Ariel Lawhon started us off this week talking about Word of Mouth as a valuable means of promoting our work. She and Marybeth Whal
en know a thing or two about word of mouth when it comes to promoting the work of Christian authors. They developed
She Reads (our sister blog) for just that purpose. In less than a year's time they have 10,000 visitors a month, and more than 120 bookclubs under their umbrella. We here at Novel Matters appreciate the great work they're doing on behalf of Christian fiction.
Bonnie concluded her post on Wednesday by saying, "... and while aspects of Word of Mouth will likely remain a mystery, there are foundational beginnings -- the rock first thrown into still waters -- that set things in motion ..." The social network is like concentric circles on the pond. Often you make an initial splash, but then one by one the outer circles disappear until there's not even a ripple left where the rock went in. That's not at all what you want. You want your circles to ripple out and cause more circles that ripple out and cause more circles that ripple out, until the whole pond is affected. That's what you want, what you hope for.
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Mostly, that doesn't happen.
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But when it does, it's quite a thing to behold. Two examples: The Shack and the Twilight series. Both are phenomenally popular ... and both are overwhelming evidence that a book doesn't have to be well written to create a tsunami effect on the pond. I read The Shack after my brother told me about it, just as the buzz was getting started. I wasn't far into it when I stopped and turned back a few pages to see who had published it. I would have staked my life that it was a self-published, non-edited book ... and would have lived to see my next birthday. Unfortunately, The Shack is making news again because the author and, ahem, editors -- I use the term lightly -- are suing each other for authorship and royalties. Nice. And I finally caved and read Twilight after people I love and respect (who shall remain nameless) went on and on about it. I attempted to read it, that is. Halfway through the first book I literally threw it across my rather large living room. "How could something so poorly written Sell So Many Books?!" I asked my envious self. While there's some comfort in the fact that The Shack and the Twilight series will not be remembered by anyone as literary classics, I'd love to have their sales numbers -- all created by reader buzz. (I'll resist the urge to say, "Shame on you, readers!")
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Okay, I'll take my tongue out of my cheek (and send a book to the first person who can give me the etymology of that ridiculous phrase -- and I don't just mean the Wikipedia definition. Really, tell me how the phrase originated, because I mean, how do you do that? It's not so easy. Go ahead, put your tongue in your cheek and try saying your full name. Now try it on the other side. Even harder, right?) and get back to the subject at hand. So what are some of the ways to increase book sales by word of mouth through social networking? And does the time spent really pay off? Because anyone who's logged in to Twitter or Facebook knows an entire evening can be gobbled up before you know it. I conducted an informal poll with some of the author loops I participate in and most everyone who responded cited Facebook as their most productive social network site, followed by Twitter and Good Reads. But remember, those are just the results of my very informal, poorly-participated-in poll. "Social networking has been invaluable," says one author who responded. "It is the gift that keeps on giving." And for some, that's the absolute truth.
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Janet Grant, of Books & Such agency, who represents three of the authors here on Novel Matters, recently sent an email to the Books & Such loop, reprinted from an article in "The Book Marketing Expert newsletter" on the benefits of Internet marketing, which made a number of good points. Here's an important one:
"Don't get too myopic on doing just one thing for your marketing. The truth is, you need to do a lot of different things, balanced out over a week or a month for your marketing to really make sense."
After the release of Every Good & Perfect Gift and Lying on Sunday in 2008, my own social network buzz-creating efforts barely caused a ripple on our hypothetical pond. Of course, I know more about social networking now than I did then. But still, barely a ripple. So there are things I will do in the future that I didn't do the first time around, and things I did that I won't next time. For example, I won't pay someone to do a blog tour for me when my next book releases. I have enough contacts on my own to work on that myself. I will continue to increase my Facebook friends, and hopefully reach the readers among them each time I have a new release. I will try to reach as many book clubs as I possibly can, and offer to "participate" in their group discussions via Skype or telephone, unless they're close enough to personally attend. Of all the personal appearance things I do, visiting with book clubs is my favorite, probably because it's one of the more intimate ways to interact with readers. And of course, I will do my utmost to put out a novel that my readers won't be tempted to hurl across their living rooms.
So, what have you read lately that caused you to participate in word-of-mouth promotion? Let's add to each other's TBR pile. I'll start. Where the River Ends (and anything else) by Charles Martin. It's not a new book, but it gets an A++ rating from me.
en know a thing or two about word of mouth when it comes to promoting the work of Christian authors. They developed She Reads (our sister blog) for just that purpose. In less than a year's time they have 10,000 visitors a month, and more than 120 bookclubs under their umbrella. We here at Novel Matters appreciate the great work they're doing on behalf of Christian fiction. 
