Great post! Also, try to add a few nuggets in your book that you can pull out later and use as an angle for a specific audience. For example, for my 2013 book One Big Happy Family, about interspecies animal adoption, my agent suggested I find a few examples of stories from France, Germany, and elsewhere to put in the book. I did, and we were able to sell foreign rights to the book to these countries. You could do the same thing in terms of angling publicity to specific markets.
Cassie, I listened in on the AWP marketing talk you did in May, and just happened across your Substack and this post. Great thoughts! My second poetry full-length was released in Feb., so I can relate to trying to keep things fresh & identify new angles to talk about in interviews, for example. I created a mock interview this week in which I ask myself questions I might like to be asked, which would allow me to talk about some new things (this is a prelim exercise for an actual interview) and suddenly I was thinking about things I could talk about -- poems that I included that others might call outliers, sentimental favorites and why, etc. Thanks also for your thoughts about planning ahead! I don't have a Book #3 project yet, but your thoughts are inspiring me to look at the poems I've got & start making lists of crossover themes, etc. Many thanks for the inspiration.
I think I have done or am doing many of the things on this list, except getting known at my local bookstore. Libraries are my favorite places, though... does that count? I started this process a couple of years ago while I was writing my memoir. I hope it all bodes well.
"Normalize making one piece THIS important." I've been thinking about this ever since I read it! Cassie, are you familiar with Release Day? It's essentially a collective creative deadline with a wonderful community built around it; creatives all over the world work on individual projects over the course of the month and then release them all together on May 29. It's hosted by Creative Mornings + Creative Quests, and it's really changed my whole outlook about how we can treat a single piece and really make the release special, as opposed to just posting a link online and calling it a day. Your list is perfectly timed!
Great post! Also, try to add a few nuggets in your book that you can pull out later and use as an angle for a specific audience. For example, for my 2013 book One Big Happy Family, about interspecies animal adoption, my agent suggested I find a few examples of stories from France, Germany, and elsewhere to put in the book. I did, and we were able to sell foreign rights to the book to these countries. You could do the same thing in terms of angling publicity to specific markets.
This is so meta, Lisa, and yes!
Cassie this is all so good and brilliant and I am taking it to heart as I write my next book!!! Thank you!
I’m so excited to hear you’re working on the next book!!!!
Whoa! Brain on fire. Ditto, ditto, ditto on the comments below.
Ahhhhh! So glad, so glad!
Cassie, I listened in on the AWP marketing talk you did in May, and just happened across your Substack and this post. Great thoughts! My second poetry full-length was released in Feb., so I can relate to trying to keep things fresh & identify new angles to talk about in interviews, for example. I created a mock interview this week in which I ask myself questions I might like to be asked, which would allow me to talk about some new things (this is a prelim exercise for an actual interview) and suddenly I was thinking about things I could talk about -- poems that I included that others might call outliers, sentimental favorites and why, etc. Thanks also for your thoughts about planning ahead! I don't have a Book #3 project yet, but your thoughts are inspiring me to look at the poems I've got & start making lists of crossover themes, etc. Many thanks for the inspiration.
Oh, Sarah! This is so great to hear. I love that idea and how it got you to more brainstorming. congrats on your book, I’m going to look it up!
This is fantastic advice. Thank you.
I think I have done or am doing many of the things on this list, except getting known at my local bookstore. Libraries are my favorite places, though... does that count? I started this process a couple of years ago while I was writing my memoir. I hope it all bodes well.
Libraries TOTALLY count!
This is the kind of thinking I need to be steeped in! Also- what a freaking blast to read. So much personality. Thanks so much for sharing, Cassie!
Ah, Amber! This is my favorite thing to hear, truly! Sometimes I’m like … is this just boring stuff? I so appreciate that! ❤️
“the bone china plate of the brain” (!!!!!)
It’s in there on a little drumstick spinning around!!!
I feel like I took screenshots of this entire post. Brilliant! Just so brilliant!
Are you kidding re being annoying?? I am feverishly scribbling notes over here. Thank you for being annoying!!! (if this is being annoying)
Brandon Taylor is nuts. This post is so wonderful. Thank you!!!
"Normalize making one piece THIS important." I've been thinking about this ever since I read it! Cassie, are you familiar with Release Day? It's essentially a collective creative deadline with a wonderful community built around it; creatives all over the world work on individual projects over the course of the month and then release them all together on May 29. It's hosted by Creative Mornings + Creative Quests, and it's really changed my whole outlook about how we can treat a single piece and really make the release special, as opposed to just posting a link online and calling it a day. Your list is perfectly timed!