Q: I have recently finished my first novel. Can you offer any advice on marketing?
Aug 17 2005
Answered by: Jackie Jarvis Ask a question
I am a little puzzled by your question. Agents do not market books. Their role is to represent you and negotiate with a publisher. The publisher should be marketing your work. I note that a publishing company is quoted on your book.
Presumably you have a royalty deal with them; typically you receive a royalty of 7.5 or 10 per cent of the cover price of each book sold and the publisher receives the balance, that is 90 per cent. They use this to pay for the book to be printed but more importantly to market the book. Having said that a publisher's task is not easy.
There are thousands of books published and only a tiny percentage can get reviews in the newspapers. As for getting into any of the airport bookshops most authors would die for that opportunity. It's really difficult.
Your first step is to ginger up your publisher to make them do what they are being paid for.
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