Does Publicity Sell Books?

A few weeks ago an email conversation broke out within the SF Writers Grotto trying to answer that question (in response to a fellow member getting a lot of great TV appearances out of her new book but not seeing sales go up the way she hoped), and I responded with my own experiences. A few people told me that what I wrote was helpful, so I thought I'd share them here.

One thing I've figured out after decades in this screwy game (next month is the 30th anniversary of the sale of my first book) is that actual book sales are only part of the picture. I've gotten a lot of paying gigs talking to colleges and other institutions, and those can keep rolling in long after the shelf-life of the book: Killing Monsters came out in 2002 and I'm still getting interesting speaking jobs out of it, including trips to Brazil, England and other places (I spoke to a conference in Nottingham just a few months ago). And I know that's been helped along by publicity, even when the publicity didn't directly sell books.

     In terms of perceptible Amazon up-ticks, the only broadcast media that ever helped were NPR interviews where I got to talk about the content of the book at some length (Fresh Air helped, but the biggest jump was after Talk of the Nation). Mass-audience radio never did squat, not even Howard Stern in his pre-satellite days, nor did TV. But a speaking agency picked me up and landed me a series of public debates after I appeared on the Today Show, which in turn led to other stuff. I also had a university events programmer tell me he was already interested in bringing me in but didn't really decide until he saw that I'd been on Bill O'Reilly's show.

     I've picked up quite a few article- and editorial-writing gigs off my books, at least some of which were helped along by publicity. A BBC appearance got me an offer from the Guardian to write something, and I think that may be why the Times of London asked me for something soon after. It also just looks better in the pitch for an article if you can list a bunch of high-profile appearances.

     I've found that initial sales usually don't matter that much; publication is just the beginning of a long trudge. But the rewards of the trudge can be a lot greater than you think they might be while you're still processing the realization that you're not going to soar onto the NYT bestseller list (which is an angsty process, I know). And the publicity that seems not to be doing a damned bit of good in the moment can pay off down that road.

     Basically it's all about showing up for opportunities and rolling with the fact that there will be baffling disappointments and unexpected gifts, some of which don't show up until you've forgotten what you even did. Kinda like life, only less real.