Irmgarde Brown

I just finished reading The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon, an historical fiction novel set in 1789 and based on the true life of Martha Ballard, a midwife. It’s set in a small riverfront community in Central Maine, in winter. It’s not really my era of choice for historical fiction nor do I have much interest in midwives, but several people had recommended it, so I dived in (pun intended). Plus, there’s a murder, which is always fun. 

Of the many themes captured in the book, the one that kept repeating itself for me was Martha reporting on the status of the mothers in labor. “She’s transitioning” or “has she transitioned yet?” etc. And although I understand she’s referencing that moment when the pregnant mother’s body is moving from regular labor to actually pushing the baby out, I thought about a different kind of transition. 

Granted, I’m not about to have a physical baby, obviously, but I am about to reach “transition” in the release of my new book, Swan Out of Water. The book is what I am calling a “stand-alone” sequel to Children in the City of Czars and has been submitted to the publisher. Of course, I don’t know how many weeks it will be before I get that long-awaited box from the printer with the initial copies of the book. What a day that will be! It never fails to produce wonderment. 

The transition I’m preparing to make is not really the day it lands on my porch, but the day I must change my mindset from creative outflow to marketing guru. NOT an easy transition. 

Among my circle of creatives, few find marketing their books, their paintings, their poetry, or their crafts easy to execute, or fun to do. I assume those writers and artists who have deep pockets, simply outsource most of this work. But that’s not the norm. Reminder, I’m talking about “indie” authors who may have a hybrid publisher like me or self-publish. In either case, marketing falls to us, the creators. 

So, what does marketing look like at this point? 

1. The Book Reviews. As soon as the e-book is ready from the publisher, the author must send it out for reviews asap. These reviews are critical in the early stages of promoting a book. Some of the key places are magazines like Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Booklist. Long shots for the indie author are the New York Times, People Magazine, Los Angeles Times, etc. Then, there are popular websites and podcasts that might be enticed, but that list is unending. 

2. The Launch Event. As soon as the publisher can predict the date that the book will be ready, it’s time to set the date for the party. A launch can happen anywhere, but usually, it’s some kind of public venue or friendly neighbors: restaurant, winery, brewery, gallery, or backyard. Guests are invited, food is ordered, boxes of books are stacked up and ready for purchase & signatures, and of course, people are thanked. This is the most fun of all! 

3. Social Media. This part of marketing should have started weeks ago. That’s what I’m told, but I’ve never been very good at teasing out the hints, tidbits, or anticipation of the book’s release. A blog post, like this one, is a start. And then there are the Facebook posts, Instagram posts, Pinterest posts (which I’ve never managed to create for a book), and website updates. The whole point behind all of these posts is to build excitement for the release and hopefully, some early adopters and purchasers. In other words, word of mouth starts here. 

4. Personal Appearances. These can be a book club, a speaking engagement, or a festival. I have done all of these and I have a number of book events coming up. Will it be enough to generate buzz? Who knows? Will the new book come out soon enough to make the festival rounds? Maybe not. So, then, we try other ways to get the title out there: raffles, hand-outs, postcards, mailing list sign-ups. 

5. Advertising. One would assume that advertising would be high on the author’s list of promotions, but for me, there’s not much ROI (return on investment). Except for Facebook ads, magazine ads and Amazon ads rarely generate enough online book sales to pay for themselves. Naturally, the more well known the author, the more likely he/she will create ads.