Wayne Curtis sells his books in convenience stores along the Miramichi. Miramichers must be loyal too. Peter Clark has a stall in the Boyce Farmers' Market. Other New Brunswick writers place their books in drugstores and gift shops.

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Nancy Bauer

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The marketing of their art is mystifying to most artists, made even more mystifying with the burgeoning of the Internet. A writer, told by his publisher that he should have a website, got one. Has it done any good, he wonders? Artists can have reproductions of their paintings on their websites; writers can only have excerpts from their books - not too sexy. Musicians invariably have web pages with snippets of their music, but that's a subject for another time.

Artists are motivated not just by personal gain in marketing their books and paintings. They know it's only fair to the publisher and gallery owners who take big risks. But what kind of work pays off? There's the rub.The Internet is supposed to be important in this marketing, but does anyone surf the Net in search of a book or a painting that might interest them? Certainly not in the way you surf the bookstore or the art gallery. You go to the Internet for a book you already have heard about.

George Fry sent me the URL of his new website, georgefrycreates.ca. It's stylish, handsome, with wonderful photos of his masks and one-off books. It made me think, I'd like a website like that. He writes, "I feel it is somewhat arrogant, but one must go out with a bang and be contemporary." A friend sent this response: "Having one's own website is not in the least bit arrogant - as an artist it's essential." I too think he's right to have a presence on the Internet although I don't know why exactly.

The Internet is hampered by it own runaway success: it's too disorganized, too anonymous. The only organizing principle is an arbitrary Google search. Ana Watts sent me a comic article from The New Yorker, "Subject: Our Marketing Plan." In a parody letter to an author, "Propensity Books" says that it is not spending money to promote the writer's new book because the company is poor, although it is sending its staff members to the Frankfort Book Fair. In the spoof, full of truth I suspect, the letter writer says that the author himself should promote the book through the Internet: blogging, Facebook, Twitter.

Then there are book tours. Do they sell books? Wayne Johnston told a story of a tour that took him to California. The person in charge of the tour was asked by the host if Johnston would be able to climb the stairs to the third-floor venue. The question was asked several times. Finally Johnston did climb the stairs and found himself in a room with many elderly black people. It turns out that "Wayne Johnston" is also the name of an 85-year-old black hero. I looked at writer Johnston's website. It hasn't been updated for three years. I'm told that this is a bad practice.

Years ago Billy Valgardson gleefully described how he marketed his work. Friends sent him phone books from which he would cull Icelandic names to make a promotion mailing list. He also set up a booth at the Icelandic festival in Gimli, Manitoba. Icelanders, he said, were very loyal to their own.

M.T. (Jean) Dohaney tells me that Newfoundlanders are also loyal, supporting their writers big time, buying their books, attending readings and launches in droves. Wayne Curtis sells his books in convenience stores along the Miramichi. Miramichiers must be loyal too. Peter Clark has a stall in the Boyce Farmers' Market. Other New Brunswick writers place their books in drugstores and gift shops.

Dale Estey was told by St. Martin's Press that the marketing strategy for his novel, The Lost Tale, was being completely overhauled because the manuscript had been given a glowing blurb by Madeleine L'Engle. The overhaul included a new cover design. He was pleased, but mystified.

In our part of the world, newspapers don't carry book or painting ads although they do have ads for readings and art exhibits. How much does a splashy full page ad cost in the NY Times Book Review? A full-page ad in Salon?

In a review of Malcolm Gladwell's latest book, Janet Maslin writes, "People who bought Mr. (Ben) Fountain's short story collection, Brief Encounters with Che Guevara, on Amazon.com have also bought Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer. Why? They must have made the otherwise inexplicable Fountain-Foer connection on Mr. Gladwell's recommendation." Print still does sell books and the visual arts: a review in a newspaper that makes you think: that sounds right up my alley or a review of an art exhibition that suggests the artist is worth collecting.

I've heard it said that word of mouth is the best marketing tool. "Have you read this book? It's fantastic." Nothing mystifying in that.

Nancy Bauer is a writer of fiction and arts commentary based in Fredericton. She can be reached at wbauer@nbnet.nb.ca.