I’ve been involved in a discussion on LinkedIn, concerning the marketing value of Twitter. Many of the professional marketers in the discussion seem hung-up on the number of followers they have, with one boasting that he has 700 followers, yet only follows 15 people himself. Others are seemingly prepared to dismiss Twitter altogether because they have too many spam followers, and have not thought to block them.

Continue reading “Twitter For Business”

The following article appears in the new issue of Focus, the BSFA‘s magazine for writers:

How To Write A Press Release
By Gareth L Powell

If you’re serious about selling the books you write, then sooner or later you’re going to have to get some press coverage. Maybe you need to attract people to a book signing you’re holding in Waterstones; maybe you’ve just signed a big publishing deal; or maybe you’re releasing your self-published novel. Whatever your reason, the humble press release is still one of the best ways of attracting an editor’s attention.

Continue reading “How To Write A Press Release”

So, I was chatting with someone and mentioned that I wrote science fiction, and they asked what kind of science fiction it was. Was it hard science fiction or soft? Was it cyberpunk or post cyberpunk? Was it Mundane or Space Opera?

The trouble was, I didn’t have a ready answer for them. I just did what I usually do in such situations – wave my hands around and mention “Bladerunner” a few times. But it got me thinking: on the one hand, these sub classifications are generally pretty meaningless to anyone outside the genre, but on the other, they can be useful descriptive shortcuts when talking to fans, agents or editors.

So, here’s my question: if you’ve read my book or some of my short stories, how would YOU describe them? Do they fall into a recognised category?

I’ve always been a little irritated by the attitude that on-line magazines are somehow inherently inferior to printed publications. Granted, there’s a lot of crap out there, but there are also some web publications with high standards and rigorous editorial processes – and these publications are redefining what it means to be a “professional” Science Fiction writer. It’s not all about cents-per-word anymore, it’s about readership.

It’s no longer possible to earn a decent wage writing short stories for traditional magazines, as it was for writers like Philip K Dick. Those days are gone and it’s a sad fact that as our audience finds other things to spend their money and attention on, printed Science Fiction magazines are seeing a steady decline in subscriptions. Frankly, in the UK it’s a lot easier for curious readers to Google an online SF magazine than it is for them to find a printed copy of one at their local newsagent.

Personally, I desperately hope the printed SF magazine market continues to survive in some form, but at the same time I also realise that if the next generation of prospective readers aren’t coming to us, it’s up to us to reach out to them. Without them, the genre will grow old and die. We have to set our stall where young and old alike can see and engage with it and if that means giving some of our work away on-line, then so be it. You only have to look at Google, Facebook, YouTube, Amazon and iTunes to realise the Internet’s fundamentally changing the way we communicate, the way we shop and the way we share information and interact with one another. As Science Fiction writers, we should be at the forefront of that revolution and if the printed magazines want to survive, they’re going to have to do something to attract that global audience.

As an example, I like the approach the publishers of ‘Interzone’ are using. They’re still publishing the print magazine but they’re also offering it for sale as an electronic download on ‘Fictionwise’, and releasing free podcast readings of the best stories on their website in order to get their content out to the widest possible audience in a convenient choice of formats.

(Reprinted from an interview with SF Crowsnest. Read the full thing here.)

Today, I’ve been discussing plans for the launch of an anthology of local-themed stories, and we’re trying to decide if it would be worth getting local bookshops involved, or concentrating instead on attracting online sales – and that’s why I want to know: as science fiction readers, where do you buy your books?

Personally, I tend to purchase the majority of mine online because a) it’s generally cheaper, and b) there’s usually a better selection – most of the SF books I want to read simply aren’t stocked in local bookstores.

So, in the interests of market research - where do you think is the best place to advertise a new SF anthology, online or in-store?

Since turning freelance, I’ve been reading a lot of books about the business and craft of professional copywriting, and below (in no particular order) are the ones I’ve personally found most useful, interesting and inspiring:

• How to Set Up a Freelance Writing Business by Jason Deign
• Gabay’s Copywriter’s Compendium by J.Jonathan Gabay
• Write To Sell by Andy Maslen
• The Copywriter’s Handbook by Robert W. Bly
• How to Write Sales Letters That Sell by Drayton Bird
• The IDM Marketing Guide Edited by Robin Fairlie
• Success… And How to Avoid It by Matt Coward

Plus, the following DVD is pretty good. I’ve seen Andy live several times and he has a series of online articles that will be of interest to anyone in the advertising or direct marketing industy.

• How To Write Copy That Really Sells (DVD) by Andy Owen

Do you have a favourite reference book that you always keep by the keyboard? Share it with us by leaving a comment.

Whatever your opinion of advertising or direct mail, it has a lot to teach us about the art of writing fiction. For instance, most advertising copy aims to:

1. Grab and hold the reader’s attention
2. Keep them reading
3. Provoke an emotional response
4. Prompt them to act

In order to do this, advertisers (and direct mail letter writers) follow a tried and tested formula, known as AIDA – which stands for:

1. Attention (grab it!)
2. Interest (keep it!)
3. Desire (provoke it!)
4. Action (prompt it!)

Usually the headline and the first sentence are designed to grab the attention, and the second, third and fourth sentences are designed to hook you in, to keep you reading while the benefits of the advertised product or service are lovingly laid out before you, filling you with desire…

I have seen research that suggests an advert in a magazine has less than 3 seconds to catch the magazine reader’s attention before they flip to the next page. Direct mail letters have about 5 seconds. That means the whole message needs to be communicated incredibly quickly using emotive, well-chosen words – words and phrases that will appeal specifically to the intended audience. The title needs to intrigue enough to make the reader read the first sentence. That in turn needs to draw them irresistibly into the second – and so on. Questions are posed and answered. Short sentences keep the pace brisk.

Now, let’s apply all this to fiction.

When we submit a short story or a novel to a publisher, we are competing with many other manuscripts. We need to grab attention fast, and hold it. The title needs to simultaneously set the mood for the story and be intriguing enough make the publisher want to read the first sentence… And the tools we use to do it are the same ones the advertisers use:

• Know your audience and write for them.
• Start with a killer title that they can’t resist
• Hook them in with the first sentence and don’t let them go.
• Get them emotionally involved as soon as possible. Make it personal. Give them a reason to care.
• Use as many short sentences as possible to create pace.
• Use evocative words that conjure impressions in all five senses – smell, taste, touch, sound, and sight.
• Be clear and say what you mean. Don’t bog the narrative down in long-winded description that adds nothing to the text’s momentum. Say what you need to say as quickly and efficiently as possible, and move on.
• Avoid clichés.
• Use positive, action-packed phrases to make your prose come alive.
• Say what something is, not what it isn’t. Instead of saying “The car wasn’t very clean” say “the car was filthy”. Instead of saying “Jake wasn’t very pleased” say “Jake was furious.”

• The Call of Cthulhu and other weird stories – HP Lovecraft
• Celebration – Ed. Ian Whates
• The IDM Marketing Guide – Ed. Robin Fairlie
• The Portable Jack Kerouac – Ed. Ann Charters