Marketing Your Creative Work
Yesterday I released a new podcast, an interview with post-doctoral scholar Tom Kellner who is researching Israeli literature translated into German, what sells and what gets read.
Before starting our conversation I thought we would talk about the cultural nuances of the material and how these books are read across cultures. Instead, Tom focused on statistics. What was revealing was, there was a dip in books published in translation from Hebrew around the time the Nobel Prize in Literature being given to the Austrian novelist, Elfriede Jelinek. Jelinek writes in German. The prize going to her led to an upsurge in interest in books written in German.
Tom’s research also showed that a book finding an audience and critical acclaim in one country did not mean the same acclaim in another country.
What this showed to me as a creative person is that we need to write for ourselves, rather than for the market. We need to create what we are moved to create, even if we do not see a direct pathway towards a specific outcome.
As a creative person, we need to be aware of the market but not create for the market.
What the numbers do not reflect is that we have the ability to talk about our work in a way that resonates with our audience. There are authors who do connect with their audiences and do sell their books no matter what the current trend is at the moment. We want to be in that category of creator.
You can hear the interview and discover more about Tom’s take on empathy by checking out the podcast on the website or finding it on your podcast platform, Tom Kellner, translating culture.
I’ve created a 6-week live workshop designed to help you embrace your journey and are prepared to share your work with confidence, attracting those who will value and enjoy your work. We start February 9. Learn more here, Own Your Journey Workshop.