John Searles Quotes

I am stunned by how much time and effort I must spend marketing my book and interacting with my readers. With social media, you don't just publish a book and figure you've done your part; your fans want to talk to you, have a conversation.

Twitter is just like posting old-fashioned press releases, and it can be very effective in promoting your business interests and charity work.

There's a difference between publicity and marketing. A lot of writers don't realize how much marketing goes on beyond the scenes, with sales reps and advanced reading copies, all that stuff that happens months before a book is published.

The most important thing is readers. I've got a huge Twitter following, but I don't really think it sells books; I don't think a huge Facebook following sells books - although these things aren't bad, of course.

I've always viewed myself as a brand. When I started 10 years ago, that was very controversial. 'Marketing' and 'PR' were dirty words for the literary world, but that has changed. Once the book is finished, I want as many people as possible to read it.

I'm actually on the Twitter like all those crazy young kids are, and if I'm going to do an in-store appearance or I post something on my website, I tweet these followers, a word I don't like so much, and over 50,000 people go, like, 'Okay, I got it.'

Not surprisingly, the chief way self-published authors get the word out about their books is through the Internet.

I find it hard to think of myself as selling books. I don't even have a Web site. I want to sit and write, not sell.

My best advice for anyone out there that feels like, 'I don't have a million followers so why should I even give it a shot,' is that it's not about the numbers - it's about the engagement. That's how you can build influence.

Publishers like their authors to take advantage of publicity opportunities.

You really can't spend money on social media unless you really try. Social media is really more about effort than expense.

People think writing is a very distinguished, cerebral thing, where all you do is write. It doesn't work that way. People have to see online promotions, see piles of your book in stores, and you have to make sure the guy recommends it!

Blogging can generate a great deal of traffic to your online business.

I am making use of social media as a marketing tool. It's a great way to market yourself and your projects. It's a free marketing tool.

Although my values and my morals are old-school, you have to kind of key into the landscape of social media and how the world is progressing. I'd be a fool to sit there and go, 'Yeah, let's use the telephone to telemarket myself'... Social media is something that I definitely have to tap into, to another demographic.

The best time to start promoting your book is three years before it comes out. Three years to build a reputation, build a permission asset, build a blog, build a following, build credibility and build the connections you'll need later.

I have over 2 million followers now on Google Plus.

The potential for Twitter is spectacular and great.

Personally I estimate about a third of my time is spent on author events, social media and traditional publicity.

I look at Twitter as brand building.

Social media can be a powerful tool to listen to, engage with and gain access to customers that you would otherwise not be able to connect with.

All the marketing and advertising sells the book as what it is and hopes that the book will be displayed so that your readers can find it.

You've got to be very cognizant of the correlation between social media links and business because they don't always correlate as highly as people would like.

I certainly think that the publishing houses have to learn more about this informal network of literary blogging and get over the idea that sending an author on a book tour - to Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles - is a successful model anymore.

People don't come out for book events. They want to feel an emotion and be entertained.