Authenticity and the “IT” Factor

I was hungry and my mom had to pee.

We had already spent at least three hours in the car and were in the middle of Amish country, rock cliffs, and absolutely no cell phone reception. But we needed food. And a bathroom.

Per our road trip rules, all food stops had to be “authentic”. Thankfully it's easy to find authentic restaurants in rural Wisconsin – there's one in every town. Usually it's the only one in town where the owner is often the waitress and cook. And no one, not even the owner/waitress/cook, is in any hurry.

So, in the middle of western Wisconsin, we found our authentic restaurant, slid into the old wooden chairs and waited.

And waited.

Finally a quiet lady took our order and delivered water.

Then we waited some more.

All that sitting gave us a chance to absorb the scenery and admire our surroundings. A snow shovel leaned against the wall and the wallpaper dated back to the mid-70s. A nearby group of seniors shared gossip about grandchildren and pending marriages.

Feeling guilty for eavesdropping, I turned my attention to the back to the walls.

A pair of paintings from a local artist hung above our table. They were nice, systematic paintings meant to replicate portraits from the late 19^th century.

They were...nice. Not great. Not inspiring. Just nice.

What was wrong with them you ask? They were missing the “it” factor. They were trying to be something they weren't. They were replicating someone else's idea of a good painting.

They needed to be ART. Wonderful, original, gorgeous art unlike anything ever created. Sure, few things are completely original, but the best artists, writers, and musicians learn the skill, practice their crafts, then find a way to make it their own.

Turns out the food had an amazing “it” factor. Homemade sausage, fresh bacon, bread, and a waffle I loved so much I wanted to wear it as a hat.

The cook/waitress/owner had mastered her craft and presented us with the best breakfast I've ever had.

So what did I learn from my two hour Midwest restaurant experience? Authenticity is essential...especially when it's edible.

Big Thanks to Author John Locke

In case you haven't heard, independent and self-published author John Locke succeeded in selling over a million ebooks on Kindle.

While this may not sound like a big deal. It is. For many many reasons.

First, not many authors have sold a million ebooks. In fact I believe that as of the date of this post, only five or so authors have achieved such success. And although ebook sales have risen exponentially over recent years, many authors still find success in paperback. Especially authors with major publishers.

Which brings me to reason number Two. It is very hard to market books as a self-published author. Very Hard. I should know, I published the middle-grade novel, Alexander Hickory, in early 2008 and have been beating down the doors of libraries, schools, local bookstores and the virtual marketplaces just to get a handful of sales. Like Locke, I paid a lot of money for online ads, press releases, and professional marketing to help generate sales. But, regardless of how much money I threw at the book, sales, even ebook sales, remained low.

There are certainly exceptions to stories like mine and Locke's, stories where self-published authors find amazing success through traditional marketing means. But, it turns out, most independently published authors fight enormous (and often expensive) obstacles when it comes to selling books and finding our audience. Obstacles that, until now, have been controlled by traditional publication.

The truth? Traditional book marketing doesn't work for self-published authors. Well, it usually doesn't work. Like I said, there are always exceptions, but for the majority of us, we have to find other means of finding our audience. This is especially true for fiction writers.

Which brings me to reason number Three. It's easy to find the target market for non-fiction. For fiction writers this is much, much more difficult. While there are certainly forums and websites for different genres of books, there are literally thousands and thousands of books on these sites and any book can get lost in the sea of fiction. And for those that write quirky stories or plots that are on the edge of genre fiction, it's even more difficult.

John Locke writes fiction, quirky, off-the-beaten-path kind of fiction that doesn't always fit into standard categories. Like the rest of us, he followed standard rules for marketing and pitching his stories. They didn't work.

So he broke the rules, followed his gut and, by using his background in sales, discovered new ways to find a target audience and attract loyal readers. As a result, John Locke, a self-published author of quirky fiction, found an enormous audience, a dedicated following, and impressive sales.

His advice goes against everything I've been told. And it's brilliant.

Authors told me “Follow the rules.”

Editors told me “Write what you know.”

My opinion? Write what you Love. And Break the rules.

Both self-published and traditionally published authors can benefit from his advice. It's not just about marketing, it's about connecting with readers and giving them something you know they'll love.

Here's a link to his book and his blog. I hope you find it as helpful as I did.