Tag: fiction

Marketing Fiction: Beyond Book Reviews

Posted on by Claire McKinney

At the recent Pikes Peak Writers Conference (PPWC) I gave a presentation on identifying major and minor themes that can help with marketing fiction.   Let’s face it.   For indie authors, book reviews in any traditional sense are difficult to come by.  We all want to end up in the New York Times, but there are over 1 million books published every year and only 52 New York Times Book Reviews.  Even with a publicist who knows people at the Times who make editorial decisions, by the numbers it looks like a long haul to getting that review in the paper.

The Problem with “Book” Marketing

Many writers think of their books as singular products, referring to them as my “novel”, “mystery series”, “fantasy”, “romance”, “coming-of-age novel”, etc.  I have been working on marketing fiction for twenty-five years and I can honestly tell you that trying to sell your book to a reviewer based on, “this is a great new novel” is not going to cut it in our competitive world.

One Solution to Fiction Promotion Challenges

There are many strategies you can use, like digital pr, but the one I suggest first is dissecting your book to go beyond book reviews. In my presentation, I described the process using a book we all know, The Great Gatsby.  I analyzed it through a more comprehensive lens–digging deep into any promotional angle I could find. Here is an outline of the process you can try on your book(s).

The Deep Dive for Marketing Fiction

  1. Open a blank document or take a clean sheet of paper. Write the title and genre of your book at the top.
  2. Make two columns, one called “book assets” and the other “my assets”
  3. In the “book assets” column write a list of the locations in your book; any topics that it covers (in Gatsby the list included Prohibition and Class Wars); and anything particularly interesting about the characters.
  4. In the “my assets” column make a list of things that pertain to you and your brand, such as where you live and where you grew up.  Add items like what you do beyond writing; any parts of the book based on your own personal experience; why you wrote what you wrote; and any additional interests, hobbies, or skills that you have.
  5. Now make a list at the bottom of the page of where you can imagine finding interest in the items in either list.  Is there a story in the media that relates to your topics?  In addition to being a novel, does you book include anything of interest to health care, psychology, or business? If your book is a mystery, note mystery outlets that you would target online and in print.
  6. Finally, pretend you are a reporter and write some mock headlines based on your list of angles and outlets.  The Great Gatsby in today’s world might inspire a headline like “Class Divides in New Novel Mirror the Culture of Celebrity and Billionaires vs. Everyone Else”; or “New Novel Explores Whether Class is Defined by your Market Value or by Knowledge and Manners.”

Thank You English Teachers

Remember English Class?  Yup, this process has some similarities.  The exercise will help you think about marketing fiction in a broader way.  It will also help enhance the number of opportunities it will have in the media.  Marketing fiction is always a challenge.  The first step to getting more press and attention is to see how many latent themes and topics your book can address.

For information on marketing fiction, see Case Studies #3

Explore our blog and search for what you need to know.

The Expedition by Chris Babu

Posted on by CMPR

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:      

 “They say you don’t shoot to kill; you shoot to stay alive.”

 THE EXPEDITION

By CHRIS BABU

A generation after most of humanity was destroyed by the deadly superbug Aeru, a micro society rises from the ruins of what was formerly known as Manhattan. This miniature civilization of survivors is known as New America, a place where every citizen is supposedly considered equal. Yet, zones segregated by thick walls according to job and status suggest otherwise. Just two weeks prior, in order to earn a higher quality of life for their families, several young high school graduates signed up as pledges for the infamous Initiation test. Those who survived barely have the opportunity to enjoy their success.

In book two of the Initiation series, THE EXPEDITION (Permuted Press, ISBN: 978-1682618356, Hardcover, January 2019), author Chris Babu returns to New America where Drayden, Catrice, Charlie, and Sidney are targeted by their despot ruler, The Premiere, for another death-defying mission. They were promised a better life for their families, and after risking everything to get it, they now learn that there is just one more thing they need to do—save the world from its looming demise.

In THE EXPEDITION, the four pledges join forces with the elite security team, the Guardians, to leave the uncontaminated safety of New America.  They must venture beyond the walls into the unknown to find deep-cycle windmill batteries and search for signs of life. Without these batteries, all power in New America will cease and its citizens will die. In addition, Drayden harbors a personal agenda—finidng his mother, who was brutally exiled to live outside the city’s walls.

 Although Premiere Holst assured them that the Guardians would serve and protect them, the relationship between the two groups is contentious. Add to this the obvious hurdles of battling desperate post-Confluence creatures and deranged survivors, and the potential of contracting Aeru, and the journey seems like it is doomed to fail.

With a degree in Mathematics from M.I.T., Babu draws upon his knowledge to create increasingly difficult quandaries the pledges must solve to reach their goal.  Like Rick Riordan who imparted his love of mythology to middle-grade readers in the Percy Jackson series, Babu wants to encourage kids to find the fun in math and problem solving.

In a battle of brains versus brawn among ruins of the Aeru ravaged jungle beyond New America’s walls, Drayden, Catrice, Charlie, and Sidney face the most puzzling challenge of all time—how to survive.  A perfect triad of math, science, and harrowing adventure, THE EXPEDITION will have the heart and mind racing, cheering for a new generation of teenage heroes.

About the Author

Chris Babu is a self-proclaimed science and math nerd who grew up playing soccer and the violin in North Haven, CT.  He was a bond trader on Wall Street for nineteen years, and his first novel, The Initiation, was published in 2018.  He lives on the east end of Long Island with his wife, daughter, and 130-pound Great Dane, Buddy.

 

The Exile by Gregory Erich Phillips

Posted on by CMPR

“Everything was dark.  Though her eyes could see little, her other senses became acute, telling her she wasn’t dreaming. Terror reached down into the pit of her stomach as her worst fear was revealed by the sound of whirring jets and the sensation of changing air pressure—she was on an airplane…was she really being deported? Even after everything that led up to this, it was unbelievable.”

THE EXILE

A novel by

 Gregory Erich Phillips

As a pre-teen, Leila made a risky escape from an evil man and a life of poverty in Colombia.  Today, a full-grown woman with a seemingly perfect life and successful career, Leila is well on her way to having it all.  But buried secrets have a nasty habit of coming back to haunt us, and in Gregory Erich Phillips’s new novel THE EXILE (Koehler Books; April 6, 2019; Paperback; ISBN: 978-1-6339376-5-9; $18.95) events steadily mount to a fever-pitch when Leila and others are forced to face extreme challenges to avoid losing everything they love.

It is the mid-2000s and Leila is working for one of the top mortgage brokers in Phoenix, Arizona.  Her manager, Samantha, applauds Leila’s hard work while at the same time taking every opportunity to remind Leila of her Hispanic immigrant status.  Leila’s perfect life begins to unravel, precipitated by the mortgage crisis of 2008 and an ill-timed romance with Samantha’s son, Ashford. Seeing Leila with her son brings all Samantha’s latent racism to the surface, and she lays down an ultimatum with disastrous consequences.

THE EXILE is a captivating story about love, family, home and the courage it takes to protect them. It is a timely novel that sheds light on the challenges faced by Hispanic immigrants living in the United States. Phillips, whose first award-winning novel Love of Finished Years depicted the complicated life of a German immigrant woman in New York during World War I, is adept at presenting events, whether current or historical, on an emotional level through his strong characters.  In THE EXILE he also draws on research and professional experience to express the realities of an abrupt deportation and the fallout for well-meaning people in the mortgage business.

A prolific writer with another novel already underway, Phillips is quickly establishing himself as an author to watch.  THE EXILE has already won first-place for mainstream fiction in the Pacific Northwest Writers Association Literary Contest and is well on its way to being on must-read lists in 2019.

# # #

Book Giveaways!

Posted on by CMPR

We are now doing book giveaways through Rafflecopter!

This post will be updated with ongoing Rafflecopter book giveaways.

Check periodically for the latest book that we are giving away to lucky readers!

Read more about the books and authors we work with on our campaigns page.

We are currently giving away a copy of Neal Rabin’s adventurous novel (perfect for summer reading) 23 DEGREES SOUTH: A Tropical Tale of Changing Whether… ending on May 16th, 2018 at 12:00AM EST. The winner will be contacted by email, so make sure to check your inbox in case it was you!

“Enjoy with your favorite cocktail!…23 DEGREES SOUTH will capture all readers with its story of two young friends on different paths who intersect within an action packed story.”
– Chanticleer Reviews, 5/5 Stars

“McKinney, a veteran book publicist, has produced a clear, basic road map to publicizing a book. .” – Publishers Weekly
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Case Studies 3: Accepting the Audience that Wants Your Book and Reaping the Benefits

Posted on by Claire McKinney

You have an MFA in Creative Writing from a respected program/university.  You have been carefully crafting your story and verbiage to create the best literary debut you can. Now for promotion and the audience that comes with it—Paris Review?  The New Yorker? Tin House? New York Times Book Review? Not likely.

Whether you are published by a traditional publisher with a lot of muscle, a small independent press, or your own book production venture, no one can count on that kind of coverage for literary novels.  For one thing, there just aren’t enough venues anymore.  The other problem is that there are too many books and too little time, and frankly, if you are not published by Knopf or Simon & Schuster, you just won’t command the kind of attention you need to get into one of those classic publications.

Whatever you do, don’t stop writing and don’t give up hope for promotion!  We need great writing and great books, and while you can’t market a work of serious fiction as a chick lit novel, you can consider what other audiences might be interested in your story.

Recently we worked with an author and a novel.  It was definitely a literary book, but it also had different attributes that gave it potential in some niche audiences that were actually bigger than the more esoteric fiction readers that serious writers like to reach. The author had supported herself in non-traditional ways while working on her writing and had achieved a position as a teacher and founder of a charity that promotes writing for children in underdeveloped countries. She definitely had the credentials of a writer.

Since we specialize in promoting fiction across multiple genres and niches, we maximized our focus to include media that covered fiction, literary fiction, romance, christian fiction, debut novelists, philanthropy, and New York City settings.  We approached bloggers, websites, print, radio, and when warranted, television.

We were pretty happy with the coverage from the general fiction audiences and the publisher secured a review in the top trade, but what really paid off was a review on USAToday.com from a reviewer interested in the romance/womens fiction angle.  This review was not only a good one, but it did a couple of things that benefitted the author in a number of ways.  First of all when it ran there was a spike in sales on Amazon.com.  We were able to use the review and its national print-to-online paper status to secure additional media including a local television station in one of her home markets.  Was she happy about the review?  Well, at first not so enthusiastic because she was concerned that she would be “pigeon holed” as a romance writer.  I say “who cares?” as long as you sell books at this stage of the game.

Now I am also a branding strategist, so I do know that is important to avoid being classified as something that isn’t appropriate for you or your career.  However, one review for a debut novel isn’t going to determine your path.  It is a milestone that needs to be appreciated for what it is and to be used in as many positive ways as possible.

One of the best things she got from the deal? She was able to get a Bookbub promotion on the first try.  If any of you have tried to secure a slot on this infamous discounted book marketing site, you may have tried two or three times and perhaps did not even get accepted in the end.  One of their requirements is that they have legitimate reviews or news coverage of a book, whether traditionally or self-published and USAToday.com definitely can help put you over the top in terms of qualifying.

Her promotion ran, and her Amazon rank went from five figures to the lower threes, somewhere around 300, which is a major leap in ranking.  Sales activity like this will increase her audience; garner more Amazon/Goodreads reviews and ratings; generate additional full price sales; and will help along with the press coverage when she wants to bring out her next book and is searching for a publisher.

A couple of lessons here: Try to find every possible way to promote your fiction even if it doesn’t lead you to the coveted New York Times review.  When you do get a big nod that isn’t exactly what you wanted, revel in it, celebrate, do the ten second dance of joy, take a breath…and get back to work.