How to make your publisher happy!

Hurray! You’ve got a publisher for your book! Congratulations! Cross another task off your writing to-do list!

And add another one: Make your publisher happy.

Turning in your manuscript is just the beginning of your relationship with your publisher, and if you hope to make it a long and happy connection, you need to nurture and nourish it, just as you would with any important relationship in your life. Here are a few tips I’ve gleaned from my experience with regional, national, and international publishers:

Give your publisher priority. If she says she needs you to come up with back cover copy, send it to her by the end of the day. If she needs a revision, put everything else on hold to meet her deadline. Your prompt response to her requests makes her job easier, and she will appreciate you as a team player she can count on.
Keep your publisher informed about what you’re doing to market your book in real time. Yes, in your book proposal, you listed marketing tasks you would do, but be sure to let your publisher know as you complete them. Keeping your publisher updated assures him that you are holding up your end of the project (and it reminds you to be accountable for your marketing responsibility). If you add marketing opportunities to your original plan, be sure to share those with your publisher, too, as they occur. The fact that you’re investing more time and effort than you initially proposed will impress your publisher and maybe even encourage him to extend additional marketing support/resources.
Send a thank-you note, flowers, or small gift to express your gratitude for your publisher’s confidence in you. Everyone likes to feel appreciated, even your publisher. (Maybe ESPECIALLY your publisher!)
Ask yourself how you can help your publisher be successful. Of course, you want your book to become an overnight bestseller, which would go a long way towards making your publisher both successful and happy, but chances are slim that’s going to happen. Instead, consider other ways you can contribute to your publisher’s success, like promoting the company’s other authors’ books on your social networks, posting your reviews of those books, and sharing promotion strategies that have worked for you.
Ask your publisher how you can help her meet her goals. Offer to contact bookstores and set up your own signings and events. Many small or regional publishers don’t have the staff to manage marketing projects, so whatever you can do will be appreciated. Offer to share your publisher’s book list with shops you frequent either as a customer or an author and encourage the store buyer to review the list for ‘finds’ of books they might want to add to inventory.
Always include the name of your publisher in any press release or promotional pieces you produce. You’re giving your publisher free publicity they might not otherwise get.

Do you have any tips for making your publisher happy?