My mother bought me two books on promotions for Christmas and I'm enjoying them, but....it's kind of hard for me to try out some of these super ideas for HEART OF THE WOLF.
One author sold his new book based on being a new father to hospitals, gift stores, etc. This is great.
Yes, go for niche marketing. If you have a book that features travel, hit up all the travel bureaus, airport gift shops, etc. Have a book about a local place where it has a lot of visitors looking for souvenirs, sell to the gift stores in the local area. My mother-in-law bought a mystery thriller, though she didn't usually read them, because it was set in Keene, NH where they had a cabin and it was pushed in that area, local setting, local author.
An author created a book about quilts for the crafter in mind and then self published because, according to publishers, people didn't make quilts anymore. Now since this lady was a quilter, attended numerous quilt shows all over the country, and had won at several shows, but most of all found there were NO books on how to quilt, she knew there was a market for it. So she self published. After selling to quilting craft stores and at shows all over the states....she sold 100K on her own, a publishing company picked her up for the next 100K. She's had several printings and written subsequent books on quilting.
But how do you sell werewolves? :)
For WINNING THE HIGHLANDER'S HEART, since there are plenty of real characters from Henry I's time in the book, I've played up the historical, medieval (I gave a talk about medieval life to a book club where we had wine and cheese!, and am scheduled to have a medieval garden type booth at a garden show), and Scottish aspects (sold to several Scots, and have a lot of Scots in my family tree)....I've been able to market based on several niches.)
But werewolves?
When we were at the movies to see Sweeny Todd (I was very fortunate to see the play in NYC some years ago), there were several trailers for other fantasy shows coming up. Urban fantasy/paranormal/fantasy are all still making their impact on the world.
Vampires...hmmm-hmm...acceptable. But werewolves?
Welcome to my world, where wolves are wolves with a human sensibility, and humans are gifted with the wolf's keen senses. See what happens when the lupus garou break free of the rules of their society, wreaking havoc, and threatening exposure of their special kind. Read how Devlyn rescues Bella only to find themselves in worse trouble than before.
HEART OF THE WOLF is set in Colorado and Oregon. So that's a niche! I went to college in Portland and my grandfather was one of the first doctors in Beaverton, suburb of Portland. Maybe a tie in? I lived in Colorado too. Another tie in?
So you have to find ways to get your work noticed. Finding a niche for more unusual kinds of books might be difficult, but not impossible! You just have to get a little creative!
HEART OF THE WOLF is coming out April Fool's Day. No fooling!
Terry Spear
www.terryspear.com
How to Promote Werewolves...Any Werewolf Specialty Shops out there??
Award-winning author of urban fantasy and medieval historical romantic suspense, Terry Spear also writes true stories for adult and young adult audiences. She’s a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves and has an MBA from Monmouth College. She also creates award-winning teddy bears, Wilde & Woolly Bears, to include personalized bears designed to commemorate authors’ books. When she’s not writing or making bears, she’s teaching online writing courses. Originally from California, she’s lived in eight states and now resides in the heart of Texas. She is the author of Heart of the Wolf, Don’t Cry Wolf, Winning the Highlander’s Heart, Deadly Liaisons, Relative Danger, The Vampire…In My Dreams (young adult), Deidre’s Secret (young adult) and numerous articles and short stories for magazines.
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2 comments:
Great post, Terry!! I know... you could sell them at sporting goods stores. Women are forced to go there with their husbands and yet there is hardly anything for the women to look at or buy, unless they need shoes or fitness equipment. So werewolf romance would play into the wildlife aspect and also be something women would enjoy! Other possibilities... those shops that sell semi-precious stones and wolf T-shirts or a gift shop that sells unusual stuff.
Thanks for the suggestions, Vonda. Yes, the way to go is trying to think of creative markets. I was looking at stores that had sculptures of wolf heads too. :)
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