It’s been a great week in the "MeSellYouWrite" world. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, A.L. Sanderson's book, Timber; Fire in the Pines, is finally out there and we’ve been getting lots of great feedback.
Feedback from readers can be more satisfying to
writers than monetary rewards; at least that’s how it seems to be with this
particular writer. When people take the time to share their thoughts and
feelings it gives the author a unique opportunity to experience their story
through the reader's eye. It’s really satisfying to learn that the words
they have written have the desired effect! Imagine the pleasure for the
writer when the funny dialog they wrote made the reader smile—or even laugh; or
when a poignant scene evokes sadness or tears.
Like many historical fiction writers, Ms. Sanderson
spent a lot of time researching her subject at libraries and museums. She
researched lumber camps and lumberjacks and how they lived, forestry practices
and how they cleared the timber, and much more. The hours and hours spent
researching is really rewarded when they receive positive feedback from
readers.
The feedback we got from some of the gentlemen
readers was surprising; after reading Timber, their responses reaffirmed the
power and necessity of writing a well researched book. The first thing one
older gentleman commented on was how some of the characters in the book spoke
to him. The dialog in the book transported him back to his youth.
Certain sayings and manners of speech used in the book were similar to how he
remembers his older family members speaking. And because a character in
the book used a certain brand of chewing tobacco, the reader remembered
something he hadn't thought of in a long time; it turns out the tobacco was the
same brand this reader had first used when he was nine years old—and that was
close to 70 years ago! Talk about a blast from the past!
Another pleasant surprise came from a 10th
grade boy who was enthusiastic about the story. Wow! Who knew? We're not planning to target high school students yet!
So it seems clear that knowing ones subject may be
one of the most important things a successful writer can do to authentically
impact a reader. When good research is done when writing historical fiction, it
can bring the subject to life and make a book a joy to read. The devil is—after all—in the
details!
And from my vantage point, involved as I am in sales
and marketing efforts to launch the book, hearing some of the reader responses
makes it easier for me to market and position the book in the marketplace.
In sales and marketing, efforts are likewise guided
and rewarded by conducting good research. After all, this is THE AGE OF INFORMATION!
Questions I need to research include: What’s all this new social media about?
Who is our audience? How do we reach them in a cost efficient way?
What can we do to increase visibility of the book and build our platform?
What can we learn from our reader's responses? It's these kinds of questions
that can keep me up at night!
We're still in the early stages with this book and
I'm listening and learning lots of important details. It will be these
details that shape the plans that help make the book a success.
It seems a no-brainer that—for both the writer and
the publicist—good reader responses and careful research can both help to yield
stronger sales numbers!
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