Lessons from To Kill a Mockingbird

My favorite novel of all time is Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. I’m not alone in my adoration of her book. In fact a survey in 2008 in Britain ranked it above the Bible by respondents.

In the years since its publication in 1960 To Kill a Mockingbird has sold over 30 million copies, been translated into 40 languages and never has been out of print. Perennially it is on the New York Times top 100 books in terms of sales.

To put it mildly, To Kill a Mockingbird has been a phenomenal success.

From a marketing perspective what lessons can we learn from Harper Lee’s classic?

First, to provide a little context I’ve copied the following from its Wikipedia posting.

“Born in 1926, Harper Lee grew up in the Southern town of Monroeville, Alabama, where she became close friends with the soon-to-be famous writer Truman Capote. She attended Huntingdon College in Montgomery (1944–45), and then studied law at the University of Alabama (1945–49). While attending college, she wrote for campus literary magazines: Huntress at Huntingdon and the humor magazine Rammer Jammer at the University of Alabama. At both colleges, she wrote short stories and other works about racial injustice, a rarely mentioned topic on such campuses at the time.[3] In 1950, Lee moved to New York City, where she worked as a reservation clerk for British Overseas Airways Corporation; there, she began writing a collection of essays and short stories about people in Monroeville. Hoping to be published, Lee presented her writing in 1957 to a literary agent recommended by Capote. An editor at J. B. Lippincott advised her to quit the airline and concentrate on writing. Donations from friends allowed her to write uninterrupted for a year.[4]

Lee spent two and a half years writing To Kill a Mockingbird. A description of the book's creation by the National Endowment for the Arts relates an episode when Lee became so frustrated that she tossed the manuscript out the window into the snow. Her agent made her retrieve it.[5] The book was published on July 11, 1960. It was initially titled Atticus, but Lee renamed it to reflect a story that went beyond a character portrait.[6] The editorial team at Lippincott warned Lee that she would probably sell only several thousand copies.[7] In 1964, Lee recalled her hopes for the book when she said, "I never expected any sort of success with 'Mockingbird.' ... I was hoping for a quick and merciful death at the hands of the reviewers but, at the same time, I sort of hoped someone would like it enough to give me encouragement. Public encouragement. I hoped for a little, as I said, but I got rather a whole lot, and in some ways this was just about as frightening as the quick, merciful death I'd expected."[8] Instead of a "quick and merciful death", Reader's Digest Condensed Books chose the book for reprinting in part, which gave it a wide readership immediately.[9] Since the original publication, the book has never been out of print.”

Discussion points:

• Note that Harper Lee took two and a half years to write her book proving the importance of dedication both in time and writing excellence manuscript. Marketing rule number one: there is no substitution for talent.

• Ms. Lee used her friendship with a well known friend, in this case Truman Copote, to gain access to a top literary agent. In return, her agent sold her work to a large New York publishing house. It is important to use whatever connections we have to reach our intended audience. Marketing rule number two: use your connections well.

• Her publisher was able to get her book into the hands of Reader’s Digest which, at that time, was the most influential publication in the book publishing world. From there the book went viral. Times have changed, today the blogosphere is the place to get the word out about a promising book. Marketing rule number three: going viral is key to sales success.

It would be presumptuous to think that the works written by most authors measure up to Harper Lee’s classic. But the takeaway points are instructive to everyone whether they are publishing a book or about to have a job interview.

In summary:

• Talent and determination are important
• Connections matter
• Getting the word out is vitally important

Promoting my book is my publisher's job

When discussing the promotion of their book I've had several authors tell me that marketing is the responsibility of the publisher, not theirs. My response is that nothing could be further from the truth. Just look at what bestselling authors do to promote their books.

Mitch Albom author of the bestselling Tuesdays with Morrie, The 5 People You Meet in Heaven, For One More Day and the current New York Times Bestseller Have a Little Faith is a marketer's dream. Not only has he been a columnist for the past 24 years with The Detroit Free Press he also has his own syndicated radio program, is a regular contributor on ESPN and has founded three charities. Albom also has found time to launch his own website http://mitchalbom.com

Bestselling business advisor, Jim Collins author of Built to Last, Good to Great and the newly released How the Mighty Fall, started as a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He went on to found a management laboratory in Boulder, Colorado in order to conduct research and to train business executives. He uses his experience and connections from his management firm, articles he contributes to periodicals along with speaking engagements to promote his books. Collins maintains an active Web exposure at http://www.jimcollins.com

Novelist Nicholas Sparks was a pharmaceuticals rep writing in his spare time after being rejected from law school and a job working for a publisher. He was discovered by a literary agent who rescued his first novel from the slush pile. To promote his first book he traveled tirelessly around the country appearing at 56 events in 45 cities. The resulting word of mouth were instrumental in his novel moving up the bestseller list. Today he keeps his readers informed through his website and newsletter at http://www.nicholassparks.com

The truth is that behind the success of pretty much every successful author is an inspiring story of hard work, a bit of luck and tremendous talent.

Are there books that have achieved success without promotion on the part of the author? Yes, there are always exceptions to the rule. For example Walden by Henry David Thoreau which chronicles his two year experiment in living alone is an exception. So too, obviously, is The Diary of Anne Frank. But in most cases to be an exception to the rule requires an exceptional work coupled with exceptional circumstances.

Bottom line, if you are an author be prepared to tirelessly publicize your book. In fact, be prepared to take the lead role in the overall marketing of your book.

In future posts I'll discuss specific ways authors can market their books.

Takeaway points:

• Pretty much all bestselling authors take an active role in marketing their books

• It is essential to have your own book marketing plan

• Your marketing plan will determine whether you will maximize your income through traditional publishing, self-publishing or custom publishing