| When my first book (The Cliffhanger) was | | | | best thing I've ever seen. This lady wants |
| published nearly seven years ago, I had high | | | | you to go buy her book. I say everyone should |
| hopes of its success. I mean I am, after all, | | | | rush out and buy it." And everyone did. That |
| a PR person - so how hard could it be to | | | | afternoon my book shot up to the #1 spot on |
| market fiction? Granted, up till that point I | | | | Amazon, where it stayed for three months. It |
| hadn't taken on a lot of fiction - well, to | | | | even beat out Harry Potter (which was #4 at |
| be honest I hadn't taken any fiction. Fiction | | | | that time), yet Harry got the movie. Go |
| is tough and everyone knows it. But now I was | | | | figure. The point is that finding an |
| going to get my chance, and what better way | | | | "anchor" will help you push your campaign. |
| to start than on my own book? When The | | | | This works for book events, too. If you've |
| Cliffhanger hit the #1 spot on Amazon it was | | | | written a crime book, why not "theme" your |
| no accident, it was a creative push that got | | | | event with DO NOT CROSS Police line tape (if |
| it to #1 and ironically, the pitch that | | | | you can get your hands on it) or some other |
| prompted this Amazon soar had nothing to do | | | | prop? The key is to be unique, carry your |
| with the book. Curious? Then read on. When I | | | | theme throughout your marketing and hang your |
| was first pushing The Cliffhanger I did all | | | | star on unique ways to promote your book. |
| the things a good fiction author is supposed | | | | But the second piece of this, the piece |
| to do. I sent out review copies, created a | | | | that's become all the rage recently, is the |
| stunning press release, scheduled book | | | | visual aspect of your book. Now I'm not |
| events. All of these things were great, but | | | | talking about the cover, I'm talking about |
| they didn't give it the momentum the book | | | | the movie. Yes, you read right. Your book, a |
| really needed to succeed. The book signings | | | | movie. Now I'm not talking about a full-blown |
| were good, but a tad boring, the press was | | | | two hour motion picture. I'm talking about a |
| interested, but not enough to feature me more | | | | movie trailer. Most recently several major |
| than once. I knew I needed to do something, | | | | publishers have started using book trailers |
| but let's face it, when you're writing | | | | to promote the fiction books they publish. |
| romance it's tough to find a pitch that has | | | | Why? Because we are a very visual society, |
| the stickiness to it to, well, stick. When | | | | and if you're trying to distill the core of |
| you're taking a fiction book to market you | | | | your book into a thirty-second elevator |
| need to have more to hang your star on than a | | | | pitch, why not distill that same information |
| groovy story - you need something the media | | | | into a trailer? Studies have shown that book |
| can sink their teeth into, you need grit. | | | | trailers can increase book sales in excess of |
| That 'grit' is the reality piece of your | | | | 30%. This is why most of the major publishers |
| story. The truth is there's always a thread | | | | are jumping on the book trailer bandwagon. |
| of reality that weaves through each piece of | | | | Still not convinced? Check out this book |
| fiction. Find your reality and own it, if | | | | trailer of Candlewood Lake and see if it |
| need be, craft your pitch around it. Let's | | | | doesn't entice you to buy the book: Now |
| say you wrote a book about a woman overcoming | | | | here's a short list of tricks we've used to |
| domestic abuse. You've done your research, | | | | promote fiction: * For a series of detective |
| you know the stats, in fact, you might even | | | | novels we worked with, we told the author |
| be considered an expert. Why not then turn a | | | | that instead of pitching the book, we were |
| portion of your campaign into a domestic | | | | going to pitch some of the intriguing |
| violence pitch? The same can be said for just | | | | unsolved mysteries. He became the unsolved |
| about anything. They key here is to find that | | | | mystery expert and when he did a book event, |
| grain of reality and see if it's interesting | | | | that's what he talked about. People were |
| enough to create a new peg. Once you've found | | | | enthralled, and it also got him quite a bit |
| your hook, own it. What I mean is become the | | | | of radio, too! * For a chick lit book last |
| expert on that hook and familiarize yourself | | | | year the author had one of her recipes (for |
| with ever statistic, every study and every | | | | Orgasmic cookies) come to life when she |
| new trend. When The Cliffhanger was released | | | | partnered with a local cookie company. The |
| I soon realized that marketing romantic | | | | result? We had people writing us for copies |
| fiction was only going to take me so far, but | | | | of the book just so they could try this |
| marketing the method of printing was more | | | | fabulous cookie. * And what better place for |
| unique. Why? Well, The Cliffhanger was one of | | | | a romance reading than a romantic winery? If |
| the first books in the San Diego area to be | | | | you live near some wineries, don't hesitate |
| published via print-on-demand. Hence, that | | | | to stop by there and ask if they'd like to |
| became my story. Until the Presidential race | | | | invite you in for a reading. Have you ever |
| of 2000. Now that was an entirely different | | | | considered partnering with another author who |
| story. No doubt many of you will remember | | | | has a similar title? Last year, I consulted |
| the counts, recounts, chads, and hanging | | | | with two authors who'd written books about |
| chads, right? Well, one morning I woke up to | | | | Paris. I decided they might want to meet and |
| find our local paper with the following | | | | partner up for events. They did, and the |
| headline: "Cliffhanger." I knew right then | | | | result was magnifique! Everyone loved the |
| that if I couldn't find a hook to hang my | | | | "evening in Paris" they'd created, and |
| star on that angle, I might as well hang up | | | | needless to say, they got lots of bookings! |
| my marketing hat forever. It was at 3 a.m. | | | | The trick is, with all the fiction out there, |
| that I woke up with an idea so stunning, I | | | | you have to find a way to be different. |
| knew it had to work. I raced out to the | | | | Selling the story isn't always going to sell |
| office supply store the minute it opened to | | | | your book, but entertaining the reader or |
| pick up several packs of clear labels. I got | | | | selling how the story affects the reader or |
| out the postcards I had printed with the book | | | | how it can benefit them will. Find your |
| cover on them and stuck on labels with the | | | | anchor, hook, or story - and you've found an |
| following slogan: Getting tired of the | | | | audience. Becoming a marketing story-teller |
| Presidential cliffhanger? Try this one. The | | | | isn't as hard as some people make it out to |
| Cliffhanger, a novel. No politics involved. | | | | be, and whoever said fiction can't be |
| I mailed 500 postcards out that day while | | | | marketed just didn't know how to tell a great |
| praying the election wouldn't get called. I | | | | story. |
| mailed these postcards to everyone in the | | | | |
| media I'd ever contacted. Ever! Days after | | | | Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of |
| my mass-mailing, I was walking through my | | | | Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a book |
| living room, when suddenly I spotted my book | | | | marketing and media relations expert whose |
| cover on the screen. I was stunned. The local | | | | company has developed some of the most |
| TV anchor was saying, "This has got to be the | | | | cutting-edge book marketing campaigns. |