"Throw mud against a wall" Fran Sandham on publicising your book

FRAN Sandham walked across Africa solo from the Skeleton Coast to the Indian Ocean at Zanzibar.

His groundbreaking journey is told with great humour in Traversa, which has been met with critical acclaim.

Interviews with The Liverpool Echo and The Argus in Brighton have already been published, as well as reviews in the likes of New Statesman, Metro and Travel Africa, among others.

Further regional and specialist media column inches are in the pipeline.

He's also been interviewed by Radio Four's Excess Baggage and has now turned his attention to gaining national newspaper coverage by pitching freelance articles.

Former bookseller and Rough Guides editor Fran found his publisher, Duckworth, by "applying to loads" through what he calls the "normal channels" - that's the The Writer's Handbook , targeting likely publishers, then sending in a synopsis or proposal with sample chapters.

He adds: "It was basically, trial and error, though based to some extent on some years' experience of publishing."

As you can see above, publicity-wise, Fran has made some excellent connections and done some cracking interviews.

So what are his top tips for promoting a book?

He says you should:

* Set aside a great deal of time and be prepared to make a great deal of effort.

* Network shamelessly.

* If it's a case of choosing between throwing mud against a wall or prevaricating and doing nothing until you find a sticky piece of mud, then throw mud against the wall.

* Be persistent, and if the people you contact either don't reply or reply negatively, as an author you haven't actually lost anything by contacting them in the first place.

Comments

[Heather]

Excellent advise and a very interesting looking book.

[book publishers]

Clear, precise, valuable advice. Thanks very much for sharing your expertise.