take-responsibility-for-your-own-marketing/
Please feel free to share your own links in the comments. Always looking for great advice!