Affiliate Disclosure:<\/strong> This post contains Amazon Associate links, which means if you click on them and make a purchase, I will receive a couple of pennies (at no extra charge to you). <\/em><\/p>\n When I first met Vicki Weisfeld<\/a>, author of the debut thriller Architect of Courage<\/a> It was many years ago. I had just joined the communications team for a national awareness campaign Vicki created and managed for her then employer. She had high standards and expectations for the people supporting her goals.<\/p>\n It was clear that I’d have to earn her trust and respect. Was I up to the challenge?<\/p>\n I did my best.<\/p>\n Over time, our professional relationship has evolved into a friendship that has allowed me to watch this mentor transform from an accomplished professional communicator into an award-winning mystery writer.<\/p>\n And now, with her first book released by a small press in early June, I continue to be impressed as Vicki works steadily to introduce readers to her story.<\/p>\n I invited her to talk about her promotion campaign here.\u00a0I hope her activities inspire you to think about what’s possible for your<\/em> book.<\/p>\n Vicki’s short stories have appeared in leading mystery magazines, including Ellery Queen<\/em>, Sherlock Holmes<\/em>, and Black Cat<\/em>. Find her work also in a variety of anthologies: Busted: Arresting Stories from the Beat<\/em>, Seascapes: Best New England Crime Stories<\/em>, Murder Among Friends<\/em>, Passport to Murder<\/em>, The Best Laid Plans<\/em>, Quoth the Raven<\/em>, and Sherlock Holmes in the Realms of Edgar Allan Poe<\/em>.<\/p>\n She’s a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and the Short Mystery Fiction Society (which awarded her \u201cBreadcrumbs\u201d a best short story Derringer in 2017). Vicki also reviews crime\/mystery\/thriller fiction for the UK website, Crime Fiction Lover<\/a>.<\/p>\n Grab a cup of tea, friends. Vicki has lots to share with us about the effort and energy she’s put into promoting her debut thriller.<\/p>\n In a way, it was like I was \u201cpreparing\u201d for the book launch for the last decade. For example, I launched my website in 2012 and post about four times a week. In total disregard of the fate of the nation\u2019s trees, I\u2019d been printing out and organizing helpful-seeming articles on marketing and promotion\u2014actionable steps!\u2014for years. (Some of those articles were yours, Sandy!)<\/p>\n As publication day approached, and I realized I finally had to wrap my head around this challenge, I went through my files and pulled out the articles that looked most germane. I had a couple of articles about scheduling: \u201csix months before publication, you should . . .\u201d; \u201cfour months before publication, you should . . .\u201d It was overwhelming.<\/p>\n And, we were in the midst of Covid, so even though I had the time, I lacked the motivation. In the end, I whittled my plans down to a manageable number of tasks that I felt confident I could do well.<\/p>\n Many of the most helpful things I did, starting two months before launch, involved getting my tools together:<\/p>\n These posts contained information specific to the book, but also generalizable tips for writers. They had an overarching \u201cWhere writers\u2019 ideas come from\u201d title, rather than a \u201cHere\u2019s why you should buy my book\u201d approach. This is an example<\/a>. This series was well-received.<\/p>\n I paid for a Partners in Crime Tour<\/a> (PICT), and provided the staff with information and photos (book cover, me), and they took it from there. Loved that! Even if I felt \u201cunproductive,\u201d I knew something was being done with a range of book blog sites. Over a month\u2019s period, that arrangement produced:<\/p>\n Interestingly, none of the bloggers PICT found were in my list. So, in addition, I\u2019ve reached out to several from my list, which has garnered additional interviews, reviews, and guest posts<\/a>.<\/p>\n Did any of this activity result in actual sales? That\u2019s hard to know. However, I wasn\u2019t expecting a straight-line relationship between blog post and ringing cash registers. I recall the old publicity rule of thumb that people typically need 14 exposures\u201414!\u2014before a piece of information sinks in or takes hold enough for them to push the \u201cBUY\u201d button. Having my book in so many places increases those exposure numbers.<\/p>\n Moreover, since I\u2019m a new author with a tiny publisher, I don\u2019t have any prestigious reviews, so I excerpted the book bloggers\u2019 posts to populate the \u201cEditorial Reviews\u201d section of my Amazon page.<\/p>\n Some of these presentations involved a reading, and some were just Q&A\u2014more fun, actually. I was allowed to sell books at some events, and not others. I had to bail on a book festival I\u2019d signed up for in northern New Jersey, because of being stranded in Lisbon with Covid, but I have another one scheduled for October.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve sold about 54 books through these means.<\/p>\n Two additional points:<\/p>\n Here\u2019s where I learned from you, Sandy. Part of the reason people don\u2019t review a book<\/a> is they can\u2019t think of what to say. It\u2019s not necessary to give a book The New York Times<\/em> treatment; a casual \u201cI really enjoyed this book and here\u2019s why . .\u201d works every bit as well.<\/p>\n Writing a review is one of 10 things I suggest people can do to support a book or an author they admire. That list was part of my \u201cfriends and family\u201d letter before the book was launched. I\u2019ve taken copies to readings, etc.<\/p>\n [novashare_tweet tweet=”Writing a review is one of 10 things I suggest people can do to support a book or an author they admire. ~ Vicki Weisfeld” hide_hashtags=”true”]<\/p>\n When I realized it could be a \u201cgeneric\u201d product\u2014without the links to my blog, my author page, etc.\u2014I made it available on my blog<\/a> (it\u2019s had some 250 page views) and highlighted in on Facebook and Twitter. You are welcome to download it, add your own ideas, pictures, and so on.<\/p>\n This was in part serendipity.<\/p>\n One is a mystery book club here in Princeton that I belong to.<\/p>\n One invitation came after a member read the book, liked it, and suggested it to her book club (which is also doing an interview with me the previous month).<\/p>\n And the third invitation came from a friend of a friend who read the book and liked it. Zoom is a big boon here, because book clubs are all over the country!<\/p>\n I have a list of mystery book clubs and reaching out to them is my next task, along with finding an audio book producer and distributor (I don\u2019t want to manage this myself).<\/p>\n Plus, developing a strategy for submission to appropriate award programs. That falls under the rubric, \u201cnothing ventured, nothing gained.\u201d Even being nominated provides additional exposure.<\/p>\n Regrettably, I can\u2019t participate in the International Thriller Writers Debut Authors Program again! But I would definitely repeat the Partners in Crime Tour.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll be keeping my master mailing list (that Excel list) up-to-date in the meantime, so I can reach out to people again, and perhaps by then I will have a fairly good newsletter following. I also believe writing the series of blog posts about the book was helpful.<\/p>\n Say \u201cyes\u201d to everything. You never know where it might lead!<\/p>\n I remember an author talking about a bookstore event she did where no one came. She used the time instead to chat with the store\u2019s staff, who then, because they had that personal connection with her, displayed her book prominently, and invited her back when her next book came out. Much better attendance!<\/p>\n Book promotion is <\/em>work, but it\u2019s part of the job description of being an author in 2022.<\/p>\n [novashare_tweet tweet=”Book promotion is work, but it\u2019s part of the job description of being an author in 2022. ~ Vicki Weisfeld” hide_hashtags=”true”]<\/p>\n I think we get a little paralyzed by so many articles with headlines like \u201c15 Marketing Mistakes New Authors Make\u201d or \u201cAre You Dooming Your Book?\u201d Ignore all that.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t try to do everything, it isn\u2019t possible. Find the tasks that appeal to you, and don\u2019t be afraid to ask for help (\u201cfriends and family\u201d again). They\u2019re likely very proud of you and happy to provide some assistance. You just need to tell them how.<\/p>\n Whatever you do, do it in good spirits, with reasonable expectations, and move on with a smile on your face. You\u2019re an author!<\/p>\n Big thanks to Vicki for sharing her experiences with us! Do you have a question for her about how she’s promoting her debut thriller? Please leave it in a comment so Vicki can respond.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When I first met Vicki Weisfeld<\/a>, author of the debut thriller Architect of Courage<\/a> It was many years ago. I had just joined the communications team for a national awareness campaign Vicki created and managed for her then employer. She had high standards and expectations for the people supporting her goals.<\/p>\n It was clear that I’d have to earn her trust and respect. Was I up to the challenge?<\/p>\n I did my best.<\/p>\n Over time, our professional relationship has evolved into a friendship that has allowed me to watch this mentor transform from an accomplished professional communicator into an award-winning mystery writer.<\/p>\n And now, with her first book released by a small press in early June, I continue to be impressed as Vicki works steadily to introduce readers to her story.<\/p>\n I invited her to talk about her promotion campaign here.\u00a0I hope her activities inspire you to think about what’s possible for your<\/em> book.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":19422,"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":[25,1501,11,12],"tags":[1498,35,1499,1500,1502],"class_list":["post-15459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fiction","category-qa","category-tactics","category-tools","tag-architect-of-courage","tag-book-promotion","tag-debut-thriller","tag-mystery-book-promotion","tag-vicki-weisfeld"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?source=bk&t=beckwithcommu-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=73dde5d002d3132a89dc15a1057e9fa0&_cb=1660938751392\")
Introducing Vicki Weisfeld<\/h2>\n
![\"debut](\"https:\/\/buildbookbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Vicki-Weisfeld-200x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Book promotion Q&A with debut thriller writer Vicki Weisfeld<\/h2>\n
The publication date for <\/em>Architect of Courage<\/a>
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com\/e\/ir?source=bk&t=beckwithcommu-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=682d5f5f91ffe85e8879fa24505fbd71&_cb=1660938809903\")
Two months before the launch…<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\n
I know you’ve been putting a lot of time and energy into book promotion. Tell us about your Partners in Crime virtual tour<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
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You’ve done several book appearances for\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Architect of Courage<\/a><\/strong>, too. Please offer an overview so we understand what types of locations hosted you and what they accomplished for your debut thriller. \u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"debut](\"https:\/\/buildbookbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Architect-of-Courage-cover-194x300.jpg\")
<\/a>Yes, I\u2019ve done presentations at my launch party, to my women\u2019s group, two bookstores, Mystery Writers of America \u2013 New York Chapter, and the local Sisters in Crime chapter.<\/p>\n\n
I’m impressed with the number and quality of reviews on Amazon. What’s working best for you for\u00a0getting reviews?<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
How did you identify and connect with the three book clubs<\/a> that plan to read your book?<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
What’s next for your promotion activities?<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Of everything you’ve done so far, what would you do again for your next book?<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"debut](\"https:\/\/buildbookbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Partners-in-Crime-image-300x117.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nWhat’s your single best tip for other novelists about book marketing and promotion?<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Any other thoughts you’d like to share?\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"debut](\"https:\/\/buildbookbuzz.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/How-to-kill-it-with-debut-thriller.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\n