When you produce a book, you become an expert. It\u2019s true. As soon as your book is published, whether it is on how to get over your fear of the dentist, kite-flying, de-matting a cat, quilt-making or scone-baking, you become an expert on the subject. Your self-help book or memoir focusing on alcoholism, teen dating, cooking for the diabetic or youth mentoring makes you an authority on the subject. Even if you publish a novel or a children\u2019s book, just the fact that you are published gives you professional status among those who still yearn to write a book. And people will come to you with their questions.<\/p>\n
Are you prepared? Do you have the information they need? Do you know how to locate it? Are you interested in helping others with their questions? You should be because many of them are your readers. <\/p>\n
The more wide-spread your book promotion, the more questions you will receive. Some authors who publish books in a particular niche, produce newsletters to help keep their readers informed beyond the book and to attract new readers. The blog seems to be taking the place of newsletters and e-newsletters, for many. But it doesn\u2019t seem to matter how much information, how many resources and facts you put out there, people still have questions. <\/p>\n
I\u2019ve had some interesting experiences with people along these lines. But which ones will I share here this morning? My head is spinning with stories of rip-off artists (there have been very few, thank heavens), clueless advantage takers, people who want to argue with your responses to their questions, folks who do not respond after you answer their question in great detail and more. But, for the most part, I hear from serious writers and authors with legitimate, intelligent questions. I love the questions and I encourage them. Every time I hand-sell a book or hand out a brochure, I always say, \u201cAnd if you have any questions, please contact me at PLFry620@yahoo.com. <\/p>\n
Okay, here\u2019s one from my file of \u201cirritating questions\u201d: Along with friends and family, I presented a full-on Hawaiian luau for a party of 100 strangers once as a way to promote my Hawaiian luau book. A local reporter said that if I would stage or even present a luau, they would cover it. I did and they did. I had a great spread on the first page of the Life and Living section.<\/p>\n
Well, the day that the article came out, I got a call from a woman who had lots of questions about some of the dishes we prepared. (A few of them were published in the newspaper.) She talked like she had a copy of the book in her hands and I proceeded to spend almost an hour with her on the phone discussing the recipes. I\u2019d refer to certain pages in the book and she\u2019d go along with me. Come to find out, she had not purchased the book and now she didn\u2019t need to because I had responded so completely to all of her questions. Boy did I feel used.<\/p>\n
I get emails from people asking such things as, \u201cHow do I get my book published?\u201d and \u201cHow do I promote my book?\u201d This is like someone saying to you, \u201cI see that you wrote a book on cooking what you grow. I\u2019d like to do this\u2014can you tell me how?\u201d You just want to say, \u201cRead the book! That\u2019s why I wrote it, after all.\u201d<\/p>\n
If you have questions for an author, stop and think about what you\u2019re asking. Many people need to go back to the drawing board with their questions and try to come up with something more pointed. A better question for me might be, \u201cHow do I go about finding a publisher or an agent?\u201d or \u201cI\u2019ve written a book of poetry. I\u2019ve had it reviewed and X, Y and Z sites, I\u2019ve done readings at a dozen local coffee-houses, I\u2019ve submitted a few poems to various competitions. Do you have any additional ideas I can use for promoting this book?\u201d<\/p>\n
For the garden cooking book, better questions might be, \u201cCan I grow a garden year-round in the northwest?\u201d \u201cI\u2019d like to learn how to use all of the kale I grow. Do you have recipes for kale in your book?\u201d <\/p>\n
I love responding to pointed questions for serious writers and authors. It\u2019s those questions that have prompted most of my articles and books on writing and publishing. It\u2019s those questions that drive this blog and my online courses. And it\u2019s those questions that keep me actively researching and locating new material for books, the blog and the SPAWN Market Update<\/em>, which I write each month for the SPAWN website. For those of you who haven\u2019t visited the SPAWN website in a while or ever, here\u2019s the link. http:\/\/www.spawn.org<\/a> <\/p>\n We\u2019re heading toward spring\u2014I\u2019m enjoying a spring shower here in California this morning. It\u2019s a good time to gear up for your writing career, for publishing that book, for starting your book promotion or for setting up a publishing company. But first, you\u2019d better educate yourself. Check out my online courses for writers and authors at http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com\/courses.htm<\/a> <\/p>\n