Like most business magazines, DIRECT receives a library full of books for review. Among those titles I get to peruse, there are some I feel more qualified to comment on than others.
“Marketing Strategies for Writers,” by Michael Sedge (Allworth Press, New York), was one such example.
In fact, I felt almost overqualified to review it.
Hello, I’m Sybil
The book is a guide for writers on how to market not only their writing but themselves to editors. While reading, I felt a bit schizophrenic, as I had three different vantage points. One was as a writer who has sold freelance articles. The second was as an editor who assigns work to a number of freelance writers. And the third was as someone who has professionally observed the marketing industry for more years than I sometimes care to remember.
For many writers, there’s a definite need for a book like this. Many literary types unfortunately view themselves solely as artists rather than businesspeople, and don’t think of their craft as a product they need to market.
The dirty truth, of course, is that it takes much more than being a good writer to be a financially successful writer. It takes much more than standing on a street corner soliciting one’s services (Hey sailor, lookin’ for 1,000 words, neatly typed and double-spaced?) to make a living pounding out the printed word.
Sedge addresses this immediately, and encourages writers to approach their profession as “warriors” on the prowl for every opportunity to sell books and articles. I have to admit that as a writer, I found some of his techniques intriguing. As an editor, however, I questioned how well they would work if a writer tried them on me.
To look like more than an independent operator, Sedge suggests that writers create a company name for themselves (his is Strawberry Media) and market themselves as the head of this company. He goes so far as to set up appointments with editors by telephoning them posing as his secretary.
Personally, if a writer I had never worked with before had a “secretary” call me, I’d probably be a bit turned off that this person couldn’t find the time to call me on his or her own. Or I might even dismiss the writer immediately, perhaps incorrectly assuming that the individual was part of a public relations firm instead of a professional journalist.
But that’s just my instinct. And as Sedge notes, if you’re looking for corporate work, this could be the way to go, since a large company might be comfortable working with what appears to be a thriving agency rather than a hired gun.
For many writers, though, the time and money it would take to incorporate themselves, create a flashy logo, set up additional mailing addresses to assume the appearance of multiple offices, etc., wouldn’t be worth it. Call me a simple girl, but if someone I knew to be an independent freelancer sent me a proposal overnight dressed up in an expensive portfolio, I’d think this writer had more disposable income than sense.
For someone who has operated in the business world, a lot of the information imparted in the book is basic, but nonetheless valuable. For example, the author stresses networking with your friends, colleagues, people you interact with in online newsgroups – whoever might help you further your career. And he offers writers a number of valuable online resources for making contacts and getting information.
At Your Service
Much space is devoted to how a writer can win sales by catering to a publication’s needs. This is excellent advice – having some idea of a magazine’s readership or the lead time it requires for submissions shows an editor you took the time to learn a bit about the book before blindly leaping into the fray.
Sedge also recommends checking up on the personal background before making a pitch. Frankly, this bit of advice made my skin crawl.
Because editors and publishers have limited time for chitchat with potential writers, meetings with them, according to the author, often require “tactical warfare” – such as finding out about the individuals’ career history, ethnic background, whether they’re married or if they have pets.
Let’s get real. Approaching an editor in this way would seem smarmy at best. And like any editor with half a brain, I’m not going to hire anyone because they have a domestic situation or family background similar to mine. I’m going to hire them because they can write.
Quibbles aside, “Marketing Strategies for Writers” could be a valuable resource for writers interested in direct marketing themselves as well as their work. As a writer, I’ve highlighted several chapters for my own reference. As a marketing biz observer, I liked that Sedge recognizes important tenets of DM, like customer service.
And as an editor – hey, as an editor, I like any book that tells freelancers it’s good practice to get their work in ahead of deadline. (Of course, as a writer again, I know brilliance can’t be rushed.)
Network
