Once upon a time, I decided to write fiction. I consumed as many sources of craft advice (agent blogs, how-to-write books, author Twitter threads, etc.) as I could find. That advice often came in absolutes, as in, always write a certain genre in a certain tense, never start a story with a character waking up, and definitely don’t ever use -ly adverbs. Click the title above to continue reading.
Category: On Book Marketing
Book launching in the time of COVID-19 #AuthorToolboxBlogHop
My beloved critique partner is launching her debut right now. She came up in the query trenches, won herself a spot in a competition for editing services, got herself an agent, and then, reader, she landed herself a two-book deal with Amazon imprint Thomas & Mercer. This post is dedicated to Elle Marr, whose thriller THE MISSING SISTER is launching April 1, 2020, and to all the other authors launching books in the time of COVID-19. My academic and professional background is in marketing and fundraising, so gather ’round, my wonderful scribes, and I’ll tell you the secrets to marketing during a pandemic.
Is your book cover photogenic? #AuthorToolboxBlogHop
Increasingly, readers are photographing books and posting said photographs on social media and book blogs. This in mind, I asked my super talented photographer friend Sarah if there were qualities that could make one book cover not quite as photogenic as the next. She and I hit a bookstore to find out. Click the title above to continue reading.
How to make sure your book is social media quotable #AuthorToolboxBlogHop
From a marketing standpoint, we authors want to see our books mentioned and photographed by as many readers as possible, as many times as possible, across social media and the blogosphere. I, personally, am more likely to post about a book more often, if that book has one or more quotable passages. And by quotable passages, I mean passages that…Click the title above to continue reading.
Negative space, as important to author marketing as it is to writing (#IWSG Blog Hop)
There are no books traditionally published in the modern era without paragraph breaks or negative space. And so it follows, that if readers appreciate negative space in books, they appreciate it elsewhere, as in every representation of your author brand (with the exception of book covers and related print materials such as bookmarks.) Click the title above to continue reading.
Handling author Q&As to ensure a more positive experience #AuthorToolboxBlogHop
As a frequenter of book readings and author workshops, I’ve sometimes noticed a moment when the author loses part of their audience, the part that cares about how the author is reacting to questions. Perhaps the author becomes dismissive, defensive, passive-aggressive, or skirts the question entirely. Below is a list of common question types with example answers that can leave an aftermath of negativity as well as alternatives to keep audience members in that book-buying zone. Click the title above to continue reading.
Why book marketing is a numbers game (#IWSG Blog Hop)
I feel like it’s the job of every high school math teacher to drone on about how no matter a student’s desired profession, they’ll need math, and it’s the job of every right-brained student, myself included, to believe that teacher is lying through their teeth. Years later, I found out that marketing is intertwined with so much math, I had to take seven courses steeped in numbers before they would give me my diploma. Click the title above to continue reading.
Using marketing research to set up your author platform #AuthorToolboxBlogHop
Marketing research is accomplished in five steps, step three being what I workshop in this post for three pieces of the author platform. Click the title above to continue reading.
On balancing and weighting writing advice (#IWSG Blog Hop)
You’re stuck on a question about how to use a writing device, and off to the Internet/library/bookstore you go. Perhaps you stop after article number one, thinking certainly this must be the definitive answer, because this publishing professional has game to spare. She may well, but still your search should continue. Why? Click the title above to continue reading.
The 4 Ps of marketing for authors (#IWSG Blog Hop)
The ‘4 Ps of Marketing’ form a pie chart also referred to as the ‘Marketing Mix,’ which I break down in terms of how it relates to selling books. Click the title above to continue reading.
Raimey Gallant 