Back in 1897, novelist W. Somerset Maugham, now best known
as the author of Of Human Bondage,
was having trouble selling his first novel Liza
of Lambeth because his publisher wasn't interested in advertising the book.
So he took matters into his own hands.
He placed classified ads in a few daily newspapers in
London. The copy read: “Young millionaire, lover of sports, cultivated, with
good taste of music and a patient and empathetic character wishes to marry any
young and beautiful girl that resembles the heroine of W.S. Maugham’s new
novel.”
By the end of the week, the first edition had sold out. The
novel went on to get critical praise and many, many more sales.
Now, in today’s world, a classified newspaper ad like that
won’t work because people don’t read the classifieds like they use to.
But the basic strategy of tying your book into your
potential reader’s dreams and aspirations, that will always work. Maugham
tapped into his potential reader’s desire for love (a universal perennial yearning
that every romance novel taps into).
For more such success stories of debut novelists, see http://www.bookmarket.com/debutnovels.htm.
