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My name is Bill Forstchen and I’m the author of over forty books. I will admit up front that I can be considered insane for at least two reasons. First, that I would actually sit down and write forty books. Second, for the longest time I believed nearly everything my publishers told me. . .especially when it came to marketing.
Whether you are just getting into the business, or an old hand, we’ve all shared that incredible thrill of opening a letter after months, perhaps years of waiting and read. . . “Dear author, we love your book and want to publish it!”
Those first months are like a honeymoon. . .all those wonderful promises of life long love and devotion. “We are going to put you at the top.” Or, “You’re our A list author and wait until you see how we sell your book.” “We’re building your future and we’ll be partners for life!”
Some honeymoons actually do work, but for most of us in this business, you quickly discover that. . well, the day after publication your beloved “spouse and life long partner” no longer respects you. . .in fact can not even remember your name. . .and something seems to be wrong with the joint bank account! And hey, where did she go. . . all the furniture in the house is missing and even the house is gone!
So consider this next paragraph to be a little “infomercial” for Trish Stevens:
“Having problems with your publisher. Tired of walking into your local book store and you can’t find a single copy of your work? Have you been sitting by the phone for months waiting for someone, anyone to call for an interview and all you hear is a dial tone? Did your publisher promise “on the souls of his grandchildren” that they’d turn you into a best seller and you find out he has no grandchildren! Then call Trish Stevens today.”
Seriously though. Publishing is one helluva brutal business. We, the authors get into it for a lot of reasons, but I think one common denominator above all else is that we love books, we love writing, and there is the streak of the idealist in us. Publishers? “It’s not personal, it’s business.” And that business rarely considers you the individual. You are just one book of a hundred or more they might market this year. Sure they will have the one or two fair haired favorites that some attention is lavished on, but for most of us, enough copies are run off to turn a profit for them, and that is it. Could your book have been a best seller? Maybe. . . but if the publisher didn’t plan for you to be a best seller, then dream on because it just ain’t gonna happen. I learned these hard truths across twenty five years of slowly crawling up the ladder. My success did come thanks to half a dozen books with a very famous co author and friend, but when it came to titles I still wrote on my own. . . zero effort even though my co authored books won near universal praise for story and style, my co author lavish in his praise of my ability.
A good buddy in the business, a consistent NY Times best seller had been hammering me for years about the main step to success. To hell with what your publishers promise. Most of it is hot air, (he also references what can be found in pastures as well). If you study how the top players made it. . . they had their own publicist. That is the key. Someone who works for you and with you. Someone who has a stake in your success, someone who is a pro who knows marketing, which frankly very few of us authors have a real grasp of.
My friend is right. Long before publication of my latest book “One Second After” early reviewers were telling me that my book was absolutely my best ever, and that beyond that it was an important book with an important message. But yet again, all those early honeymoon promises from the publisher. . .yeah right. I could see the book was heading for oblivion.
Well this time I decided to fight back and fight to win.
My best seller friend pointed out Trish Stevens to me and I gave her a call.
A few emails, a half hour on the phone and we had a contract.
Why? Well let me say something about her contract first. I’ve heard a lot of horror stories about alleged publicists that lock you into a six month or year long deal for a lot of bucks and then you never hear from them again. Successful or bomb, you still must pay them every month. Trish is more than happy to start for just a month or two and openly says “try my team out and if you are not happy you are not tied in.” That was refreshing, it put the performance demand on her right up front. Second, she offers several different packages and there is no “hard sell,” on her part. She is frank and open, laying out the benefits versus cost of each. She is more than happy to provide referrals from other people in your particular line that have worked with her and urges you to feel free to call them for an evaluation and advice. And fina lly, well there is just something about her that won me over within a few minutes. I figured if she could do that, then this is a professional who understands selling and market.
I am writing this after only a few weeks of our working together. I am deeply impressed. I find emails from her and staff time stamped at 3:00 AM setting up a potential interview. Her press releases are hot and she knows how to peg the right spot in the market.
I think she’s a winner and she can make you a winner too.
In closing. If you had to chose between trusting a publicist in your publisher’s office who works for the corporation, or a publicist who works directly for you. . .who would you believe first?
Feel free to call me at any time if you wish to talk it over. If you want to hear some horror stories about being an author or feel like sharing a few of your own, I’ll get out the scotch or whatever you prefer while we talk.
And then sign on with Trish.
Sincerely,
William R. Forstchen
