Moonrat has a fascinating piece up on her blog about marketing, speaking to the many bloggers and twitterers who reposted her quote of the other day, “I wish more agents pressed for marketing commitments than high advances.” Clearly and concisely, she lays out exactly what marketing dollars and commitments DO, and what authors can contribute. It’s a piece that should be required reading for all authors with a publishing deal, and any writers who want one. One of my favorite bits:
What this means is that there are ways you, the author, can allocate money of your own to help the book as much as possible. But there are also ways that a little money spent by your publisher can go a long way. So do have your agent get on the phone with the publisher and ask for a marketing and publicity call with the entire team. Be forthright about what you’re willing to put in, and also, be ballsy about asking for some reciprocal commitments. Squeaky wheel, etc. Knock, and the door shall, etc. You’d be surprised.
Don’t miss the comments which include reactions from agents as well.
As an agent myself, I’m all about helping that squeaky wheel get greased. It’s how we ALL do well.
