wordpress-seo
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action or later. Please see Debugging in WordPress for more information. (This message was added in version 6.7.0.) in /srv/users/sandra/apps/sandra/public/wp-includes/functions.php on line 6114Sometimes, you can find book marketing lessons in unexpected places.<\/p>\n
The Goodreads blog recently published a detailed case study about how Celeste Ng’s second book<\/a> became a best-seller. \u201cCase Study: How Penguin Press Made \u2018Little Fires Everywhere\u2019 a Roaring Success<\/a>\u201d outlines the publisher\u2019s marketing support, which includes Goodreads activity.<\/p>\n It would be easy to dismiss this article as irrelevant to you and me and most other authors. The vast majority of novelists \u2013 regardless of the publishing model used \u2013 simply aren\u2019t enjoying Ng\u2019s success.<\/p>\n Your books aren\u2019t New York Times<\/em> best-sellers and don\u2019t achieve more than than 16,000 reviews on Goodreads.<\/a>\u00a0You don\u2019t ink TV series deals with Reese Witherspoon<\/a>, either.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think it\u2019s irrelevant, though. In fact, I think you can learn a lot from this case study.<\/p>\n Even after you take into account that you don’t have her fame and success (yet) and how much Ng\u2019s reputation played into her second book’s success, there’s still lots to learn from this case study.<\/p>\n Here are six book marketing lessons for novelists from the Goodreads article.<\/p>\n You can\u2019t be certain you\u2019ve written a great story unless strangers tell you that.<\/p>\n So do your best, pay a professional editor to improve it, and get feedback from people who won\u2019t be concerned about hurting your feelings.<\/p>\n This is important because so much success in fiction is driven by good word of mouth. People don’t recommend bad books to their friends.<\/p>\n As the Goodreads case study concludes, \u201cUltimately, though, all the great book marketing tools in the world would not have worked without an amazing story.\u201d<\/p>\n The Penguin team started marketing Little Fires Everywhere<\/em><\/a> nine months before its publication date.<\/p>\n While you might not use the same strategy and tactics that Ng\u2019s publisher did nine months out, your book would benefit from efforts that begin long before your publication date, too.<\/p>\n This is your platform<\/a> \u2013 your built-in audience that\u2019s waiting for your book to come out. You don\u2019t build a platform overnight. It takes time.<\/p>\n If your audience is young and female, figure out Instagram and Goodreads, because that\u2019s where they\u2019re talking all things books.<\/p>\n Follow the followers of the top authors in your genre. Then give those readers value. Maybe you involve them in your process so they feel invested in your work. Ask their opinions on storylines, character names, or titles. Comment on what they’re doing.<\/p>\n The point is: Find the right readers and talk to them.<\/p>\n <\/a>The case study doesn\u2019t say how many ARCs Penguin gave away through NetGalley and Edelweiss, but there were 23 reviews up on Goodreads by the end of May (for a September publication date).<\/p>\n Many authors remain reluctant to give away review copies. They think it diminishes their book\u2019s value or they\u2019re worried about piracy.<\/p>\n Just do it.<\/p>\n If you\u2019ve written a good book and you\u2019re getting it into the right hands, ARCs will help boost the number of reviews, especially on Goodreads.<\/p>\n As for piracy, NetGalley has a mechanism that protects against that.<\/p>\n In Ng\u2019s case, several top Goodreads reviewers got early copies and reviewed the book. Who influences your<\/em> readers? Find them on Goodreads, or find Gooreads reviewers who have reviewed books like yours.<\/p>\n Look for them on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Twitter, too. Develop and nurture relationships with them.<\/p>\n Penguin\u2019s team used early reader reviews to shape marketing messages. You can do that, too.<\/p>\n Even less-than-favorable reader reviews can give you information you can use to change your book’s description so that people don’t expect X and get Y.<\/p>\n Study reviews to identify words used to describe the book. And, if your writing is compared to author X’s books more than once, work that comparison into your book’s description and keywords.<\/p>\n Find a popular book that’s similar to yours and study what the author and publisher have done to market it. You might be surprised by what you uncover — and how you can use that new knowledge.<\/p>\n What’s the one marketing tactic you know works for your book? Please share it in a comment.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" <\/a><\/p>\n Sometimes, you can find book marketing lessons in unexpected places.<\/p>\n The Goodreads blog recently published a detailed case study about how Celeste Ng’s second book<\/a> became a best-seller. \u201cCase Study: How Penguin Press Made \u2018Little Fires Everywhere\u2019 a Roaring Success<\/a>\u201d outlines the publisher\u2019s marketing support, which includes Goodreads activity.<\/p>\n It would be easy to dismiss this article as irrelevant to you and me and most other authors. The vast majority of novelists \u2013 regardless of the publishing model used \u2013 simply aren\u2019t enjoying Ng\u2019s success.<\/p>\n Your books aren\u2019t New York Times<\/em> best-sellers and don\u2019t achieve more than than 16,000 reviews on Goodreads.<\/a>\u00a0You don\u2019t ink TV series deals with Reese Witherspoon<\/a>, either.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think it\u2019s irrelevant, though. In fact, I think you can learn a lot from this case study.<\/p>\n Even after you take into account that you don’t have her fame and success (yet) and how much Ng\u2019s reputation played into her second book’s success, there’s still lots to learn from this case study.<\/p>\n Here are six takeaways for novelists.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":19834,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[145,20,11],"tags":[982,96,983,984,50,475,985],"class_list":["post-10914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-current-events","category-news","category-tactics","tag-big-guys","tag-book-marketing-lessons","tag-case-study","tag-celese-ng","tag-fiction","tag-goodreads","tag-novelists"],"yoast_head":"\n1. Write a damn good book.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
2. Start early.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
3. Work to build a fan base, then nurture and leverage it.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
4. Distribute as many advance review copies \u2013 ARCs \u2013 as possible. <\/strong><\/h2>\n
5. Identify and connect with key influencers.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
6. Let reader feedback guide your marketing messages.<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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