Do you think your blog helps you sell your books? Based on your experience, are there other better ways to sell books than through a blog and blog tours? Have you found networking on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, Goodreads and other sites more useful than blogging? In the publishing industry, there is no longer the pressure there once was on writers to set up their own blog if they didn't have one. Is this justified in your opinion?
Before I tell you what I think, take a look at this hilarious video done by author Melissa Conway which renders perfectly the book promotion pains of any indie writer:
So now on to what I have found out after three years of blogging and reaching a decent Alexa ranking (especially for a writer) as I flirt with 1,000 page views/day. I think I can honestly say that the two things - my blog and my book sales - are largely and surprisingly disconnected. I can have a surge of interest in my blog and, disconcertingly, it doesn't reflect in my book sales - and the reverse of course is also true. Because people who read my books don't necessarily flock to my blog...
Why the disconnect? Theories abound (see the related articles below) but I have my own: I think people who read blogs aren't always the same as those who read books. Blog readers are primarily those who like to surf the Net rather than get their news from old-fashioned newspapers actually printed on that white flat surface known as paper. If I'm right about that, then these are people who do not spend any time (if they can help it) reading books, whether they be novels or non-fiction, digital or printed. They've had their daily sup of words, they're satiated, thank you, no books of any kind for them!
Add to that another fact about a blog written by an author: it is inevitably read by a majority of fellow authors. Why? Because the blog tends to deal with matters of interest to other authors (such as this very blog post!). Also it is advertised (largely) through Twitter and followers are likely to be other authors. Certainly my case. I have some 2600 followers on Twitter - I know, it's a modest number but that's not the point. The point is that some 90 percent of my followers are authors like myself. Yet there's nothing strange about this. It's a perfectly normal pattern for Twitter: people who share interests flock together. Same on Facebook. My Facebook Author Page (you can take a look here) has often gathered the "likes" of other authors, over 600 of them. Don't misunderstand me: I'm happy and flattered to have so many fellow authors follow or "like" me, it's definitely a recognition - but it is happening in the rarified world of publishing and literature, not the big world of readers that all of us authors would like to reach out to.
Still, before we drown in self pity, we should all remember that someone like Tolkien who started slow and unknown eventually became the literary giant we all know through the help and support of his fellow historians at Oxford and supportive writers. They were the first to turn his books, The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings into a cult, they started a wave of popularity that hasn't died down yet.
The only social media site that seems to draw people from very different walks in life is Google+. I suspect that's because (1) it is linked to gmail and (2) it makes "adding" people to "circles" very easy: you have the "acquaintance" category (which means next to nothing), you click that and you're done.
So perhaps Google+ will turn out to be a window on the bigger, larger world of readers?
If you take a look at the articles below, you will see a mix of feelings with some writers expressing great enthusiasm for what is sometimes called "screen selling", arguing that thanks to Internet, they are at last directly connected with their readers. And that is of course true. Indeed, that was from the go, the very premise (or should I say promise) of the digital revolution and online sales. Linking authors directly to their readers: something that had never happened before except at book signing events which are, of necessity, few and far-between, reaching a handful of readers at a time.
So which is right? Does blogging and related SM networking help in spreading the word about books and jump start the famous "book buzz"? Please let me know in your comments, I can't wait to hear your views!
For those who don't feel like expressing in public their opinions, I'm giving the alternative to respond through the poll here, that will keep your privacy complete:
Related articles
Your Book Isn't Selling: What You've Never Been Told(turndogmillionaire.com)
Thursdays with Amanda: Demystifying Amazon's Sales Ranking System(chipmacgregor.com)
Average price of best-selling e-books on the decline(teleread.com)
How to Sell 8 Million Books - by Jonathan Gunson(dalefurse.wordpress.com)
What I Would Do To Sell My Book(thelintinmypocket.wordpress.com)
The Author's Platform....Is it really necessary?(yamulticulturaljunkie.wordpress.com)
Quick Book Selling Fix-Its (For Anytime)(kellielarsenmurphy.com)
Book Promotion, Part 2: 51 Tactics to Promote Your Book(rickdacri.wordpress.com)
Hand selling books with social media(socialmedia4writers.com)
Publishing & Social Media(novelnook.wordpress.com)
Comments
Personally, I use my blog for two purposes. First, my blog contains articles that help establish my credentials as a writer of historical fiction. Hopefully, readers interested in this genre will find my postings interesting and authoritative. Secondly, it contains articles that express my conservative view of the world and the events occurring today. This is the most dangerous strategy. I know that these postings will offend some people and they may turn away from my books for this reason. True, but you can't be all things to all people. If I attract only like-minded people, they will constitute a sufficient audience.
In Caleb's terms, my brand is historical fiction written by a conservative.
I've taken the poll and am promoting this post on my blog (appropriate I think). I like blogging and feel the real purpose is to connect with the writing community. When I started my blog, I hoped it would translate into sales when I eventually published my book but most of my sales have come from advertising, reviews, book clubs, and to a lesser degree - some author promotions. That being said, writers' blogs are a wealth of information and most of us want to give back what we've learned.
I disagree with the notion that fiction writers cannot attract readers to their blogs. However, to do this they must come at their blogs sideways and provide readers something of interest.
As to sales, I think the effect is cumulative. In my experience readers don't buy books directly as a result of a blog, but they learn the author and may buy one of her works down the road.
I loved the Melissa Conway video.
Regards, SW
- Caleb: I think you rightly point to a major stylistic difference in blog and novel writing and the two aren't the same. However one could hardly write a blog in a non-conversational tone, it wouldn't reach out to the reader! So what you're saying is that novelists are stuck in the sense that they can't exhibit their novel writing abilities through a blog... I find interesting that you have your doubts "about social media as a whole" and I'd love to hear you elaborate on this!
- Jack: for a long time I've known that your brand is historical fiction written by a conservative and your blog certainly reflects this. What I do find intriguing about your blog is the subject matter: you're an authority on Cuba, Fidel Castro, his brother Raul and Che Guevara yet you do not exhibit a knee-jerk negative reaction to any of them, in reading your novel I have detected a certain empathy with those characters that are the mark of the novelist! I wonder if your blog readers are getting that too, I imagine they are...
- Kellie: thanks for promoting this post on your blog, much appreciated! I agree with you, blogging is a way to "give back" and share what we've learned, that's also the way I see it. And I'm not surprised that you find your sales come from other sources than the blog, same here!
- Dina: I agree with you, blogs about writing like Joe Konrath's, while they are widely read and high in Alexa rankings, they are read by writers not readers. I find very interesting your comment that the situation is different for non-fiction writers, you're obviously quite right: an authoritative blog in one's field builds one's platform...(grin) I should publish a book about the Euro crisis! Your view comes out strongly in favor of novelists writing books rather than blogs - a view that is fast spreading nowadays among publishers and editors...
- Stephen: you are right, indies coming "from nowhere" need to blog to show people they can write and of course yours is the reverse position from Dina's - interestingly, you suggest that fiction writers should come at their blog "sideways and provide readers something of interest". This I believe is right but it is also where it becomes a difficult question. Jack has neatly solved this by linking his blog to his book via the subject matter (recent Cuban history). I find I can't do this, my interests are too far-flung, I can't focus on just one thing, be it boomer lit/how we face our Third Act in Life or the question of genetic heredity/nurture vs. nature/how far are we free to choose: both are major themes in my recent books but there are other things too I want to talk about, like the Euro crisis and how German handling of the crisis (imposing austerity measures) is causing Greek children to go hungry. That makes me angry...hence the blog!
Now to the subject. Melissa Conway's hysterical video sums it up pretty well! I think any indie published author can relate. And she does remind us that we aren't alone in the process. As the old saying goes, at least I'm not the only one that's pregnant!
I have heard a few say that their blog helped them build an audience, but most of what I've heard reflects what you said, Claude. Readers of blogs are not necessarily readers of books. I am new to blogging and I started my blog because I missed writing so much. My intent was to blog things that would build towards another book, which, to some degree, is what I'm doing. We can get so completely consumed with the endless internet tasks that seem like they MUST be done if we're going to sell our books that we can lose touch with what brought us to this particular situation in the first place: we're writers. I believe we have to force ourselves away from singing "Buy My Book!" to remind ourselves that we ARE writers and write. That's why I blog. If it sells a single book, great. If not, at least I'm still writing while I'm singing!
My personal best wishes to all of you who join Claude here. May you find the perfect path to selling your book.
Blessings & Cheers!
Marsha
Yes, bottom line, we blog because we're writers and enjoy writing, regardless of whether it sells a single book or not...Blessings and cheers to you and all those who came to my blog on this post, and here's to hoping to see you all on my site again!