Producing a film can be a magical experience, but many filmmakers get so excited about, and engrossed in, the process that they forget producing their film is only step one. Actually, the production of your film should be pretty far down the line in your initial to-do list. Particularly with new filmmakers, the excitement of making a film and all that is involved in scripting, pre-producing, casting, production, and post production, tends to become (understandably) all-consuming. Creating the film becomes everything.

But here are questions you need to ask (and answer) before the process even starts:

What are you going to do once your film (filled with joy, enthusiasm and dreams as well as blood sweat and tears) is completed?

How are you going to get your film, promoted, marketed, distributed?

How are you going to build that bridge between your finished product and your audience?

If this article were a script, we’d be having a flashback sequence here. We would fade back to before you edited, shot, cast, or wrote your film add a new focus to the process. In this sequence your new flash back approach in the past would change your future. You’d figure out a game plan outlining how to PR, promote and market your film. Your new public relations plan would act as a guide, as a roadmap as you moved forward in your filmmaking process. It would be a bridge-building process between you, your audience, distributors, potential investors and influences. It would be the focus that helped insure your film would have a strong shot at succeeding.

Sadly, most filmmakers don’t outline and budget for a PR and marketing campaign before they start production. If you made that mistake, correct it now. Put your marketing campaign at the top of your to-do list. Not always an easy thing to do, but those filmmakers with whom we have the most success start with us during pre-production. They realize that marketing is an essential part of the game plan and keep that in mind during the production process.

Ideally you want to start promoting your film and creating a buzz online and in the media before you finish shooting or editing your project. A well thought out media relations and social media campaign can serve you in a number of ways. One outreach can be directed to the general public, another to a more targeted group of viewers, another to distributors and still another to possible investors. You can also start creating a buzz for upcoming projects while promoting your current film.

So dive in to your film project. Make the very best film you can. But be smart about it. Make a PR and marketing campaign an essential part of your film’s game plan. You’ve put your heart, soul, time and money into you film project. You now owe it to the film and to yourself to give it a chance to succeed.

When launching a PR campaign focus on the author, not the book.

Publishers invariably disagree with me on this one. Perhaps the most heated discussions that I've had with publishers have dealt with that topic.

Don’t misunderstand me, I understand where the publishers are coming from. They’ve put their time and money into producing, publishing and distributing the book, so, from their perspective, all of the PR and marketing efforts should be focused around one topic – the book.

Point taken.

The only trouble is that they are wrong!

Yes, a major focus is on the book. That’s generally going to be the PR engine that drives the train. But if you expand the focus to include the author, you’ve suddenly greatly enlarged your marketing bullseye. The story could be about an author’s journey, or a cause that the author is involved in or a unique incident in the author’s life, or a previous work that acts as a gateway to the new book

Point is, you never know where the story that will interest the media lies. And, chances are it’s not going to be a one-size-fits all pitch that is going to work. You’re going to want to develop different stories to appeal to various media outlets.

This approach seldom appeals to publishers. They feel the book will get lost. But think about it. The book is the author’s baby. That book represents blood sweat and tears as well as hopes and dreams.

Believe me, the author will bring the book into the story.

So, whether you’re working with a major publisher, a boutique publishing house, or are self-publishing remember that your story is vital to the PR and marketing.

And remember that, like it or not, the bulk of the PR outreach is going to fall on you. So, make it fun. Make a list of the various possible story ideas.

Utilize your storytelling gift to tell your story and sell your book.

 

Christopher Meeks is an author, publisher and college teacher. Chris told me about his long and winding road through the worlds of writing and publishing. He first published short fiction in a number of literary journals, and the stories are available in two collections, The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea and Months and Seasons. The audiobook of The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea appears on Audible and Amazon. He’s also published the literary novels The Brightest Moon of the Century and Love at Absolute Zero, and the crime novels Blood Drama and A Death in Vegas. In August, his war novel, The Chords of War with Iraq war veteran Samuel Gonzalez, will arrive.

We first met at a writing conference where I heard him speak and then over coffee in Atwater Ca. As good a conversationalist as he is a writer...

When did you start writing? 

I majored in filmmaking at the University of Denver. I wrote my first screenplays then. I added psychology as a second major as I thought understanding people and how they thought would certainly add to my visual storytelling. Then in my senior year, I took creative writing to satisfy electives—first poetry and then fiction. I loved both. I found I could be visual with words. I didn’t need film or film splicers or actors or cameras or assistant directors and the like – I could do everything on the page, and the fiction and poetry I could publish.

You’ve written short stories, plays and novels.  Does one form feel like a better fit than the others?

I love them all, and they each have their own needs, which match my needs when I dive into their forms. Writing plays had been the best of all worlds—working with people as in film, but the playwright has more power and respect than a screenwriter ever does. Still, getting a play produced is almost as difficult as getting a film made, and there’s so little money for the playwright unless it’s performed in New York or nationally. One needs to live in New York to start as a working playwright.

I do feel writing fiction is the most challenging because it’s being one-on-one with an audience. Readers see your strengths and any weaknesses. It’s the form I focus on the most.

What was the impetus to start your own publishing company?

I had an agent at the time, who found my short fiction amazing and thought I had a novel in me. However, he did not want to send a manuscript of my short fiction out, a collection of stories already published in literary magazines. He said, “Fifteen percent of nothing is nothing.” He felt his energy and mine would be better served if I wrote my first novel. He was a great motivator in that way. That novel became The Brightest Moon of the Century.

I complained to a graphic designer friend about my agent and my short fiction manuscript. My friend had worked with me at Prelude Press, a Los Angeles publisher where I’d been the senior editor for six years. He suggested I start my own company, much like Prelude Press. He would design my first book for free. It was my short story collection, The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea.

I marketed it as we would have at Prelude, focusing on well-known reviewers and using a PR agency. The first review was in the Los Angeles Times. At that point, my agent, now my former agent, called and congratulated me and said he’d been wrong. That was nice of him to make that call. The book was later mentioned in Entertainment Weekly. It’s done well and now even has an audiobook version.

You’ve worked in different aspects of the publishing world.  What changes in publishing have surprised you the most?

The publishing industry has been changing rapidly since I started White Whisker Books in late 2005. First there was print-on-demand (POD), which meant small publishers didn’t have to print short runs and store a bunch of books in the garage. Books were printed instantly when a book order came in. Then along came eBooks, which meant, for the small publisher specializing in them, that returned books were no longer a problem.

Printed books returned are costly. Bookstores only order if they can return them if they don’t sell. The better the reviews and awards, the more bookstores order. I’ve learned the more orders you get, the more returns you’ll receive. For instance, Shelly Lowenkopf’s short story collection, Love Will Make You Drink and Gamble, Stay Out Late at Night, received great reviews, including one in an important publishing industry journal, and it won an award in the Los Angeles Book Festival. Bookstores ordered a lot. The returns put me in the red on that one. A bunch of returns from a bunch of bookstores can cause a small publisher to go bankrupt.

Marketing is the biggest challenge for all publishers, including self-publishers. Marketing changes quickly. Something works for a while then doesn’t. Over the last few years a number of methods have come and gone (or come and stayed), including free giveaways of eBooks, advertising with certain websites such as Bookbub, running a blog tour, getting many book reviews (from print or web sources), getting many reviews from customers, offering book trailers, and many other things. There is no sure method at this point other than appearing in Oprah’s Bookclub. Maybe have Donald Trump tweet your book.

What are some of the books you’ve published from other authors, and what was it about those writers that spoke to you?

I started publishing other authors when a former professor of mine, David Scott Milton, didn’t know what to do with his novel now that his agent died. Mainly a screenwriter and playwright, he’d published three novels over the years, and he thought he might have to self-publish his new one.

I realized that at over seventy years old, he wasn’t about to learn all the marketing things he needed to do. Also, I read his manuscript for Iron City, and it was damn good. I said I’d publish it. Once I did, I started having agents and acquaintances call. I published a few of those people. Basically, I looked for two things: did I like the book and would it take much editorial work to get it in shape? Also, could I market that particular topic?

The most popular of what I’ve done is the Falling Angeles Saga, by E. Van Lowe, four young-adult paranormal romance novels. It starts with Boyfriend from Hell. Mr. Van Lowe used to write for and produce The Cosby Show along with many other sitcoms. He’s got an incredible ear for dialogue and a great sense of both humor and drama. His stories rocket along. For a few years, TV producers considered making the books into a series.

The agent for another former professor from USC called. She offered The Fiction Writer’s Handbook, a masterwork from Shelly Lowenkopf. It’s built like an encyclopedia and goes over terms and concepts for fiction writers, from novice to expert. I’m proud to have published it.

My most recent author is Robin Winter, who came up with Watch the Shadows, a scary book that takes place just outside of Santa Barbara. Something is making homeless people and small animals disappear. It’s before Trump came along. Ms. Winter came from an agent submission.

You write, teach and publish how do you keep all those balls in the air? 

The balls are falling all around me. I’ve stopped looking at new work from new authors as marketing has changed so much in the last few years, my old methods don’t work well now. I don’t have the money to invest in marketing as I once had. I’m having to rethink where I’m going to go. I have a new book or two to publish over the next year, and also one from E. Van Lowe, but after that, I don’t know. I’m looking for a new agent, myself, so that gives you a sense of where I’m at.

I’m happily writing and teaching. It’s the publishing part that’s frustrating. I also may have a film that may go into production from a screenplay I wrote fourteen years ago.

What are you currently working on? 

I’ve finished writing a literary novel, The Chords of War, which I co-wrote with a former student who fought in Iraq. It may be my best novel yet, and a film producer has optioned it even before it’s published. That took a year of negotiating, and his option period will be up in six months. The man hired a screenwriter, but I sense it didn’t go well. Two other screenwriters are now working on it. Still, I’m not holding my breath.

I rewrote a screenplay on another topic, Albert Einstein, which may be optioned this week. Why Hollywood is calling after all this time, I don’t know.

In the meantime, I’ve been experiencing some of life’s huge challenges: health and marriage issues in particular, which has found me madly writing short stories, which I haven’t done in a decade. I might call it Life on Mars.

What are your top two pointers for writers looking to publish their works? 

The first pointer is that quality is always paramount. Don’t rush to publish, but rather show people what you’ve written, and keep honing your work until it’s brilliant. Writing is rewriting.

The second is that know that as much time and energy that you put into the book, you’ll probably have to spend twice as long finding an agent and publisher or self-publishing and learning a hell of a lot about marketing. It’s important, even if you prefer to be writing.

To learn more about Chris and his work visit: http://www.chrismeeks.com

The film industry has changed and in many ways, it’s more challenging than ever before, but with change comes new opportunities. Success can still be had by those who work to create it. Independent film companies aren’t as great and as varied as they were when Mean Streets, Do The Right Thing, Blue Velvet, or Pulp Fiction initially made their marks, but there are now new and different ways to succeed, develop an audience and build a strong career

It’s not only the film industry that has been stood on its head, perhaps no other industry is reeling as much as the music biz. And publishing too is also undergoing massive changes.   In the past authors expected to sign a publishing deal, get an advance and then prepare for a book tour. Well times have changed. Fewer and fewer publishing houses are investing in tours unless it’s for one of their reigning literary superstars.

Whereas in the music arena it’s all but impossible to make a living by simply selling music, more and more bands and singers are hitting the road and touring. Yet on the literary side, fewer and fewer authors are out there meeting the public and bookstore owners.

Book tours are more important that many realize. They are about making connections with individual stores, store owners and managers. Even those inevitable signings that end up with a handful of people in the audience can be beneficial, if a relationship is forged between the writer and a bookseller. Making it even more challenging is the fact that bookstores themselves are facing some of the roughest times they’ve ever encountered. Independents are falling by the wayside; Boarders is gone and Barnes & Noble is doing all that it can to simply survive.

As with all types of intellectual property, book sales are being hit hard. The model that worked so well only a few years ago, is now broken. Still, in both film and publishing as the old models begins to falter, new avenues and opportunities are surfacing. For filmmakers and authors that take their careers and their works into their own hands there is a new world of opportunity out there.

The tough part here is that artists either have to become marketers, or they have to hire PR and marketing firms to handle their promotional needs for them. Particularly when it comes to films and books, marketing cannot be looked at as a luxury. Marketing, particularly public relations, is a necessity.

The upside to the internet is that every area of interest has its own bloggers and social media sites. Savvy authors and filmmakers are using social media and blogging, to create an inbound marketing funnel for their books and films. Some are launching and investing in their own tours, others are offering online events. Those that are truly savvy are launching traditional public relations campaigns to reach their target market, establish themselves as experts in their field and gain the validation and legitimacy of being in the news.

With the right buzz both filmmakers and authors can, with a bit of creativity, generate their own sales, build their brands, and establish their own successful careers.

Musicians know they need PR.

Filmmakers know they need PR.

Performers know they need PR.

Writers?

Not so much.

Generally, when I give a PR for Artists seminar, I cover what, when, where, and how to launch and implement a successful marketing and PR campaign.

But, when I’m presenting to writers (and, to be fair, I can add painters and sculptors into this group), I generally need to back up and start with—

WHY.

Why don’t writers get “why”?

Several reasons.

Those that are published by a traditional publisher assume (most of the time wrongly) that their publisher will take care of all of the marketing and PR for their book. Maybe the most difficult conversations I have are with writers who have signed with a major house. I’m generally the one who has to break the news to them that they’re on their own when it comes to marketing their book. On the other hand, self-published writers often believe that being on Amazon or a similar platform is enough. They’ll run a few Google and Facebook ads and book sales will soar. Sadly, that’s seldom the case.

Those aren’t the only reasons writers are hesitant to marketing their books. They are often taught that they shouldn’t market, they shouldn’t have to market, marketing is crass, they should be writing for the sake of writing, if their writing is good, that’s enough… I think you get it.

Yes, your writing is the thing—to paraphrase a somewhat famous writer—but it needs help.

Your writing needs to be nurtured, tended, cared for. And, unless you are writing solely for yourself (which is perfectly valid), you need to build a bridge between your writing and the public, readers, agents, and publishers. You need to give it a chance to succeed, which means you need to market.

By that, I don’t mean a hard sell, or smoke and mirrors. You can make an art of your marketing. Have it reflect you; have it be organic, genuine, authentic.

Our mantra at PR for Writers & Filmmakers is that effective PR is effective storytelling. What could be more perfect for a writer? You’re a storyteller so turn your narrative into your marketing.

Back to why to PR and market your work?

Why?

An effective PR campaign can:

• Increase your sales.
• Get you on the radar of the public, readers, agents and publishers
• Offer you the credibility and validation of being featured in the news.
• Separate you from the competition.
• Reach your target market and also penetrate new markets

Media coverage can also be used to help generate interest in other projects or ventures. We had a major publisher offer a book deal to one of our clients. Media exposure helped us garner a book deal. A film director landed a distribution deal. Artists have landed gallery representation and media that we placed led an artist to develop a working relationship with a major studio.

One then is for sure—

Doing nothing generally leads to nowhere.

Regardless of your time, or your budget, let go of your preconceived ideas about marketing your art.

Be proactive.

Take action.

Now!