Do You Need An Assistant?
There are aspects I really like about self-publishing a book: control over content, cover, and blurb. I also like receiving a higher royalty and the ability to tract sales, or at least receive more up-to-date accounting of sales. There are also aspects of being my own publisher that I don’t like or find extremely difficult.
Marketing
I am not a good salesman. Or maybe I should say I’m a lazy saleswoman. There are a lot of ways to publicize and promote a book that seem like too much work to me, take too much time, or are simply beyond my abilities. I function best when someone else sets up events and simply tells me what to do, when, and where.
Yes, I know marketing is part of a writer’s job whether one is self-published or traditionally published, but I’d much rather write. Which, of course, means I’ve had to hire someone to help me with the marketing.
My Experience
So far, over the years I’ve had one publicist and two virtual assistants. The publicist was the most expensive, and the results of her campaign did not equal the money spent. Didn’t even come close. (Would things have been different if I’d signed up for one of her more expensive campaigns? I don’t know.)
The two virtual assistants (VAs) have been well worth the money. That said, a VA is only as good as that person’s knowledge of the market, ability to use social media, and his or her computer skills. I’m guessing the perfect VA would be someone who recently worked in the marketing department of one of the big publishing houses, knew how to present sales info that went out to bookstores, had good contacts with social media, knew best month(s) to launch a book, could ask big name authors for cover blurbs, knew how to set up launch parties, and so on. I’m also guessing, if such a person existed, s/he would charge big bucks for those abilities.
My Virtual Assistant (I’m on my second one because the first one retired) doesn’t have all of the above abilities, but she does have some and has helped me in many ways. She’s created ads that regularly appear on Facebook, has gotten announcements of my book onto newsletters with thousands of subscribers, puts the finishing touches on and sends out my newsletters, helped me get early reviews for SOMETHING TO CROW ABOUT, is trying to teach me how to deal with Goodreads, and, maybe best of all, has encouraged me to do more.
Do you need an assistant?
That’s a question you’ll have to answer yourself, but if you’re a self-published author or writing for a small publishing house and marketing isn’t your forte, I wholly recommend looking into hiring a virtual assistant. Check out what the person can and cannot do and what they charge. Ask if you can contact some of their other clients. Working with a good VA is a delight, but spending money and not getting the results you want is a bummer.
Good luck.
13 Comments
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Thank you so much, Maris. I completely agree with you. I’ve had so many advisors that say, “Treat your writing like a business.” Really? When would I have time to write if that’s all I pursued. I’d pursue a marketing career if I wanted to spend my time that way. But all I want to do is write, read books like yours and take care of family. Your advice is always good and your books are absolutely wonderful.
Thank you, Clarice. And you’re right. Although our books are our babies, it’s the living people that make our lives whole. They’re the ones we need to make sure we take care of first. Writing is a business, but as with all businesses, it shouldn’t be a 24/7 time commitment. We need a life, too.
I’d love to have a PA at some point! So many of your points resonate with me fully, Maris.Great postGood luck and God’s blessingsPamT
Thanks, Pam. I’m afraid many writers face the same decisions. My best to you, always.
Love your new blog/website here! What a difference! It’s beautiful. I’m with you about being a lazy saleswoman. Though, it’s not so much lazy as it is knowing it’s time I’m taking away from other important writing tasks: writing, editing, polishing, publishing… As much as I want a VA, I can’t justify the cost until I’m earning enough to cover that expense. Great blog!
Thanks, Diana. It is a fine line between spending money to make money and spending too much money. It’s going to be interesting to see if what I spent on the release of SOMETHING TO CROW ABOUT pays off. I think it will take me a few months before I really know.
I’ve completed a novella recently and want to simply produce a couple dozen books to share with family and friends. I’ve done the formatting and cover designs on some past titles. But currently I just don’t have the interest to get up to speed with the technology involved…buying flowers from the nursery rather growing them from seed? Does anyone know a resource to do this for me?
Does anyone have suggestions for Joe? I know there are a variety of writer assistants out there. Recommendations are always better than blind searches. Same with finding cover artists. If you know of a good one, let Joe know.
I’d love to have a publicist for my novels, but I wouldn’t know how to go about hiring one. I do wish the publishers did more as once was the case.
Jacqueline, I don’t really remember how I found mine. The first one was a member of the RWA chapter I belong to. I think, when she retired, I asked on a couple of the groups I belong to for suggestions, and then followed up by asking the ones who were suggested what they did and what they charged. Like anything, you do your research and hope you make the right choice. I did, thank goodness.
Learning, always learning. I’ve been writing novels for 38 years now. You’d think I’d know what I’m doing and how to do it. Every writer, every conference, every online event provides new information.
I’m with you, Sharon. No matter how many years I’ve been doing this, I’m constantly learning. But, in many ways, that’s good. I know it keeps my mind active. On the other hand, at times I feel there’s too much to learn and it’s nice to turn the more mundane part of a writing career over to someone else.
Thanks for the tips. Marketing is probably the least fun part of publishing a book, even with a small publisher. I thought I did a sufficient amount of promo with this last one, but there hasn’t been much payoff. It is a balancing act for sure. Every time I spend an hour or so doing promo, I think well, I could be writing the next book now. Maybe I’ll need to consider a VA with the next book.