Phew. So, by way of the traditional route, you managed to write the book, find a publisher and get it published. So all you have to do now is relax, sit back and bask in the acclaim and glowing reviews right? Not quite. Here are a few things you’ve probably haven’t thought of in your debut outing.
Be prepared to drive a lot of publicity yourself
Unless you’ve signed up with a big publisher with a generous marketing budget that’s slated to newbies (rare, many of them are reserved for household names), a lot of the publicity is expected to be done by you. This means that, even if you are assigned a publicist to help you navigate the publicity trail, you are still expected to initiate some cold-selling of your own.
Your publicist only has a limited contract with which to help, so now is the time to brainstorm any professional literary contacts you have to assist in spreading news about your work. For instance, do you know anyone who has a books podcast? Do you have any friends who are BookTokers who can feature your book? Maybe set up a Facebook account devoted to your book, so people can find out any information about your invitations to bookshops and festivals. If you want to expand the coverage of your book, it’s prudent to show initiative and do your own networking and not rely solely on your publisher to do all the legwork.
Be engaged in the literary community
Following on from the last tip, it’s also good to get out and about, and engage with those in your literary circle. It doesn’t matter if you are invited to do a reading at a library, bookstore or festival, you should support them and attend if you can anyway. Why? Because you will meet other writers, publishers and agents there, and find a sense of community and camaraderie that will buoy your spirits. Writing is such a lonely business; now that you have your book out in the world, it’s good to celebrate its arrival among people that understand the difficult and long journey to publication.
Sign up to PLR and ELR and, if applicable, DLR
We all know how difficult it is to make any money from books, particularly for the majority of (debut) writers. In fact, according to the 2022 survey by CREATe and the UK Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS), there’s been a drop in the average income for authors to £7000. In 2018 it was £11,329.
But there’s a way you can add to your earnings: by making sure you sign up to PLR (Public Lending Rights). This could be up to £6600 per year if you register for the UK PLR scheme or up to €1000 per year for the Irish PLR scheme.
In other words, even if your book is not bought in stores or online, but is available to borrow in libraries, you are eligible to sign up for PLR and claim some payment as compensation for the loss of potential sales income.
In 2020, the PLR scheme has included e-books and e-audiobooks. The change means that authors are eligible for payment in the same way whether their works are borrowed electronically or as physical books.
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) states, ‘E-lending has risen dramatically in the last few years and digital visits to libraries are now at 101.2 million digital visits a year (2018 to 2019, CIPFA). The UK is one of the first countries (alongside Canada and Denmark, and more recently Australia) to extend its library lending compensation scheme to remote e-lending.
Don’t get too hung up on reviews
Be prepared for your book to not garner critical attention by mainstream media literary editors (who are inundated by books sent in by publishers across the country). Your book may be reviewed in other outlets or on community forums like Goodreads. Even then, be wary of what’s been written about your work. Sure, to pique curiosity you may want to check out any critical reception and revel in the praises if any are forthcoming, but also don’t be disheartened if the responses are less than you think the book deserves. Concentrate on enjoying the achievement of having a work published, because it is an achievement, regardless of what any naysayers may believe.
Enjoy your moment in the sun
Head into any bricks and mortar book shop and you will be overwhelmed with the number of books decorously arrayed in tidy piles. Yours will probably be there too. You’ll only have a brief moment when your book is feted as a bright, shiny thing and possibly given maximum exposure on the shelf devoted to new books, before being moved to a less prominent spot, so enjoy the experience as much as you can.
Read: 5 ways to deal with a bad review
Take lots of pictures, show it off to your friends and family. Internalise and celebrate the fact that somehow you are now a published author whose work is displayed in an actual bookshop.
