Suicide by Bookclub

This Daily Beast article, about authors visiting bookclubs (and not just a few clubs a year but hundreds a year) points out just how relentless authors are getting... and it's  great that the authors in the article, which includes several dear friends and also Authorbuzz clients, are making this work.

The efforts these authors are making visiting clubs (in person or talking to them over the phone) are mind numbing: as many as 175 clubs a year. What dedication and determination. And what a time commitment! 

Even if each visit is a call and each call only an hour long - it's hard to do more than one a night since clubs tend to meet from 8-10. But say you can do one east coast and one west cost club on the same night  - that still comes out to over 80 nights a year. And you can't call/meet on holiday weeks. So that means most weeks a year you do a call twice a week!

This is the kind of article that authors read and get nuts over. My first though reading it was - Oh my God I have to do this! I'm not working hard enough once the book is published.

My second thought was to remind myself that I know better - whenever I compare my efforts to everyone else's it only makes me miserable.

Not just for me. But for every author out there.

For one thing - for every Josh Henkin and Robert Alexander there are  dozens of authors who don't have the time or personality to pull off this kind of effort. 

Articles like this suggest we are looking at a scenario where only authors who can connect to readers off the page will be the ones who succeed as we go forward. 

What we tend to forget after reading these kind of pieces is that first and foremost  authors still have to connect to readers on the page.  

Yes, one way or another it's falling to the authors to come up with a way to sell/market themselves and their books- be it straight out entertainment, or blogs, or bookclubs or forking over big bucks to supplant the publisher's marketing. 

But ultimately the book's still the thing. 

I know the writers in the Daily Beast article and have read their novels and first and foremost their books are wonderful. Yes they are charming men and women and give great bookclub - but  the bookclubs are responding because the books are great. (After all, they are called bookclubs - not authorclubs.)

I think sometimes with all the push we have to remember the pull. And why we do this. Or else we won't to keep doing it. 

We're writers first. Readers are readers first. 

And after you've written your book and it comes to sales - you can't do it all. Don't try. Pick your method. Do as much as you can. Find a way that works for you. Don't compare yourself to any other author - your book isn't like any other book. 

Comments

[Patricia Stoltey]

It's so true, we can't do everything. And I know an author in my town who churns out good books that sell, and his public appearances are minimal. Now, he's the one I really want to emulate.

[How to Party with an Infant]

I think I went through the same thought process after reading that article: "I need to go to more book clubs!!" and then "Oh, forget it. I need to write."

[Clea Simon]

Amen - I saw the link to your post on galleycat and my first thought was that stomach-churning, "oh, lord, I have to do that now, too?" Thanks for the note of sanity.

For the record, I like guest blogging because it showcases my writing. If people like my guestblogs, they might actually like my books.

[Paul Elwork]

Great post, M.J.! These are words to recall when we let ourselves think it's more about sales angles than writing great books.

[Patricia Wood]

aloha!
I average one book club every week or so. Most are via speaker phone but I've also done them on skype and ichat. I rarely do them in person as that is a huge time commitment. I think it only works if you enjoy it and it doesn't impact your daily writing. I'm very careful not to schedule too many. I've had some clubs that go out of their way to reschedule to fit my timeline but generally they meet anyway and often ask questions via email later. I agree with the that there's no reason for every author to do this and certain books may not necessarily be book club choices. My view is whatever gets people to read and talk about literature is a good thing!

[Jessica Keener]

Great post, MJ. Straight forward as always! You're right: When another writer makes something work, the Sirens' song pulls on us to make that very same thing work, too, when in fact, something else might work even better.

Jessica

[Alia Yunis]

Funny, MJ, I'm in this stage now as my novel, The Night Counter, comes out next week, and I was just speaking with another writer, Mona Simpson, about this yesterday. And she told me, breath and go write something. When you get to the marketing stage of a book, it's so hard to remember that it's all about something you WROTE and the writing part was the when you were at peace. In the marketing phase, you start to feel your peddling olives and trying to hock them at any street corner the cops will let you. (which is what my relatives who couldn't write or read would have done two generations ago)

[Susan Wiggs]

Ahhh, thank you for that. You are ever the voice of reason. Whenever I read about how committed and savvy other authors are, I feel so inadequate. I needed the reminder that for some of us, finishing the $$%%!book is the key.