One of the regular blogs I read is my wife’s: Author Jess Michaels – I know, big surprise right? Totally true, I read my wife’s blog and it’s the inspiration for this post. Her last post: “Ohio! It’s for Professionals” is about our recent trip to Cincinnati to meet with her publisher. In her article, she gives advice on why it’s a good idea do meet with your publisher and a few tips for the meeting 🙂
Check out her article 🙂 because she’s totally right that meeting with your publisher is a good idea! I wanted
A picture I took at the offices of Samhain Publishing during our trip last week
to add to her tips for the perfect publisher summit to talk about your career.
Think about who will be in the room.
There is a good chance you’ll work through your editor to set up the publisher meeting. When you set it up, be sure to ask about who’ll be there. Ideally, in addition to your editor, you’ll want someone from marketing, Hopefully, you’ll know ahead of time who will be in the room and can tailor your talking points to them.
Remember it’s a two way street.
To this day, I still encounter authors that believe everything is the responsibility of the publisher. We know better 🙂 The relationship is a partnership! When framing the discussion, be prepared for thinking “how can we work together?”
Be prepared.
You really want to know what you’re going to say. At a minimum, include your career goals, what you’re doing to get there, and how you can work together. You may have separate meetings with just your editor (like a pitch session) or a separate meeting with marketing to discuss promo strategies. Think about the meetings ahead of time and write down all the main points you want to cover.
You want to make sure that don’t miss any opportunities, so have it in your agenda and be prepared!
Let them know who you are.
It’s probably safe to assume that your editor is the only person that has read your book(s). It’s nothing personal, but with several hundred titles a year, there is a good chance most will have only a general understanding of the type of books you write.
Let’s face it. YOU are interesting. Give them some real information about you! Have kids or cats? Went on a amazing vacation? Still can’t get over that last episode of Lost? Don’t spend a ton of time on it, but a few personal things about you will help everyone see the person behind the book 🙂 Personal details will help you create more than a business relationship.
I hope this article has been helpful! I’d love to hear if any of you have had the opportunity to meet with your publisher (besides saying hi or having a brief chat at a conference).