by Sam Thomas
In recent weeks I’ve been discussing the question of book
club appearances with my wife/manager, and she wondered why authors don’t
charge (or don’t often charge) for book clubs.
This question seems especially relevant in light of recent
posts here
on Book Pregnant and elsewhere,
in which authors wrestle with the competing demands on their time: Between
revising, various edits, book clubs, book fairs, social media in all its
iterations, blogging, etc., authors can do a lot of work without doing any
writing. So why book club?
The first answer, and the one I knew even before I started
clubbing (so to speak), was that in a world of vanishingly small marketing
budgets, it’s the author’s job to get out there, pound the pavement, sell
books, and build a loyal audience.
What I did not realize was how many different kinds of book
clubs there were, and how much fun they could be. In the six months since The Midwife’s Tale dropped, I’ve met
with twenty or so book clubs, both in person and by video-chat. Thus far they
have run the gamut from sedate (coffee in the afternoon) to raucous (beer,
wine, and cocktails running late into the night). Topics have ranged from the history behind my
book, to the writing process, to who I would cast in the movie.
When I walk out of the book clubs, it is as if I’ve stuck my
finger into a light socket. Talking to smart, engaged and curious readers
energizes me like nothing else in the world. They – and the impending contract
deadline – are what gets me through the copy editing process.
All of which brings me to a rather delicate question: Should
an author (or when should an author) charge for book club appearances?
Obviously the answer is going to depend on another question:
Can an author charge for book club appearances? For most debut authors,
the answer is “no” simply because nobody is willing to pay. But as we move
through our careers, the answer might change, so I’ve been thinking about when
and what I might someday charge.
I don’t have an answer to the question, but I am extremely
interested in hearing your thoughts on this.
Book clubs rock. For me it's all about meeting readers. Can't imagine I would ever think about charging a fee.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way, and I'm playing the devil's advocate here! To look at it from another angle, I absolutely love my job, I wouldn't do it for free.
ReplyDeleteSo my question isn't "Would you..." but "Is it appropriate to..."
As in so many things, I think it depends. Plenty of authors will charge a fee to give a prepared presentation to a group, whether it be a book club or another type of gathering, and I think that it is perfectly appropriate to do so. Other settings are more casual, a way to meet and greet readers and get them excited about your book. I think those types of gatherings are loss leaders--yes, you spend a lot of time and energy on them, but in the end the good will and reader loyalty you generate will ultimately increase your book sales, hopefully earning you more money in the long run. My two cents. :)
ReplyDelete