A Literary Agent Versus a Publicist -- Enlighten Me

Someone help me. It doesn’t make sense. Authors write. Their work is reviewed, critiqued, and sometimes even ripped apart by friends, family members, and complete strangers in order to end up with a great manuscript. Once the body of work is ready, many authors compose query letters. Then, despite all of the preparation, the rejection occurs. Are we all that lousy at our craft?

In today’s writing world, are literary agents that important? Do they help you sell books? Not that I can tell. Will they get you a publisher? Supposedly, but with the advent of self-publishing, why is that important?

A publisher eventually will turn to the author to sell books anyway. Why is having a Big Six publisher important? Granted, many of us strive to land a large publisher. Think about it, though. Why is it a necessity to be hooked to a corporate giant? I guess they help promote through their literature, trade shows, advertising and distributing. It used to be that a big-name author would be the leader that would allow a publisher to get a hoard of lesser known authors into a book store.

However, things have changed. Book stores are being boarded up. The Internet has taken over. Hardback and paperback books are being replaced by eBooks. Online booksellers are the wave of the future. The bricks and mortar on the corner book store are falling to the ground.

So that comes back to the original question. Why is having a literary agent that important? What do they do if authors can self-publish and sell eBooks via the Internet?

Maybe having a publicist is more important in today’s writing world than an agent. I’d like to hear your thoughts about that. Doesn’t coming up with a strategy to market make more sense in getting your word out?

Or, if the funds are limited, maybe the best course of action for an author is to do self-promotion. In that case is it possible for an author to utilize the Internet and publicize traditionally enough on this own to make a difference?

Publicists put together PR campaign plans. They act as a liaison between a client and the media. Their connections can be used to land radio gigs or television talk shows. A publicist helps to promote a brand and make it more visible in the marketplace. In a nutshell they create -- buzzzzzzzzz.

So we are back to the beginning. Help me. I’m confused. What is the best way to go? As authors we all want to explore ways to get our word to the public. We seek more readers. We reach out to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google, YouTube and a host of other online social networking sites. Who has the answer? If there is no set acceptable standard, then what is one to do?

I’d love to hear what has been successful for some other authors. Give me some feedback!

James Ross
Author of Lifetime Loser, Finish Line, Tuey's Course, Opur's Blade, Pabby's Score
jamesross@authorjamesross.com
Website: www.AuthorJamesRoss.com
Twitter: golfnovels and JamesRossBooks
Publisher Website: www.Xlibris.com and www.nightengalepress.com
Blog: http://www.authorjamesross.blogspot.com/
Purchase link: http://golftwitt.com/46ey

Use the Calendar to Sell Your Books!

All of us who are involved in the world of writing and publishing have explored ways to expand our marketing efforts. Many times, as a little guy, it has seemed like getting the word out about my books to the large audience that I desire is an insurmountable task. However, with my fourth release, Opur’s Blade, we tried something different and I wanted to share the exciting results.

Do you know how those bestseller lists that you see with online distributors such as Amazon are determined?  If you want to succeed at the game, you need to know the process.  We set out to do just that.

With several sites, one of the requirements is a large number of sales in a very short, concentrated time frame. We found that is the case with Amazon. With this knowledge, the gears were set in motion.

Opur’s Blade was categorized as a sports/fiction book on that global online bookseller. We told the world, through social media and traditional outlets, that we hoped people would purchase this new release on 10/10/10 and asked those who were considering buying the book to hold off until this date.

Bingo! Our efforts succeeded. With those sales, Opur’s Blade rose to at least #17 on the best-seller list at Amazon in the sports/fiction grouping and stood next to authors with names like Patterson, Grisham, and other notable literary figures. For a short while it was gratifying but alas, it didn’t last forever. At the end of the day, though, I can say that Opur’s Blade rose to lofty heights on the bestseller list at Amazon.  And, I know that this campaign exposed my work to many people who may not have discovered it otherwise.

We’ll certainly use this strategy with Pabby’s Score when it is released. You should try it, too!