Everyday Book Marketing by Midge Raymond

Author:Midge Raymond
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Book marketing, writer resources, writer tips, self-publishing
Publisher: Ashland Creek Press
Published: 2013-06-20T00:00:00+00:00

Poet Susan Rich

Photo credit: Rosanne Olson

Susan Rich is the author of four collections of poetry, The Cartographer’s Tongue: Poems of the World; Cures Include Travel; The Alchemist’s Kitchen; and the forthcoming Cloud Pharmacy. Her poems have been published in the Antioch Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, Poetry International, and The Southern Review, among others, and her fellowships include an Artist Trust Fellowship from Washington State and a Fulbright Fellowship in South Africa.

Tell us about how your books came into the world.

All four of my books are published by Dennis Maloney, the creative force behind White Pine Press. I am very happy to have a twelve-year relationship with my publisher. From what I know, it’s a rare thing in the poetry world.

I first contacted Dennis on behalf of South African poet Ingrid de Kok to see if he would like to publish her work in the United States. At the same time, Dennis noticed an article I’d published in Poets & Writers about de Kok’s work. The irony is that Dennis published my work and not Ingrid’s. Five years after The Cartographer’s Tongue: Poems of the World came out, I was lucky enough to meet Dennis in person. (Prior to this meeting, all of our correspondence was over e-mail.)

When I asked Dennis why he chose to publish my book, he said simply that I was the only poet who had ever contacted him on behalf of another poet, and that fact had caused him to take a serious look at my work. I’ve told this story to many young poets struggling to see their work in print. The message I hope they come away with is: Everything we do for others also supports our own writing lives—often in ways we could never anticipate.

What are the most successful things you’ve done to promote your books?

I learned this from a poet friend, and it’s very simple: “Ask for what you want.” Be clear on what makes an event or a project a positive experience for you. When one festival in Vermont invited me to read, I wrote back to say I’d love to come but I needed accommodation for my stay. At first the organizer said that he couldn’t accommodate me, but a few weeks later he came through with rooms offered to the festival by a lovely hotel. Since then I have asked museums to host events for free and hotels to give over their penthouse for a performance. There is no shame associated with asking for what you want—and this works especially well when working with other writers.

Here’s one example. For my book The Alchemist’s Kitchen, I decided that I wanted to set up a national tour. This goal sounded overly grandiose to my ears and to my budget (poets are not sent on tours by their publishers), but it was what I wanted: a new challenge. Over a two-week period, I visited San Diego, Boston, and Miami for events in each place. In each city I had friends to see, so I knew it would be fun no matter what else happened.

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