Yes I'll do social media, but does it work for non-fiction? - Moira Butterfield

I have a new book out this week but I might not hear about it much in my own country…Not yet.

Here it is! 

Children’s non-fiction gets no media reviewing in the UK (though I'm aware here's precious little for anyone). As a genre it’s only begun to get bookshop support in the UK over the last five years. Before that time we were shoved down in the darkest far corner of the kid’s book area, and we were never offered royalties.

Things have changed. We’ve got more respect. However, we still get the minimum of publicity. I’ve never actually heard of a non-fiction book launch unless it’s a book that’s first and foremost a picture book.

Currently this seems more likely than a non-fiction book launch event!
(from the new book. Illustration by Studio Fago). 

There’s a good reason why publishers don’t direct their UK efforts towards us, I think. Colour-illustrated non-fiction sells big around the world. We can launch with first-year print runs for ten countries or more and that’s how the authors, illustrators and publishers make money. Sales in the UK are not the major source so expending publicity department power on a big UK launch isn’t economically sensible. We tend to ‘slow burn’ in the UK, with sales building over time. Non-fiction awards help with that, plus word-of-mouth - especially teacher-generated book selections.

It often feels as though we're more likely to get big book sales here than in the UK 

Having said that all authors are being asked to make more effort on social media, as publishers have decided that this could help them to sell more in lockdown times and in the months afterwards. They're asking how many followers we have. For the reasons I've mentioned I don't see how that's a particularly relevant question for non-fiction. I stand to be corrected, however, if someone thinks I'm underestimating the effect of social media on 'international' non-fiction.

I'm up for doing anything to help so I’ll be doing YouTube movies (once I get a haircut) and trying to get to grips with my website so that I can update it properly with activity pages. I’m also doing my best on Instagram and Twitter. However, to be honest we non-fiction authors can’t conjure a vast UK following out of thin air – and as our sales are elsewhere it does feel rather like we’re ‘barking in the dark’ on these platforms. I hope that publishing departments take that into account if they decide to look at our follower numbers. Things will change over time, I hope, but we non-fiction authors being featured in bookshops are frankly early pioneers when it comes to publicity. 

So now you will have got the picture that writing non-fiction isn’t going to get anyone on TV, but we do have a couple of big hidden advantages - buoyant foreign sales and the fact that UK celebrities generally haven’t bothered to stick their noses in to take our cake slice for themselves (a couple have got involved but I doubt they’ll do it much once they see the size of the UK slice).

So look out for my book and I hope you buy it for all the primary school children in your life, to help them get inspired about the future...But, despite my best efforts, don’t expect to see it trending on social media any time soon!

(Am I wrong about the effect of social media on children's non-fiction? Please tell me if you think I am. We're all trying to learn what to do for the best.) 

Moira Butterfield’s new book, A Trip to the Future (Big Picture Press), aims to inspire kids to think creatively about science and about inventions they would like (or dislike) in the future world. It encourages them to imagine the future based on today’s science developments, and it’s excitingly illustrated by Fago Studio.

The endpaper of the future!

Moira Butterfield

www.moirabutterfield.com

Twitter @moiraworld

Instagram @moirabutterfieldauthor