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| Marketing a Novel is Hard |
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February 25, 2022
Oakland, CA
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| | | It’s hard to market fiction.
And it’s hard to do something new to launch a novel.
In my case, my new marketing method is my upcoming Kickstarter launching next week.
Essentially, I'm using this Kickstarter to launch my novel. (Other ways to launch a novel might be a blog tour, book tour, an ad campaign, a book review campaign, a launch party online or IRL {in real life}.)
But writing a novel is hard too. So is editing and revising a novel. Why should marketing one be any different?
Dramatic sigh.
I don’t know about you, but I love meaty projects with lots of moving parts.
I've loved meaty projects ever since I can remember, like when I was a kid and had to build a trail of blocks on the lava rug with my siblings so we wouldn’t drown in the hot, dangerous zone between the bedrooms and the kitchen. Granted, we made up the complicated rules -- the do’s and don’ts to cross the room.
I've loved meaty projects ever since middle school when I was presented with much harder coursework than grammar school in a new setting of Catholic school for this Jewish girl. I had to navigate in new social groups, while doing analytical writing, chemistry labs, and playing team sports in a grade of only 30 students.
I've loved meaty projects ever since I wondered how to write fiction around 12 years old and had zero clue. I remember listening to one of my friend's stories and wondering how she was able to weave a coherent beginning, middle, and end.
Fiction writing has not been easy to learn. But you know what? I did learn it. And that is amazing.
If you can learn how to write a compelling story that people get lost in, then you can learn how to market your fiction.
At least that is what I have been telling myself these past 11 years as a published novelist.
And it's worked: I've learned to market my novel by marketing my novels.
I learn by doing.
How about you?
What is the best way for you to learn?
Knowing this is the first step to trying something new.
This past weekend, after I had turned in my book to the proofreader last week (yay!), I spent all day Saturday diving into the Kickstarter class by Russell Nohelty, and the next day drafting my first draft for the landing page. The following day I created the draft in Kickstarter so that I could share it in preview mode and get lots of feedback. The day after that I made the short promo video and loaded it. (Ezra Barany, my husband, edited that for me.)
By the time I send out this newsletter I have gotten feedback from almost a dozen people and made lots of changes. Fingers crossed that it does the job!
What is the job of a Kickstarter page?
It is essentially direct sales to the reader.
What I'm learning is my Kickstarter page needs to address the concerns of a new reader, while also appealing to my current readership. This page also needs to be clear to a first timer, as well as to people who are familiar with Kickstarter.
Up to now, I've only had to write back cover blurbs, tweets, and short posts.
Writing a long sales page is definitely different than those shorter forms of promoting the book.
Launching a book takes a village!
I rely on people feedback for editing, and even more so for marketing. I definitely have my blind spots.
Also, I run out of ideas on how to talk about my book. But once I started to get feedback and understand better the reader perspective, I've edited my marketing language to appeal to the reader. (Not unlike editing and revising the novel to be a smooth and seamless experience for the reader, so that she stays up all night reading!)
One of the ways I'm learning to talk directly to readers is to address problems and how my novel solves those problems.
I admit... this is weird. I'm not selling a service or a useful product like a broom.
How can a novel solve a problem? It's for entertainment, right?
For years in my book marketing, I have been trying to understand how to speak to the heart of my readers.
It is one thing to do that in fiction, it is another thing entirely to do that in marketing.
Recently, I had the chance to work with a teacher who is developing curriculum for artists to help them market better. (I'll share his work when he's ready.)
Woking with him has helped me dive deeper into the problem my book addresses and the solution. Of course it’s not just one problem and solution set, it’s many.
In my book, my main character wrangles with doubt and finding a deeper purpose. (See more below.)
What is the main issue your main character struggles with?
Have you experimented with putting that into your marketing?
I invite you to click reply and let me know! I'm curious.
Next week I'll share with you how the Kickstarter is progressing -- I launch Tuesday, March 1! |
| Coming Soon! Adventures into the Unknown! Launching: Red Running Deep, Janey McCallister Mystery, Book 4 |
| Janey feels sick because she’s just lost her purpose for being an investigator on the hotel-casino space station. Numb, disoriented, momentary blackouts even. Grief will do that to you.
But her team is counting on her. The murder victim's family is counting on her to find his killer. She has to put one foot in front of the other and gather clues, no matter how hard it is.
So she does. She literally puts one foot in front of the other and works with her team to examine the crime scene.
She starts feeling a little better. She can work. She can do her job. That's something. That gives her a place to put her attention, at least.
As the day progresses, and there are two more murders, she relies more and more on her competent and dedicated team; they all care, and they're all stepping up and doing good work.
Together they're standing up for justice. She isn't alone. She's part of a team. And together they bring the killer to justice. That is purpose, and doing it together is purpose too. Whatever is next, she’ll decide after her longest day is over.
....
If you'd like to follow along on my upcoming launch, click the red button or the book covers.
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| | | | | ♥
Have a happy and creative week! Happy Writing!
All my best,
Beth
PS. Page Turner Awards are open for 2022!
Their Early Bird pricing ends soon!
Receiving an award for your fiction can validate your efforts, offer you recognition from strangers, and be a great feather in your cap for marketing.
I'm a sponsor of this contest (and a former winner!) and am giving away 2 prizes this year: - For published authors: the Branding for Authors course bundle, plus 3 months of one-on-one support
- For unpublished authors: Edit Your Novel course, plus 3 months of coaching and manuscript review.
Contest open until 31st of May 2022.
All the details and how to enter here:
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| Recent Posts on Writer's Fun Zone blog- Should You Become a Part-Time Proofreader as a Writer? by Thao Nguyen
- Take Time to Celebrate by Nevada McPherson
- Storyboard Your Tale by LA Bourgeois
- Author Q&A with Shannon Lawrence, featuring her book The Business of Short Stories: Writing, Submitting, Publishing, and Marketing
- Author Q&A with Amanda Krill, featuring her book, Feisty & Non-Compliant, and its Kickstarter campaign
- Write The Story As You Want To, Not How Others Tell You To Write It by Janelle Riley
- The Power of No by Lisa Towles
- Is Visualization the Key to Success? by Catharine Bramkamp
- Author Q&A with Bobby Nash, Thrillers, Mysteries, Media Tie-Ins
- The Copyright Claims Board is Coming Soon! by Kelley Way
- Author Q&A With Tinthia Clemant, featuring her book, My Immortal Beloved
** Write for us and gain experience and clips, and share your wisdom! ** |
| | | | | You have been reading the Creativity Sparks Newsletter!
Now in its 16th year, this newsletter is a service of my coaching and consulting business, helping genre fiction writers write, market, and publish their novels to the delight of their readers.
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| ABOUT BETH BARANY
Beth Barany is creativity coach for writers, a teacher, workshop facilitator, and speaker, who helps fiction writers experience clarity, so that they can write and polish their novels, and proudly publish them to the delight of their readers.
Beth speaks to groups locally, online, and internationally. For more details and how to book, go here.
Owner of the Barany School of Fiction, an online training hub, Beth takes great interest in how humans learn, create, and grow, and includes all her students’ life experiences, including the ancestors, into the moment.
Want a course to help you prepare to write your novel? Discover the comprehensive Plan Your Novel course here to help you vision, brainstorm, and plan your next novel. Planning for panthers, who want some structure but no too much. A road map to guide you on your way to writing your novel. By the time you're done with this course, you'll be ready to write because you know where you want to go and are excited by it.
Beth Barany is also an award-winning novelist and writes magical tales of romance, adventure, and mystery to empower women and girls to be the heroes in their own lives.
Uncover her Henrietta The Dragon Slayer series here (YA Fantasy), her Touchstone series here (Fantasy/Paranormal Romance).
beth@bethbarany.com
Barany School of Fiction
Writer's Fun Zone blog
Photo Credit: by c. 2018 Ezra Barany
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