Marketing Plan: No Marketing (short stories)

I've never really done marketing for my work that's been published in literary journals and magazines. I used to put links to some stories up on Facebook and twitter and the like. But some of the places don't put the content on line. They will list story titles and who is in the issue, but you would have to buy the issue to read my work anyway for these ones. On the magazine websites that don't publish the content online, they do include a list of the authors and the names of the pieces. But they remain entirely print publications. Although, there are digital subscriptions available.

Anyway, I'm sort of done with social media. I haven't used it in months. And I realize it's just not my thing for now at least. And I don't think it has any effect on how well already established places operate. My job here is not to sell more copies or promote such places. They seem to me doing fine with that without me.

I think the only self promotion I'll do is in my bio where I list previous publications and credentials. That's going to have to me enough. I'm not looking to do more, and I'm not sure there's even much more to do.

Do you market or promote your work that gets published in the literary journals and magazines? How do you do it, and what is really the point? Especially, if they are print or require a subscription to read anyway.

I'm at the stage where I really don't care about an online presence. Sure, I've got a lot of stuff that can be found online if someone wanted to look for it, But I feel like I'm more focused of building and maintaining a strong publishing history than getting my name out there to the general public. I feel like just publishing in certain places gets your name out there to the industry players I might want to take notice of my name.

I really don't want a website or social media. Even when my novel comes out, I still don't want those things. Are any of you like me and thinking, to hell with marketing? I feel like my efforts are better spent writing.

 

Have you thought of creating your own 'themed' or genre-specific anthology of short stories and self-publishing on Amazon?

 

Yeah, but don't you want people to read your work? IMHO when you self-pub it has to be a mix of the two. But my co-author doesn't 'DO' social media either. Just puts all her resources into advertising.

 

I'm not self publishing and I don't plan to. I'm doing okay publishing in places that already have their readership. And from what I've heard from self published authors some of the numbers, I make more money selling individual stories to the magazines and journals than I probably would self publishing a collection. I would like a collection at some point, but not through self publishing. Same with my novel.

As far as readers go, sure that sounds great, but I'm more concerned about the advance I get than figuring out strategies to attract readers and get my name out there. I'm not really even sure how much I want my name out there. I mean I'm a writer so it's out there somewhat, but I'm just not really comfortable doing more for that other than selling stories to really great and known publications.

When I have a book published I will mention it in my bio when I publish in literary journals and magazines. I know I have went on to buy others works from writers because of things like that mentioned in their bios. I guess that's really the only sort of marketing I feel comfortable with which I know isn't much

 

You have a plan, and if you are already making good money submitting stories to magazines without the hassle of marketing, then that's a win especially as marketing has become more cutthroat over the years.

 

It sounds like you know what you want, which is good.

I don't have anything published, so I'm not speaking from experience here, but one thing worth considering is would a prospective future publisher take your online presence into account? I really don't know how active they expect their writers to be these days.

 

I have writing that pops up right away if I google myself so it's not like I have no online presence. I think my writing is more important than anything I would post on social media. I also have credits and credentials that I've worked hard to build. And, honestly, I just don't see how social media would really do much for me. At this point in my life, I just don't want it in my life. But maybe it's important to note that I'm not looking to sell books or draw in readers. My biggest concern comes down to where I publish, and those places already have their readers. With a book, like I mentioned earlier, my focus will be the advance.

 

A marketing strategy is a roadmap that takes you from A (where you are now) to B (where you want to be). To make the most of your strategy, it's essential to define both A and B.

It appears that you've already done this, @deadrats; you seem to have a clear sense of where you want to go.

This is essentially your marketing strategy:

And if this approach is working for you, meaning it's successfully taking you from point A to point B, then that's great news!

 

You know, this got me thinking, and published writing is probably the best advertisement for future writing. I think this is probably also true for a lot of people self publishing as well. I know there are a lot of self published writers around here who talk about writing series or writing more books and how this can attract people to their work. It probably doesn't matter if it's short stories or novels when it comes to this.

So, does this make writing more works the best form of marketing for writers? I don't want to speculate about what might hold true or not for other writers? Just sort of wondering.

 

Absolutely! Producing the work is undeniably the core of your marketing strategy. Yet, creating the product won't take you far if it stays hidden on your computer. The key is to get the work out into the world, and that's where marketing communications becomes invaluable. There's a wealth of tools, platforms, and devices at your disposal to help you forge connections with your ideal readers, including those 'industry players' you mentioned earlier. It boils down to reaching the right people, with the right message, at the right time. If social media supports this mission, go ahead and leverage it. However, if it doesn't fit your needs, there's no obligation to use it.

 

I wouldn't say best form. Rather it is a form of marketing. It goes along with Gerards rule of 250. Gil Gerard, a record holder for his car sales came up with this rule years ago. He found the average number of wedding invitations was 250, for each the bride and groom. The same held true for memorial services. From this he postulated the average person knows 250 people. So good or bad service experinces will be repeated to all those people.

Back to my point, the more works you have out there, the more likely someone will find one, and tell their friends about it. Personally if i find an author i like, i will actively look for other works of theirs.

 

I sure don't know 250 people. I don't like people enough to know 250 of them. But that's okay. I get the point you're making.

I'm the same way. When I find an author I like I seek out more stuff by them.