Publishing a book? Read this!

7 tips how generate a buzz

Dear reader, sending lots of love from you-know-where. I’ve been feeling burned out coming off the many highs of publishing Thinking in Watercolor so thank you for your patience as I reboot for whatever is next. In the meantime, a few exciting things to share. I’ll also be teaching two enchanting watercolor masterclasses in Paris. Spots are going fast so book now if you’d like to join me on May 2nd (in English) or May 4th (in French). Also I spoke to the wonderfully magnetic Lili Barbery recently (in French) and Giuseppe Castellano of the Illustration Department Podcast (in English) on their respected podcasts. Now back to our regularly scheduled program…

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A few years back, I was browsing through the Rizzoli Bookstore, high off the release of my latest Paris in Stride. My Sharpie was low on ink from a joyous week of signing books in NYC. High on my cloud of self-importance, I noted that Marc Jacobs’s dog recently released a bestseller. Zoom into my eyes bugging out. Although I’m happy and pleased I’ve published several books at this point, publishing has a way of humbling you on a day-to-day basis. Case in point, I wrote the first draft of this post last week when a sudden push of coverage put Thinking in Watercolor at the top of the creativity category on Amazon, next to some heavy hitters. High on my horse, I knocked out my top pointers to get your book to move numbers. But alas, it was just a fleeting moment.

So you’re publsihing a book? That’s great. What are my secrets to getting a book off the ground? I’d still like to share some things no one really tells you about book publishing (the traditional, non-self-published way) and how to generate a buzz in these attention deficient times. I know it’s shrouded with mystery!

1.) You will always be your own best publicist. I have a wonderful publicist at Artisan Books who helped me send out copies of the book, but otherwise I was the one mostly emailing journalists, pitching ideas and doing the leg work. Many authors outsource this kind of work to for-hire publicists out of pocket, but since this wasn’t my first time at the rodeo, I knew how to do it myself even if it is a ton of work. And I didn’t have any advance money to pay someone externally. How did it pan out? Well. I was on live tv twice, I booked some killer podcast interviews and a wonderful array of coverage. Would I do it differently next time? Probably not. When my first book Edible Paradise was published, I defintely assumed my publicist would do the work for me. But the author has greater leverage with their contacts and story. So assume the position and do the work yourself.

2.) "Scale is everything" is what college friend, bestselling author of Atomic Habits James Clear advised when he generously agreed to zoom chat with me a couple months ago. You may think you need to reach out to a handful of people when a book comes out, but look at the top 100 lists of podcasts/substacks/influencers in your book's category and cast the net far and wide. Sure, I wrote a book about watercolor, but also expands on ideas of creativity, motherhood, self-help and living in Paris. I compiled a truly frightening Excel doc of people to reach out to before writing personalized emails and hoping for the best.

3.) Don't be afraid to follow up until someone says no. People are busy and inboxes are scary places. Some of my biggest press hits happened because I sent a 4th or 5th followup.

4.) Add to the narrative. Think of what press/interviews can add to the story of your book. People have been asking a lot about my creative process, living/working in France and performing standup comedy in Q&As. It broadens the narrative around your book and makes interviews more interesting for the author. If someone asks me again what creativity means to me, I’m gonna blow. :)

5.) Years in the making. Many big gets were people I’ve known socially for many years. It’s a humble reminder that it’s always good to nourish social relationships even if you don’t have a book to promote.

6.) Current events. “You’re nobody. It’s just a watercolor book. Why will people even care?” was what my inner-saboteur said on replay in my mind. I had to find ways that my book would be relevant to this scary, attention-challenged World at large. When framing how to pitch my book to journalists, I had to ask why does this need to exist now? How does it relate to the current moment? A few weeks before my pub date, there was an article in The New York Times about how modern travelers are embracing travel sketchbooks to reconnect them to the present. Bingo! When writing emails, I would say “Why watercolor? It is the ultimate act of the present. It's a healthy form of escapism that everyone deserves in these scary times. Watercolor even got some major love in The New York Times this week. Something is in the air.”

7.) Evergreen. How many books have I sold? I don’t care to know at this point. Call me old-fashioned, but books (in my opinion) should be evergreen and last for many, many years. Even though it’s important to have a good push in the first weeks since publication, the work continues. I’ll continue revisiting my frightening Excel doc and keep pushing.

Et voila! Take care, dear reader. And don’t drink the watercolor water. -jkw