1st Turning Point

Amber Scott, Author and Reviewer

by Amber Scott
1st Turning Point Staff Reviewer
Copyright © 2009 Amber Scott

 Today, Dorchester Publishing Editor and Website Director, Leah Hultenschmidt, answers a few of my questions on promotion.

A: If writing a great book comes first, and word of mouth, or “buzz”, comes second, what is the third crucial promotion tool you like to see from unpublished authors who are submitting their manuscripts to you?

L: Authors who have a strong network of contacts in the romance and bookselling community definitely have a leg up when submitting.  The more friends you have to help spread the word, the wider your potential audience.  And knowing other writers who might give you a cover quote can be a huge plus.

A: Thanks to a great 1st Turning Point article, I recently learned the difference between a tagline and a brand.  What would you say is the most common misconception authors at any level have about promotion?

L: Thinking that there’s one answer; that if they just do that “one” thing, they’ll hit the bestseller list.  In reality, promotion is about a combination of different strategies.  Of course, you want to try to find the most effective methods, but it’s rarely just one component that reaches everyone.

A: Standing out in a crowd is important in an ever growing industry.  Can you offer any examples of an author’s creative marketing strategy that helped her/him stand out?

L: With her debut novel, The Accidental Demon Slayer, Angie Fox created (and hand-stapled!) thousands of sample chapter booklets.  Ok, so that right there, time-consuming but not such a big deal perhaps.  She then had stickers made for individual RWA chapter conferences that she was sending the books to, signed the booklets, and numbered the stickers so readers would know they had #17 of 200 of the “signed, limited-edition advance preview.”  She put value into the promotional material. 

Now, going back to what I said above, it wasn’t all about the chapter booklets.  She did individually tailored letters to hundreds of independent bookstores, commenting on the specific geographical location, a recent author signing they may have had, etc.  She also created a viral marketing campaign for readers to generate their own biker witch name, like those based in the book.

And she had an eye-catching cover with publisher-supported front-of-store displays.

The book was on the New York Times bestseller list for two weeks.

A: I recently read a scathing book review and I am curious, is there no such a thing as bad press in publishing? 

L: One bad review isn’t going to break a book.  However, if there seems to be agreement-all the Amazon reviews talking about lack of depth in the characters, for example-then it definitely could dissuade readers from buying.  There was a lot of talk when the New York Times recently named a new food critic about how the position doesn’t necessarily carry the weight that it used to because there are so many other avenues a diner can search for a review.  And I think the same holds true for books.  There’s really no single make-or-break publication. 

A: Among all the “do’s” for an unpublished or published author, can you also advise of any particular “don’t”? 

L: Don’t forget to keep writing!

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions, Leah. It has been a pleasure.

Jessie’s Girl by Amber Scott ISBN: 978-1-59578-391-2 Liquid Silver Books Her life was exactly on the path she wanted. The right man, the right career, even the right wedding dress. But, Sabrina’s perfectly laid plans unravel in one heartbeat when she sees the only person whose very memory could always tingle her toes. Jessica Hayes. Those bee-stung lips, those soft curves. Jessie. Like an addict, Sabrina finds herself fighting for a reason to be near her, to see her, to touch her one more time. Six years ago she’d been too scared, but today, despite all that she would put at risk, she craved being Jessie’s Girl.