As you may have heard, Thomas Pynchon’s new novel INHERENT VICE was published last week, which is newsworthy for many reasons, but my favorite tidbit is that the notoriously publicity-shy Pynchon actually lent his voice to his book trailer and provided a playlist of songs for Amazon. It is indeed 2009. But other than these activities Pynchon is remaining completely out of sight as he has for virtually all of his life — there are hardly even any photographs of him.
This got me thinking about a perpetual debate among authors and publishing types: Can you be “just an author” these days, pecking away at a typewriter in a basement somewhere but otherwise completely eschewing publicity and remaining out of the public eye, Salinger- and Pynchon-style, writing in a bubble-like Platonic ideal of authordom?
I think a few authors can probably pull it off, particularly those who are already established. But it’s increasingly rare for authors breaking into the business.
Every author is a product of their time and had to deal with the realities and constraints of their publishing industry. Hemingway found his way to publication in part because he knew the right people (namely F. Scott Fitzgerald), and his success owed a great deal to his larger than life stature, a literary self-promotional archetype dating back to Byron and beyond. Herman Melville became famous because he wrote travelogues about far flung locales during a time when technology and trade was opening up the world, then crashed and burned when he tried to write novels about silly things like white whales, which didn’t even sell through its 3,000 print run.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the authors we most associate with seclusion and anonymity became popular in the late ’50s and ’60s, the time when counterculture and anti-establishment sentiment was running highest. Let’s face it – Pynchon and Salinger are some of our best writers, but the whole seclusion thing just added to their mystique and cred during a time when a popular phrase was “Turn on, tune in, drop out.” Pynchon and Salinger mastered the “drop out” part.
But setting aside what was true in the past, can an author today expect that they can write in, drop out and leave the publicity to the publisher?
Probably not.
As we all know, these are tough times for the publishing industry yada yada yada. Sure, publishers are buying fewer books, but they also have to make difficult decisions about which books will receive precious marketing dollars and the all-important “push” that can make the difference between obscurity and bestsellerdom. How do they make these decisions?
Often they go for bang for the buck. And one of the best ways to get bang for the buck is to start with an author who is doing everything they can to help out with publicity, thus multiplying the publisher’s efforts.
As Lisa McMann’s interview from a year ago describes, she received a push and lead-title status from her publisher for her novel WAKE in large part because of her self-marketing efforts. And, sure enough, WAKE wound up on the bestseller list.
This creates a self-perpetuating cycle. Authors who have platforms and who are savvy with their web presence and who are professional and composed and plugged into the industry have a better shot at receiving promotional dollars and marketing pushes from their publishers. Sure, there are exceptions, and let me state loud and clear that writing a great book is the most important thing.
But still, all things being equal, the edge goes to the plugged-in author. Take it from a real life sales assistant at a major publisher: they want you doing stuff. We can debate whether this is the best strategy or how many books blogs actually sell or whether this system is right or wrong until we’re hoarse, but the fact is: this is the way the business is right now.
And I don’t think it’s a coincidence.
Melville lived in a time when the world was physically opening up due to inventions like steam power, Hemingway and Fitzgerald lived in a time when radio and movies were helping create global celebrities, and Pynchon and Salinger became popular during a time of discontent and the rise of a powerful counterculture.
We live in a networked time. The Internet is quickly organizing itself into tribes of far-flung, plugged-in, like-minded individuals and shaping how we learn about the stories we consume. Popular books from THE SHACK to TWILIGHT spill out of highly devoted and connected small groups who then spread their passion to the population at large. The authors who engage their audience and inspire devoted clans of fans have a leg up over those who sit back and let the publisher take care of that whole promotional thing or who hope lightning will strike on its own.
There’s no such thing as “just an author” anymore, and I suspect there never was.
Just remember: even Cormac McCarthy went on Oprah.
Marketing 101: tattoos on young women. That's what made Twilight big, isn't it? (google twilight tattoos) Everybody will be lined up at the bookstore when I get published, or they'll have a great story! LOL
anon-
I don't know that anyone in publishing is necessarily expecting that authors are going to come in with a major built-in audience that's going to sell thousands of copies off the bat. More important is that there is somewhere for the author to get out news about their book, to interact with fans, and that the author's name is Google-able, etc.
I too question the wisdom of devoting too much time on a blog and don't ultimately know how many books they sell, but at the same time, I do think a solid, professional web-presence can definitely help build an author's brand and certainly helps with fan devotion. All it takes is a small core group of fanatical book evangelists to start spreading the word about a good book.
It's all about getting a foothold through publicity, then the book and word of mouth does the rest.
N- Definitely check out Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, if you haven't already. He talks a bit about some of this.
jonathan-
Yeah, I need to. It's on the list.
Rick-
Ha. Too true.
Thomas Pynchon was on The Simpsons. Voice and all. And he was a publicity hog.
Hi Nathan – love the blog. Thank you for it!
This post has motivated me to comment because I've been debating with myself about including my profession in my query letters. I work at an ad agency, and as a result, am pretty plugged in to social media and all things Internet. Would this be considered a bonus in the self-promotion department?
Thanks again!!
Terrific post, Nathan. I agree that nowadays you can't just be an author. When there is a lot of good product out there and limited shelf space – the best way to get the eyeballs is promotion. That's why they say that even bad publicity is good publicity. Personally, I would never seek out bad publicity but there are minds that go there.
The Internet and all its' machinations will eventually be one big… HEY, LOOK AT ME!
(if it isn't already)
Haste yee back 😉
Awesome post, Nathan. And I love the last line because really, if self-described 'gregarious loner' Cormac McCarthy can go on Oprah, then there is hope for all us wallflowers.
Your sample is skewed. You look at successful writers and see that 90% of them are into self-promotion and say, 'Ah-ha! What a correlation!'
But if you looked at unsuccessful writers, you'd see that 90% of them are into self-promotion, too.
And if you look at the Big Successes, you'll find that they engaged in heavy marketing -after- the book took off. Not before. In the majority of cases, they hit the jackpot and then pushed like crazy to increase their winnings. They didn't push themselves into the jackpot in the first place.
If you read the Pimp My Book post, you'll find these marketing ideas:
Buy that mega sweet domain name.
Blog about yourself and your book.
Tweet about it.
Change your latest Facebook employment to "author" and announce your good fortune in your status.
Network, network, network.
Let your critique group know.
Go to literary events. If you don't already know the booksellers at your local stores (national chains and indies) by their first names, now's the time to start.
Total sales 31.
Consider hiring your own publicist. He or she may be able to work wonders for you.
Total cost? Thousands. Total sales? Less than thousands, in almost every case. (Excluding the lottery-winning chance of getting on Oprah.)
Order business cards.
Call your bookseller friends. Ask if you can do author events, readings, signings, everything, anything.
Ask friendly established authors to blurb or promote your book, allow you to guest-blog for them, read with them at area book stores, and so on. You can't do too much of this. You really can't.
Blog, update your website, tweet, guest-blog, readings, tours, podcasts, blog posts, e-mail blasts, local radio shows, infomercials, impromptu subway performances, &c.
Total sales: 24.
Those numbers are just averages, of course. You can raise them if you make marketing a full-time job, and step away from the writing.
The Dynamic Depressor
Ah, the internet, where a nit picked over a throwaway phrase can be supplemented with video evidence.
The phrase "turn on, tune in, drop out," is not merely a call from a bygone era, but actually the title of the latest single by 90s alt-rockers Cracker. The track is currently quite popular and is actually quite representative of a group, let's call them neo-luddites, who are rejecting the always-on, constantly connected, digital world that so many of us say will be the democratizing force which will some how save all of us.
Not that doing so will make you a better writer, but there is something to be said about finding isolation with art.
And now, the video evidence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyxIrfjla88
As a bookseller I have some experience with what drives people into a bookstore looking for a particular book. Word of mouth is the number one stimulus, followed very closely by the author appearing on Oprah. (When a book is featured on Oprah, customers call to have copies held before the show ends.)
But I often hear readers say they want to buy a certain book because they saw the author on TV, heard him on the radio, or saw an article on her. (Once a customer wanted a book because of an article about the author in USA Today. He didn’t know the author’s name or the title but he did know it was in Wednesday’s edition. I ended up diving into the recycling bin to retrieve the newspaper.)
I think nonfiction authors have an advantage when publicizing a book. A nonfiction author has expertise on a certain topic, and can give talks and interviews based on that subject. A novelist can perhaps do a reading, but some books don’t shine based on a short reading. And I don’t see many interviews with novelists whose books are not yet selling well.
One good place to publicize a book is Book TV on C-Span2 on the weekends. I keep up on what authors are featured because I know customers will be asking for some of the titles.
I’ve had very few customers ask for a book because of the author’s blog or something they saw on the web. Perhaps the readers that discover books and authors on the web tend to order books online.
I think a few people can get away with it if they just have to. Iain Lawrence, a YA writer lives on the same island as me here in Canada. He does zero public speaking, almost no interviews, does not have a website except what Random House has put up for him, but he's got a career. Granted, it might be a lot bigger if he worked it, but sometimes it depends on what you want out of life. He won the Govenor's General award a couple of years ago (Canadian comparable to the National Book Award), which I'm sure certainly gave all his sales a boost too. But that said, not being out there promoting your books does have its negative effects, even if you sell well to libraries. For example, he lives a couple of miles from me, I run into him in the grocery store occasionally and we chat, and I didn't even know he had a new book out until the librarian mentioned it to me. I could name ten or fifteen books from other authors that don't come out until next year but that I know about from the web (people are already blogging about mine and I'm a debut author and it doesn't come out until May). I think, especially as a newbie, you really have to put yourself out there. And I think it's fun, so that makes it easier for me. Iain didn't even go to collect his GGA because he was too shy! But he's got a life he seems to love, so I think he's doing everything right for himself.
Back to the old guilt-inducing question: Should I be blogging and FBing or should I be writing? I suspect your answer will be that frustration-inducing catch-all solution, "It's all about BALANCE."
Even if it's true, it makes me feel all the more guilty when I realize I can't balance very well, either. Can't I just clone myself and do everything at once? 🙂
Thanks, though, for reminding me that no writer is an island.
I think that the key to self-promotion is to impress your publisher, not the great net-worked public. I have to say, having been through the cycle four times, my sentiments are with the Great Depressor. SELF-promotion doesn't amount to anything close to what your PUBLISHER can do if they get behind you. So your first and biggest impression should be made on your publisher (which means, among other things, on your PR work with your publicist and editor, loop everything through them–and use all the platforms your publisher gives their authors for promotion, such as publisher-sited author blogs. Don't ignore these.)
But still, I suspect that the big breakouts owe most of their success to the random Black Swan effect. Google Grumpy Old Bookman for a very interesting discussion on this. I have to take kids to school now…
I'm an aspiring author and a fairly private person; just yesterday I asked another literary agent if a writer could succeed while using a pen name to remain otherwise anonymous. [I guess that makes me part of the networked brain too.]
If the price for fame and fortune as a writer is my privacy then I'll just have to pay up (or shut up). With enough fortune I'm sure I can learn how to cope. 🙂
Richard-
I'm almost with you and I think impressing your publisher is a valuable distinction to make, but that "impressiveness" also extends to bookstore buyers when they're placing orders, and that can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. So all of these lines are blurry.
I do think there's something to be said for a motivated core audience, which can be built through effective networking and self-promotion. From there it's a matter of word-of-mouth catching, and of course that all-important publisher push.
So I wouldn't discount personal networks entirely. You're right that the publisher can probably make the bigger difference, but it's not an either-or situation. Every little bit helps.
anon – Maybe blogging, tweeting, blurbing and reading won't secure me thousands in book sales, but these actions make me feel like I'm taking an active role in my success.
That succeeding in the publishing business isn't all about luck. That I can do something to increase my chances and focus my energy on another aspect of the business. It's not all about writing and editing. This is my career and marketing is part of it.
Thanks Anonymous, for having the balls to speak up.
I'd rather it take a lifetime or two for my writing to be recognized than to peddle myself as a brand sans content.
Everyone seems to be in such a rush to make it huge, without considering whether or not their hype is sustainable.
This is a post near and dear to my heart.
Fame, even teensy bits of it, leads to too much attention, which invariably leads to trouble.
Add to that, I can't stand the culture of celebrity of any kind. It gets more obnoxious all the time.
However, I'm sure you're right.
We need to whore ourselves to survive. It makes me think I not only should I never have left art school, but I should have taken men up on the absurd amounts of money they offered me for sex.
You said it: "The authors who engage their audience and inspire devoted clans of fans have a leg up…"
And wrapped around too, no doubt. So true.
Great post. Put ever so much more tactfully than I ever could. Thanks.
Phew, Terry, that's alittle intense.
You know, I was thinking about this, and I think that as writers, there are some creative marketing tactics that tap into our strengths.
For some reason I still don't understand, it just sort of happened, I went onto a website once as a character of mine. She was an overnight sensation. When she would come onto the blog, word would spread and everyone would flock to her posts. She was famous. Hundreds of people go to this site. It was bizarre, I've never had an experience like it. If I had a book that had featured her, I would have created a huge following right there.
This is absolutely true. I could point you to the website. I left that site because it time consuming. I still plan to write a book based on that character. And then I'll go onto sites as her. 🙂
My point is the internet is a playground, and we've just begun to tap it. Character blogs, Story blogs, Advice blogs, Role-playing blogs, or websites. Going onto other sites in character. Or sites set up with multiple authors. There are all kinds of things. And the nice thing about the internet, for us introverts, is that it's all creative writing.
Anyway, just a thought.
I don't think there's anything wrong with author's promoting themselves (if they're classy and respectful about it) but I'm not very good at it myself. I don't talk comfortably with strangers and am wildly uncomfortable when I talk myself up.
I'm the worst job interviewee this side of that guy who says he ought to be hired for the bomb he packed in his briefcase alone.
A little word of mouth would be nice, maybe some decent reviews. If it's all up to me and my charm, I might as well go back to sweeping floors.
Mira said:
And the nice thing about the internet, for us introverts, is that it's all creative writing
I've thought about that too. I'm not sure if I'd say it's all creative writing, but it's definitely practice. And you know what they say about practice…
I said that terribly.
Thanks Steph.
I agree. The internet is good practice. And I also think marketing on the internet plays to our strengths. Or it can.
Back. Kids grumpy about the lunch Mom packed.
Yup, you will definitely increase your chances of being struck by random lightning if you go out and vigorously wave a tall metal pole. That's one of the images I have concerning blogs and websites and Facebook and so on and so forth and whatever next new thing comes along(and alas, I haven't updated website in a while).
Hi Nathan, recently discovered the blog and it's now a daily visit – many thanks.
As I head towards book number five this profile lifting technique is beginning to look more and more tempting.
https://crimespace.ning.com/profiles/blogs/537324:BlogPost:127450
You make very important points, Nathan. It all starts with a great novel. But really, there are many great novels out there… or potentially great ones, anyhow. So how does the author make him/herself stand out as a good prospect for the publisher? Even if what an individual can accomplish using the internet and social networking is not that impressive (the commenters who point out that blogs often have increasingly limited readership and are full of potential pitfalls have a point, certainly), just showing that you are savvy and interested and willing to go the extra mile… that has to make you more worth betting on, right?
Hey Mira, It's a tongue-n-cheek thing. I don't mean to be intense, but, now that you mention it, I could be, maybe a little.
But I'm talking about ourselves, like our own bodies out there. Never mind our poor little minds.
I'm all for any playground, and I'd love to tap into it, as long as I can be the make-believe person you talk about. Fine. Virtual playgrounds, yea.
But in real life, it can get a bit crazier than that.
Hi Nathan!
I have to admit I have become a hermit this summer – spending eight to twelve hours a day working on my book and studying the craft.
Not that I always plan on being a recluse, but for now I just want to focus on creating a phenomal debut novel. (I have developed the perfectionist disease!) When it is close to being done (Very soon – Woohoo!) I will network like crazy!
I have fallen in love with the craft of writing. It's been an amazing journey watching myself grow these past eight months. I love this ride!
Nathan –
Have you ever considered posting about the breakdown of marketing costs? What actually goes into marketing?
I take it that much of the cost needs to come out of the advance, but wonder what kind of marketing you can get for the levels of advances (a nice deal vs. a very nice deal).
Just curious.
For Kristin Laughtin (and anyone else interested in the Oprah interview with Cormac McCarthy), you can watch the interview online.
See all Oprah things Road-related here:
https://www.oprah.com/article/oprahsbookclub/road/road_book_synopsis/
Sorry. Cut that link short somehow. Here it is again:
https://www.oprah.com/article/oprahsbookclub/road/road_book_synopsis
Crap. I don't know why that's cutting off. And I can't delete the comments. (Sorry Nathan! Feel free to delete that duplicate, bad post.)
The end of the url is:
… road/road_book_synopsis
I agree completely. With the "easy" way it is to befriend people on Facebook and twitter, authors need to be out there building up a readership. It takes a lot of time, but the day will come when it will be worth it.
One final comment on a great post that's echoed with me.
There is the intriguing question of personality and how it correlates to self-promotion. Wouldn't extroverts do better at self-promotion and platform than others (myself included) who are introverts? I think it's easy for introverted writers to feel that social networking is an unfair burden and not an advantageous opportunity. We are susceptible to brooding over the fact that the success of one's book is more and more these days dependent on one's personality. (If there are psychologists following Nathan—surely there must be—I think a lot of people would be interested in your observations on this topic).
Even with the faceless nature of the Internet, I have found it difficult to promote myself. There are several things I keep in mind (although lately the writing of a new novel has so possessed me that I feel I'm in the middle of a metafictional ghost story—and which raises the separate issue of time management but I digress…):
1) Don't consider it as "self-promotion" but as "helping others." You know, ask not what a writer's site can do for you but ask what you can do for the writer's site.
2) If you've written something you're passionate about or deeply interested in (and generally speaking, that should be part of any book), then parlay that passion and interest into your on-line presence.
3) If you don't have the gifts to wing it, then prepare prepare prepare. I was a panel speaker at the 2nd Ubud Writers and Readers Festival in Bali (which this year is featuring a terrific lineup, including Nobel laureates JM Coetzee and Wole Soyinka ) and boy, did I botch it. I was horrible, terrible, floundering, tongue cloven to roof of mouth. I so thoroughly embarrassed myself that when I was invited to be a speaker at a conference on Literature and Fundamentalism* in Germany, I spent two months working on a 20 minute talk that in the end was tremendously well-received (in part because I told jokes after a series of heavy academic presentations). The point being, if PR efforts don't come naturally, then they can certainly come easier if you work at it.
Sorry for the comment length…I've tried to be as brief as possible.
* This was for my first YA novel THE FLAME TREE about the son of American medical missionaries in Java and his friendship with a local Muslim boy, set against the events of 9/11—my most appreciative audience turned out not to be teens but their parents. The title was out of stock but is now available on Kindle – if you liked KITE RUNNER, you will enjoy this book. And believe me, it goes against my nature to post this blurb about myself, but on other hand, I do passionately believe in the themes of tolerance, understanding, and forgiveness. (Kirkus slammed the novel as being a disgrace to Islam but in fact one of Indonesia's largest Muslim organization picked it up for their university's English department as a respectful and thoughtful view from the other side of the fence, which led to the conference invitation).
terry-
I think your original post largely boils down to expectations. No writer has to do a lick of self-promotion. But I don't know that they should then expect a large audience or the promotional backing of their publisher. If a writer is content with whatever audience they're going to get just by putting a book out there… that's perfectly respectable. Prostitution metaphors need not apply. But authors who want the best odds at breaking out — some preparation, professionalism and self-promotion can go a long way.
In The Wire they talk about The Game. The Game might not be right or fair, it just is. It's just reality. Publishers expect what I described in the post out of authors they're going to back. They're picking between great books and favoring some over others. It may not be right or smart or whatever else, it's just The Game. The authors that know how to play it win more than the ones that refuse to play.
Richard-
I think that's a really great point about thinking of it as "helping others" rather than self-promotion. The Golden Rule absolutely applies. I can think of a lot of authors who are incredibly supportive of their fellow writers, and not only does it make the world a better place it does also make people more inclined to read their books.
PurpleClover-
That would be an interesting post, although we might need a marketing specialist to do a cost breakdown. Publisher marketing activities can vary a lot, from the very obvious/usual (sending out review copies) to the very creative (viral marketing campaigns).
Speaking as a micro-publisher with no marketing or publicity budget, the more the contributors help promote and sell the journals their stories appear in, the more money I take in to pay contributors and expand my lines. It just makes sense for a writer/author to do what they can to help sell publications regardless of whether it is a fledgling micro-press or one of the big publishing houses. Not doing anything to help sell the book, journal, magazine one is published in is biting the hand that feeds you.
My two cents on the subject.
Ah, this old conundrum. I used to be really naive about marketing. My first publishers wanted me to do a photoshoot to sell books. While I was flattered that they thought I had 'trade-worthy' looks, I insisted that I wanted to sell only my words. For years, the 'gallery' on my website just had a quote from Daphne du Maurier: "Writers should be read but neither seen nor heard".
This time around? I've let them doll me up like this for the release photos (to fit in with the dark feel of the book) and in the interim, the gallery looks like this.
Authors today simply can't afford to be retiring wallflowers. *Sigh*
Years ago I developed a very enthusiastic marketing plan for a fictional series, but have since learned each book in a series has to stand alone. If anything, my marketing plan is a good motivator to stay on track with a little tweaking here and there, plus it works as outline to envision the whole picture, whether the book is done or not.
The hermit-writer is the romantized image I grew up with, typing on a glass-keyed clunker in a cabin-setting, but authors who can manage time to write and market their books are equally inspiring. Meeting an author or watching an interview definately makes me feel more connected to that author. Meanwhile, until an author is actually there in front of the headlights, researching a marketing plan is great way to learn more about the business of writing.
Nathan, is it correct to assume that queries for non-fiction books should include a marketing proposal, but queries for fiction, should keep the marketing plan to a sentence or slip it in with your publishing credits?
If you have an established audience for your work, I think you can be "just an author." You know, Steven King, Joyce Carol Oates, Elmore Leonard, people like that.
For the new writer, I do not believe you can be "just an author" anymore. Too much is against you. You have to be your own content creator, producer, and publicist. How you do it depends on what kind of audience you want to have.
Self promotion is all well and good, and of course, you can no longer trust the publisher to promote their investment, but with all this energy going toward promotion, when does the author have the time/energy to write anymore?
Sorry Nathan, But if you think my post boiled down to expectations, you missed my point completely.
Reality, was essentially the point, actually.
Richard:
"Even with the faceless nature of the Internet, I have found it difficult to promote myself."
Hell, I have a handful of novels out, and just got an offer on a two-book deal. (A small offer, but still.) And I'm sitting here writing this as 'The Great Depressor!'
Kia:
If you're gorgeous, you'd be a fool not to use your looks–even if they wanna dress you up like a scary goth! I look like a cross between Jack Black and a cantaloupe, but if I were Sebastian Junger (or Nathan friggin' Bransford!) I'd never wear a shirt. Let 'em come for the beauty–then stay for the words.
The GD
"I vant to be alone," says the most reclusive actress of all time, (or is purported to have stated. Or was that a line from one of her movies? I get confused between what is fact and legend)
But what I do know is this; that's a sentence I would never want engraved on my tombstone. First place it started with "I", followed by words I would never pen, much less say and live.
To be a successful author over the long haul these days, requires that you do whatever your employer, the publisher, asks you to do.
And taking it a step further, it would certainly behoove a newbie author to take the initiative and market and self-promote their own book, if the publisher doesn't make the book a high priority, and it lands somewhere on the dusty backshelves in Oz, instead of the holy grail of placement at B & N.
Don't get mad, get even. This is the best kind of revenge because everybody benefits.
I live by three Do's as a beginning writer: DO Write. DO Read. DO Write.
I also live by three Do Not's: DO NOT complain. DO NOT be an idiot on certain days of the week,(ie M-F during business hours). DO NOT piss off my chance at publishing by willfully disobeying the rules of publishing etiquette, and/or its requirements.
As an author, put your shoulder to the wheel, and make a good faith effort to do whatever's asked of you to market a book you've been paid to write. No matter your circumstances.
JUST DO IT!
Oh yeah, there's a fourth DO. I knew I was missing one.
Terry-
My mistake. I read sarcasm into that, but I think I misread.
Nathan, what about those who blog under fake names (like WriterWoman or LisaWrites–just made those up, sorry if they match someone's real blogger name, or just one's first name) as so many do? Most people, I assume do this for safety/privacy reasons. Is the idea that the Big Reveal will come when the blogger sells a book? In that case, do you recommend a straight author website with a link to the prexisting, but not eponymous, blog? Or do you suggest a blog with the author's actual name from the start?
These are two separate issues–marketing post book sale vs getting an agent, but you say the author should be google-able, so does that mean full name blog from the submission stage is best?