I Stole An Author's Idea, and It's Working
How I Borrowed a Clever Marketing Strategy to Build Social Proof and Boost My Self-Publishing Business
I admit it. I stole an author's idea for my own business, and it's working. Now that I have your undivided attention, let me explain what I stole and how I'm using it in my business as an author/illustrator/self-publisher.
New Family Member: Selena Lile holding a copy of my book, Stacy Learns to Love Her Wavy Hair, and You Can Too! Photo Credit: Stacy Schilling
I'm friends with several children's authors, and we struggle with pretty much the same issues: book sales, reviews, parents finding our books online and purchasing a copy, securing author visits, and getting our books into distribution outside of IngramSpark. Every so often, we brainstorm things we've tried that have worked for our book businesses and things that were complete failures. Sometimes we have more failures than successful outcomes, but every once in a while, we strike gold.
This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Anyhow, one day a few months ago, I was on the phone with another children's author, and we were talking about the different things we try at vendor events to bring more people to our tables and, of course, sell more books. Well, this author has been very vocal about taking photos of every person who buys their book. I was really skeptical about this because, as an artist, you can't take photos without someone's permission, and you also need a photo release form. They never use one and said every person they ask always says "yes."
We argued for a bit about it, and I let it go.
As an artist, I know the ethical standards for photography usage. So, I couldn't wrap my head around doing this until I decided to try it and see how people responded.
So, when I was at an event and made a book sale, I asked the person if I could take their picture for social media and my website. I waited for the "no," "I don't want to have my picture taken," or "I don't want to be online." Instead, I got "Sure," and I took their photo. Then I posted their photo on social media, thanking them for their book purchase. And when I got home, I uploaded their photo to my website to show others social proof of people buying my books.
Then, after every sale I made, whether it was a book, bonnet, scrunchie, or pillowcase, I would ask the person if I could take their photo for social media, and they all agreed.
Every person said "yes."
Even parents would allow me to take a photo of their child holding my book. If they were uncomfortable with their child's face being online, I put a heart over it to protect their child's identity.
Young DJ probably holds a copy of my book, Stacy Learns to Love Her Wavy Hair, and You Can Too! with a heart covering his face. Mom approved. Photo Credit: Stacy Schilling
As I continue to do this, I've come to see that I do have people who love and want to purchase my books and merchandise. As an author/illustrator/self-publisher, I had the bad habit of comparing myself to others and struggled to recognize my own victories, especially when another author sold more books or got an author visit. I tend not to stay in my own lane and recognize that my books are so niche that the right people will find and purchase them at the right time. I can't compare my journey to someone else's. It's been a hard lesson to learn.
Since incorporating this stolen idea into my business, I now have 18 family members on the website, with more to come. It doesn't sound like an impressive number, but I started at zero, then went to one, and now I'm at 18. We all have to start somewhere.
Your turn: What idea, if any, did you steal from another author? Tell me about it in the comments. I'd love to hear it. Also, I would love to hear your feedback.
Free for you: Ready to take the next step? Grab my free Self-Publisher's Checklist and use it to take away all the guesswork about the order of the steps for completing your book, from conception to the final product.
Get Self-Publisher's Checklist
Every book has a story. Yours is still being written.
Until next time,
Stacy
P.S. If you found this article helpful and know someone who would benefit from reading it, please share it with them.
Stacy Schilling is an author and entrepreneur from Bowling Green, Kentucky with 25+ years in graphic design. She founded The Frizz Girls, promoting hair care positivity and natural wavy hair acceptance. Schilling authored children's books encouraging self-acceptance and combines her design expertise with creative initiatives promoting self-love and confidence in young readers.
