BY KATHI KAMEN GOLDMARK AND SAM BARRY

Kathi Kamen Goldmark is an author, radio producer and former publicist; Sam Barry is a marketing manager at a major publishing house. Together, they're the Author Enablers, here to answer your questions about writing and publishing.

Behind closed doors

Dear Author Enablers,

An editor at a publishing house seemed very enthusiastic about my book, but then told my agent that they were going to pass because "we got shot down by marketing." Why did marketing do that, and how can this be avoided in the future?

—Penelope L.

When a book is pitched to a publisher, it's standard procedure for the acquiring editor to present the proposal at a regularly scheduled meeting of the publisher's advisory board. People are not shy about expressing their opinions in these meetings, since this is when they can weigh in on an important decision—to publish or not to publish. These meetings generally include the folks who run the marketing and publicity departments. "Shot down by marketing" may mean the marketing or publicity department could not get a handle on who your audience is, or how to reach or sell to them. Some additional homework on your part (including crystal-clear and realistic communication about the nature and size of the audience for your book and suggestions on how to reach them) can help future pitches. It's also possible that the editor may be portraying the marketing and publicity people as the bad guys so that he or she can continue to have a positive relationship with your agent, when really it was the editors who didn't like your writing or your proposal. (The editorial and marketing/publicity departments are perpetually at odds to some degree, but that's another column.) It may be simply that some curmudgeonly publisher was in a lousy mood that day and made a snap decision. These meetings are always confidential, and you may never know the real story.

Dear Author Enablers,

When my agent was unable to sell my first novel after a year, I grew impatient and self-published. The book is getting a lot of positive feedback and is generating good sales by word-of-mouth. How do I get around the prejudice against self-published books and market the book to a wider audience?

—Andy B.

We've received many similar letters, Andy, all of which raise the important questions: What the heck is marketing, and how do you do it for your own book? We'll try to provide a simple overview.

In a traditional publishing house, the marketing department develops materials designed to help the sales force get orders from retailers, including catalog copy, cover design, in-store displays, advertising, online presence, giveaways and promotions, outreach to organizations and mailings. Along with publicity, a good marketing campaign will spark consumers' interest to the point that they actually go out and buy the darned book. So basically, marketing means doing whatever it takes to get as many books as possible into—and then out of—the stores, and into readers' hands.

A self-published author doesn't have the benefit of a publisher's sales force and marketing and publicity departments, or their budgets. But there are still a lot of things you can do to get the word out. The first crucial step of any marketing campaign is determining who your audience is. Next, spend a little money on designing and printing a succinct press release. Then send free copies of your book to any personal media contacts and influential people in your field. A web presence is a low-cost way of keeping the world informed about any news related to you and/or your book. You can also buy an e-mail contact list from Bacon's (www.bacons.com) or some other similar service. You probably can't afford a full-page ad in the New York Times, but you might find another publication, geared specifically to your audience, with reasonable ad rates. Donate books to radio station pledge drives and charity fundraisers. Present yourself as an expert in your field to local and national media outlets. Watch the news, and remind producers that you are available to comment on breaking stories. Always keep a box of books in the trunk of your car, and carry a copy with you when you travel. Network like crazy, but don't be one of those people everyone avoids at parties because you can't talk about anything but your book. Instead, sit down and get to work on writing the next one!

Thanks for writing,
THE AUTHOR ENABLERS