Most authors will agree that the creative part of the job is where we excel, the business and marketing side, slightly less. It’s lovely when the two can meet in the form of SWAG – Shit We All Generate. I’ve invited some published authors to share with us their secret to swag… little freebies that can sell a book longer after the author is no longer standing in front of a prospective reader. In order to create great swag, you have to be crafty – in more ways than one.
Today’s guest for the SWAG is Lija Fisher, author of the middle grade Cryptid Duology. Lija was raised in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. She received her BFA in Performance Studies from the University of Colorado. Prior to becoming an author, she trained for a while (a very short while) to be a Hollywood stunt person.
Finding something that represents your book and hasn’t been played out by a million authors before is difficult. What’s your swag?
I put together (with the help of the marketing guru Kirsten Cappy at Curious City) what I call my ‘Junior Cryptozoologist Kit.’ My books are about cryptozoology, the search for animals that might be real (Loch Ness Monster, the Yeti) so in this ‘kit’ I have a bookmark, ‘Bigfoot Believes in You’ sticker, junior cryptozoologist pin, and cryptid research cards that tell the origin story of four different legendary animals.
How much money per piece did your swag cost out of pocket?
The bookmark and stickers were $75 each to design, and then printing costs which vary depending on how many I order at one time. The pins were free from when I did a collaboration with the International Cryptozoology Museum. The biggest expense were the cryptid cards as I paid the illustrator $600 for the art, a few hundred to Curious City for the design, and then around $350 for printing. I won’t lie, it was a big expense that I set aside some of my advance money to pay for.
Do you find that swag helps you stand out at an event? (or) Does your swag draw people to your table at an event or conference?
Absolutely. The cryptid cards were a big expense, but they were so worth it. When kids walk by my table at an event I hold up the cards and ask them if they know the names of the animals. Asking kids about Bigfoot is a marvelous ice breaker! I then quiz them on their knowledge of cryptids and having the cards there is a huge draw. And adults LOVE the Bigfoot Believes in You stickers. My swag is always a conversation starter with both kids and adults and definitely leads to more book sales.
What do you think of big item swag pieces versus cheaper, yet more easily discarded swag like bookmarks?
Honestly, the only swag I feel is necessary for MG authors are bookmarks, especially if you do school visits. They’re a cheap thing to hand out to the kids and great marketing. Any swag beyond that is fun, and can help with branding and fun social media posts, but can cost a lot and their effect on sales is questionable. However, I think it's also possible to find unique swag that makes your book memorable but is also affordable (like my answer below!)
What’s the most clever / best swag by another author?
Andrea Wang has a picture book Magic Ramen about the history of ramen noodles, and at live events she hands out Cup O’ Noodles soup with a sticker of her book on there and I think that’s so spectacular! Affordable yet memorable!
And the biggest question – do you think swag helps sell books?
Ugh, such a hard question. Do we ever know what helps a book sell? My opinion is that any swag after bookmarks is fun and nifty, but does it move the needle much? Who knows. My guess would be ‘not a ton.’ So my advice for authors is to look at swag as a cost that you won’t recoup, and then have fun with whatever budget you’re under (or don’t bother with it at all!) And who’s to say that affordable swag is less impressive than expensive swag? What if your swag was a handmade poem in calligraphy that you created? Wonderful! Will it sell a single book? Who knows! What if it was more expensive? I one time offered a $45 pair of FABULOUS Bigfoot slippers on twitter as a pre-order gift and ONE person entered. As with everything in publishing, do what makes you happy, not what you think you should be doing, because who knows it it’ll work, but at least you’re enjoying the journey!