Writers in the Storm

by Penny Sansevieri

For most authors, doing local promotion is low on the list of things they’re doing to market their books. And while national media and nationally focused marketing strategies are important, don't overlook the power of local marketing. By targeting your community, you can tap into the support of local businesses, libraries, and media outlets, creating lasting partnerships and gaining exposure for your work.

Still not convinced? Well, consider this: a number of years ago I met a first-time author who was selling 5,000 copies of her indie published book by doing local promotion. She had her book in nearly all of her local stores, and stores that couldn’t carry the book (like her local dry cleaners) had bookmarks. Her book was literally everywhere. She said she did that because she really wasn’t sure what else to do to promote her book.

Local media loves their local celebrities – and as an author, you’re one of the celebs local media loves. It’s also a great way to get your feet wet doing media and a fantastic way to add media appearances to your website. If you want to build into national media appearances, starting on a local level can be a great way to do that. So where do you start? Let’s dig in!

1. Partner with Local Businesses

One effective way to promote your book locally is by partnering with local businesses. Consider reaching out to specialty stores, such as gift shops, boutiques, or even hardware stores, that align with your book's theme or target audience. These businesses may be open to hosting an event or showcasing your book in their store. By collaborating with them, you can reach a new audience and benefit from their existing customer base.

Another option is to approach local cooperative workplaces like WeWork or Regus. These spaces often host weekly events and are constantly seeking new speakers. Pitch a workshop, webinar, or paid event related to your book's content, or negotiate to have your book prominently displayed within the workspace. These partnerships can provide valuable exposure and networking opportunities.

2. Tap into the Power of Local Libraries

Libraries are an excellent resource for self-published authors. Reach out to your local librarians and inquire about hosting an event or workshop. While you may need to navigate the library's administrative process, establishing a personal connection with the librarians can go a long way in securing an opportunity to promote your book within the branch. Additionally, consider leaving copies of your book at the library for potential readers to discover.

If you're unable to visit the library in person, you can also reach out to librarians via email. Use this opportunity to introduce yourself, provide a brief summary of your book, and express your interest in collaborating on an event or showcasing your book in some capacity. Remember, building relationships with librarians is crucial for gaining visibility within the local literary community.

3. Engage with Local Indie Bookstores

Supporting local independent bookstores not only benefits your community but also provides an avenue for promoting your book. Research and identify independent bookstores in your area and approach them with a proposal. Offer to host a book signing, reading, or Q&A session at their store. This can attract both loyal customers of the bookstore and new readers interested in discovering local authors.

To increase your chances of success, do some background research on the bookstore's audience and tailor your pitch accordingly. Highlight how your book aligns with their readers' interests and emphasize the unique value you bring as a local author. Building relationships with independent bookstores can lead to ongoing partnerships and increased visibility within the literary community.

4. Explore Opportunities at Local Festivals and Street Fairs

Participating in local festivals and street fairs can be a fun and effective way to sell your books. Look for events in your area that attract a diverse range of attendees and have a strong social media presence or reputation for high attendance. Consider sharing a booth with other local authors to increase visibility and attract more visitors.

When setting up your booth, make sure to create an engaging display that showcases your book and captures people's attention. Offer autographed copies as unique gifts, and don't forget to bring some fun swag items such as bookmarks or character trading cards to distribute. These small tokens can serve as reminders of your book and generate interest among potential readers.

5. Target Niche Markets: Wineries and Specialty Stores

Don't limit yourself to traditional book-selling venues. Think outside the box and explore niche markets that align with your book's theme or target audience. Wineries, for example, can be a unique and enjoyable setting for book events. Reach out to wineries in your area and propose collaborating on an event during their slower hours. This partnership can attract wine enthusiasts who may also be interested in literature.

Additionally, consider specialty stores that cater to specific hobbies or interests related to your book. Whether it's a card store, cookware store, or computer store, find a store that resonates with your book's content and approach the owners with a proposal. Offer your book on consignment or negotiate a mutually beneficial arrangement. These partnerships can help you reach a targeted audience and create memorable experiences for potential readers.

6. Harness the Power of Local Meetups and Book Clubs

Local meetups and book clubs provide an excellent opportunity to connect with readers who are actively seeking new books and authors. Utilize online platforms like Meetup to find local book clubs in your area and reach out to their organizers. Offer to do a talk or presentation, or suggest your book as a club selection. By participating in these gatherings, you can engage with passionate readers and gain valuable insights into their preferences.

Remember to bring copies of your book to these events, and consider offering special discounts or incentives for attendees. Building relationships with local book clubs can lead to long-term support and word-of-mouth recommendations, as members often share their favorite reads with friends and family.

7. Leverage Local Media and Establish Yourself as a Local Celebrity

Local media outlets are always interested in highlighting local talent, making them an invaluable resource for self-published authors. Start by pitching your story or book to local newspapers, magazines, radio stations, or TV channels. Craft a compelling pitch that showcases the unique aspects of your book and emphasizes your local connection.

When approaching the media, focus on the human interest angle of your story. Highlight any local ties, personal anecdotes, or community impact your book may have. Offering exclusive interviews, guest articles, or book giveaways can also capture media attention and generate buzz around your work.

Remember, building a local brand presence takes time and effort. Attend other author events in your area to gain inspiration and connect with like-minded individuals. By establishing yourself as a local celebrity, you can foster lasting relationships within your community and create a strong support network for your book marketing efforts. When it comes to book marketing, don't underestimate the power of local outreach. By targeting your community through partnerships, events, and media exposure, you can create lasting connections and boost your book sales. Embrace the creativity and opportunities that come with local marketing, and watch your author brand flourish within your region. Remember, building a local presence is just the beginning of a successful journey as a self-published author.

Have you tried to sell locally? What have you tried?

About Penny

Penny C. Sansevieri, Founder and CEO of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a bestselling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. She is an Adjunct Professor teaching Self-Publishing for NYU. She was named one of the top influencers of 2019 by New York Metropolitan Magazine.

Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most innovative Amazon visibility campaigns as well offering national media pitching, online book marketing, author events, and other strategies designed to build the author/book visibility.

She is the author of 18 books, including How to Sell Your Books by the Truckload on Amazon, Revise and Re-Release Your Book, 5-Minute Book Marketing for Authors, and From Book to Bestseller. She also hosts the top ranking podcast Book Marketing Tips and Author Success.

AME has had dozens of books on top bestseller lists, including those of the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal.

To learn more about Penny’s books or her promotional services, visit www.amarketingexpert.com. 

by James R. Preston

In Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein, Gene Wilder in the title role finds a book called How I Did It by Victor Frankenstein. Needless to say, he’s pretty excited. 

As writers, we are about books. Let’s step back and talk about some of them.

There are stories. And there are stories about stories, sort of "stories once removed."  This is a collection of the latter. My hope is to encourage you to read other writers’ struggles so you can say, “Why it’s not so bad that my novel is taking a long time to write." 

This is of necessity a personal collection since I am not crazy enough to begin a literature search on “Introductions to books,” and I felt it was important to avoid spoilers, which eliminated many modern novels. Also, we are absolutely buried in text, swamped with posts and comments on posts and comments on comments, all about a particular story. 

Campfire Chat

No, this post is sort of like a bunch of writers sitting around a campfire and one of them turns to his neighbor and says, “Hey, Irv, how did you come to write The Prize, and Irving Wallace says . . . “

I pulled these references out of my own collection because they illustrate important principles about our art and craft, sure, but mostly because they’re fun. You can sit with Barbara Tuchman when Barbra (yes, that Barbra) comes calling. We’ll do that and we’ll walk through cotton fields at midnight with Thomas Harris as the dogs sing to the full moon. 

And this is homework. If I do this right you will go out looking for certain books, because that’s what we’re here for, isn’t it? Books. Hold that thought. 

Singing dogs, movie stars, what more could you ask for?

Finally, for one more story about a story, I’ll tell the one about how I sold my first novel and sold my first novel . . . and sold my first novel. More on that later too. 

Persistence Pays Off

Irving Wallace, The Writing of One Novel. 

Wallace started work on The Prize in 1946 and finished it in 1962. He tells the story in a book called The Writing Of One Novel. This is an excellent “story once removed,” full of information as valid today as it was when it was written.  “No one writes as well as he would like to; he only writes as well as he can.” Thanks, Irving. If I ever get a tattoo, that’s what it will say. Wallace also provides step-by step procedures — Notes, Outline, Scene and so on, and illustrates them with his own notes. 

He was devoted, he stuck to it, just like... 

Barbara Tuchman, The Guns of August. 

Look for an edition with the Forward by the historian Robert K. Massie. He talks about how Tuchman worked, “four or five hours at a stretch,” writing longhand, then typing, and how when Jane Fonda and Barbra Streisand wanted her to write a script she told her daughter to tell them that "no, she was working."

The result of this effort was a history of the first month of World War 1 that is as readable today as it was when first published. 

Massie includes a swipe at reviewers and I feel compelled to include it here. When The Guns of August came out Tuchman was described as “a fifty-year-old housewife, mother of three, and the spouse of a prominent New York physician.” Right. Like in between picking the kids up from soccer practice and cooking dinner she dashed off one of the truly great works of modern history, and won a Pulitzer. As if she hadn’t written Bible and Sword and The Zimmerman Telegram before Guns of August. 

As Massie points out, "she has a gift for making the people come alive."

And when your characters come to life sometimes they won’t go away. 

He Made Me Do It

Ursula K. LeGuin, The Wind’s Twelve Quarters. Short stories. 

LeGuin was a fantastic science fiction writer in the 60’s - 80’s and in one of her stories she encountered a minor character named Rocannon who would not go away until she told his story. She’s part of this list because in the Introduction to The Wind’s Twelve Quarters, she talks about how he simply would not leave her alone.

If you read about writers and their craft you will encounter this over and over again — one of your fictional creations jumps off the page, grabs you by the throat and says, “Tell my story! I want to be heard!” The LeGuin collection is kind of a bonus in that not only is there an Introduction, there’s also a short introduction to each of the stories. It’s well worth a look if you want to hear a talented writer talking about her work. 

He Might Be Watching Me

Thomas Harris, Red Dragon. 

Speaking of characters that demand attention . . . In Forward to a Fatal Interview, Thomas Harris describes how he wrote Red Dragon, mostly at night, in a small house in the middle of cotton fields. He often walked at night, accompanied by a pack of stray dogs that had attached themselves to him, and who would sing to a full moon. If you’ve guessed who Harris thought might be watching him, why, yes, it’s that gourmet cook Hannibal Lecter. Harris’ essay is a great read and illustrates the writing process, but I don’t recommend it for late at night. 

Girls Don’t Do That

Robert A. Heinlein, Red Planet.

This early Heinlein juvie (a YA in today’s terminology) was nearly edited to death. Among other things, Alice Dalgliesh, the editor, said girls don’t shoot guns. Oh, yeah? My mother, born the same year as Heinlein, learned to shoot first with a shotgun and later with a deer rifle. ‘nuff said. Also, Willis, The Martian pet, sleeps in the same bed as his “owner” and that’s not cool either. Heinlein gave in, accepted the changes, but years later a new publisher brought out an “unexpurgated” edition.

If you want more information look for an essay called “Red Planet, Blue Pencil.”

Podkayne of Mars - Girls don’t do that redux.

Podkayne wants to be a spaceship pilot <fill in the resistance>. But this book and its Introductions — there’s more than one — make this list because they are unique. In this case, the publisher changed the end. Yep. Years pass, new publisher. Restore Heinlein’s original end? Maybe. How about a vote! Readers contributing their thoughts and indeed the end . . . Well, I promised no spoilers. I also promise that reading this “Story once removed” is well worth it. 

How I Did It

Ok, the hour is late, the campfire is down to glowing embers and we all need to slide into those sleeping bags because of course we will get up in the morning and write. But I promised so here it is, one more story. 

I broke into selling fiction with a science fiction story called, “Law of the Instrument” that I sold to Analog Science Fiction. I started a non-sf thriller called Leave A Good-Looking Corpse, and about that time I went to a writers convention in San Diego, where I saw a flyer for a contest that was part of a convention in Seattle. Send in the first chapter and an outline, win a prize! Well, my father had recently relocated to Olympia, Washington and if I went to the convention I could visit him. I didn’t have a book, but I had enough so I entered. 

And promptly forgot about it. Until I got a letter saying that I was a Finalist. Yow! Frantic rush for plane reservations, hotel reservations, talking to my Dad, and so on. 

I won. And an editor said, “Tell me about the next book in the series.” She wanted it. If I could keep it up she wanted the whole series.

Twists and Turns

A few months later my agent called to say the editor had left the company, but she had passed my book on to another editor. In short order, I was back on the street. 

My agent said not to worry because a friend of hers was an editor at an even better publisher and she wanted to see the book. That editor liked it! She liked the series! Then she left the company. I was back on the street. 

Then my father was diagnosed with bone cancer. The book is dedicated to him.

I was out of time. A traditional publisher would take a year or more to get the book to market and I didn’t have a publisher yet. So I self-published and my dad got to hold the book and read the Dedication. 

Then I was picked up by a West Coast publisher and the rest, as they say, is history. 

“If you cannot read all your books . . . fondle them—peer into them, let them fall open where they will, read from the first sentence that arrests the eye, set them back on the shelves with your own hands, arrange them on your own plan so that you at least know where they are. Let them be your friends; let them, at any rate, be your acquaintances.”

— Sir Winston Churchill 

A Great Book that didn’t make the cut. 

J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings. Look for a new edition with all three volumes presented — correctly — as one novel. This one was eliminated from this Writers in the Storm essay because the lengthy introduction is more about the history of the book than writing.

Now it’s your turn. Tell us a story about a story down in the comments. I really want to hear from you; we don’t get to “talk” very often.

About James

James R. Preston is the author of the multiple-award-winning Surf City Mysteries. The sixth, called Remains To Be Seen will be launched at Men of Mystery in November. Kirkus Reviews called the Huntington Beach background in Remains "sparkling." His most recent works are Crashpad and Buzzkill, two historical novellas set in the 1960’s at Cal State Long Beach. Kirkus Reviews called Buzzkill “A historical thriller enriched by characters who sparkle and refuse to be forgotten.” His books are collected as part of the California Detective Fiction collection at the University of California Berkeley. 

Find out more about James at his website.

Top image from Depositphotos by artursz

By J. Alexander Greenwood

An author's website is more than just a digital business card. It is a platform to establish your brand, connect with your audience, and showcase your literary prowess. And what's one of the most effective ways to do all these things? Regularly updated, engaging blog content.

Stop groaning. It works, and it is an opportunity, not a chore!

There are several compelling reasons why your author website should feature an active blog. Here are just a few, accompanied by examples of the kind of content that can help to supercharge your site:

1. Build and Engage with Your Audience:

Your blog can be a vibrant forum for interacting with your readers. Regularly posting allows you to create a community around your work, where readers can comment, discuss, and engage. This sense of community encourages loyalty and creates a platform where readers feel heard and valued.

Best Content Example: Discussion Prompts

Post about themes or characters in your books and invite readers to share their interpretations or feelings. An open-ended question about a plot twist in your latest book can spur lively discussion and build a deeper connection with your readers. I recently did a post on my blog where I shared my “casting call” for actors to play my series’ characters if it were a TV show or movie. People loved it! I got tons of responses when I shared the post on social media, and it resulted in my highest amount of traffic on my author site all year.

2. Showcase Your Expertise and Range:

As an author, your blog is a space to demonstrate your writing skills, share your knowledge, and explore a wider range of topics. This can attract a broader audience and pique the interest of readers who may not have been initially drawn to your primary genre or subject matter.

Best Content Example: Themed Articles or Series

You might write a series on the historical research you conducted for your historical fiction novel or create articles discussing different writing techniques and styles. This content can appeal to other writers, history buffs, or readers interested in your writing process.

3. Improve Your Website’s SEO:

An active blog with regular new content can significantly improve your website's SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Fresh content signals to search engines that your website is active, which can help improve its rankings.

Best Content Example: Keyword-Rich, Relevant Posts

Create blog posts around topics relevant to your books that also incorporate common search keywords. If you've written a dystopian novel, you could blog about "The Top Ten Dystopian Novels of the 21st Century" or "The Evolution of Dystopian Literature".

4. Promote Your Work:

Your blog provides a perfect platform to promote new releases, share excerpts from your upcoming work, or announce events like book signings or speaking engagements. It's an easy way to keep your audience updated and excited about your work.

Best Content Example: Sneak Peeks and Behind-the-Scenes

Offering sneak peeks of upcoming books or behind-the-scenes glimpses into your writing process can create anticipation and maintain reader interest. Revealing the cover of your next book or sharing a character's backstory that doesn't make it into the actual book can be intriguing for your fans.

5. Expand Your Network:

A blog can also open opportunities to connect with other authors, industry professionals, and potential collaborators. Guest posts (like this one!), interviews, and collaborations can bring in new audiences and provide fresh content for your readers.

Have a podcast? Many podcast aggregators have embed features, so you can post an audio interview or YouTube video right on your blog.

Best Content Example: Author Interviews and Guest Posts

Hosting an interview with another author in your genre or allowing guest posts from other industry professionals can provide unique perspectives while expanding your network and audience.

Remember, maintaining an active blog on your author website is a powerful opportunity to enhance your brand, engage and grow your audience, and improve the discoverability of your work. Happy blogging!

About Alex

J. Alexander Greenwood is an award-winning writer, public relations consultant, podcaster, speaker, and former journalist and broadcasting executive. He is best known as the author of the John Pilate Mysteries and host/producer of the Mysterious Goings On podcast and the PR After Hours podcast. Alex is also the author of the Amazon Top-Selling eBook/audiobook, The Podcast Option. You can read his blog at JAlexanderGreenwood.com.

Image Credits

Top photo by Miguel Á. Padriñán on pexels.com