Novel Marketing

The last time I visited Barnes and Noble, I marveled at the comic book section. Western comic books only filled a couple of shelves, while around the corner, there was an entire aisle of manga comic books.I wondered, “Why is Eastern manga so much more popular than Western comic books from DC and Marvel?” As I investigated, I discovered an interesting and shockingly ancient answer.Western storytelling is typically based on the three-act structure, which dates back to Aristotle. But one ancient story structure that dates back to the time of oral storytelling and is still popular in the East, yet it appeals to modern Western readers.Many Western storytellers have rediscovered it and used it to write some of the most enduring bestsellers in the English language, including Pride and Prejudice, Goodnight Moon, and Dracula.In this week’s episode, we’ll discussA story structure based on only two actsHow to create a two-act structure for a sentence or a seriesHow this structure might rescue a story you’ve been struggling to finishListen in or check out the blog post version of this episode to learn about this ancient story structure and how can you use it to make your book more appealing to readers.https://novelmarketingconference.com/ https://novelmarketingconference.com/Support the show

Reader magnets are like real magnets. Sometimes, they aren't very magnetic, and other times, they're so magnetic that we can rapidly grow an email list of tens of thousands of readers.A reader magnet is supposed to magnetically draw readers onto your list so that when you have a book to announce, lots of folks are ready and eager to learn more or buy.But what if your reader magnet doesn't seem to be working?In this week's episode, I interviewed Jonathan Shuerger to learn how his company, The Strategic Author, can help authors target their ideal market and create super magnetic reader magnets.You'll learnHow to gather intelligence on your target readerWhat questions you should ask to gather useful dataHow to use that intel to create a reader magnet they'll loveListen in or check out the blog post version of this episode to discover why your reader magnet might not be having the impact you want and how you can make it more attractive.https://novelmarketingconference.com/ https://novelmarketingconference.com/Support the show

Are your book sales starting to dip a bit? Perhaps your book sales were once great and are now starting to fall. You may see this drop in sales for several reasons, but you don’t have to stand by and watch them drop indefinitely.Most bestselling books see their highest sales during the pre-order period, followed by the launch month, and then experience a slow, steady decline. But you can extend a book sales lifecycle.In this week’s episode, we’ll talk aboutWhy your sales may be decliningWhich sales problems you can fix (or not)How to reinvigorate your sales (sometimes with very little extra investment!)Listen in or check out the blog post to discover why your sales might drop and get a robust list of marketing strategies to boost them back up.https://novelmarketingconference.com/ https://novelmarketingconference.com/Support the show

The Holy Grail for many authors is to write a popular book series where readers of book one go on to read book two and so on. Writing a popular book series provides many marketing advantages, namely that your advertising is far more profitable.But writing a series is also risky. Generally, you can only sell subsequent books to folks who purchased, read, and enjoyed the first book in the series.For some authors, writing books in a series has shackled their otherwise good books to a relatively unappealing freshman effort.So, how do you know if your book is a good fit for a series?In this week’s episode, you’ll hear from Kristina Stanley, best-selling, award-winning author and the founder of Fictionary.co. We discussTwo types of seriesHow to know if your idea can sustain a seriesStrategies for release and promotion of books in a seriesListen in or check out the blog version of this episode to learn about the many marketing advantages a completed series provides and how you can write a successful series.https://novelmarketingconference.com/ https://novelmarketingconference.com/Support the show

I'm excited to announce that tickets are now for sale for the 2025 Novel Marketing Conference. The conference will be held in Austin, Texas, on January 17th and 18th. This event is not a typical writer's conference where you learn how to write and publish a book. Our conference is focused on book marketing, and our goal is to help you make 2025 the best year of your author career so far!In this episode, you'll find out·      Three special ingredients that make the Novel Marketing Conference unique·      How this year's conference will differ from last year's·      Why we've made certain deliberate choices for this year's conferenceListen in or check out the blog version of this episode to get details about the 2025 Novel Marketing Conference.https://novelmarketingconference.com/ https://novelmarketingconference.com/Support the show

In this conversation with Alexander Macris, a comic book author and game designer, listeners delve into the nuanced world of male readership. Macris discusses why men are reading less fiction and what types of stories resonate with them. He shares insights on the appeal of action-packed narratives versus relational themes. The episode explores the enduring allure of characters like Conan the Barbarian and the importance of meaningful adversity in storytelling. Macris also touches on authenticity in writing and the impact of gender dynamics on literary preferences.

Authors often refer to their books as "babies." As I've worked in the publishing world with authors and now that we are awaiting the birth of our fourth child, I'm starting to see a lot of similarities between birthing a book baby and a human baby.We can learn a lot about delivering a book baby by looking at the process of delivering a real baby. In this week's episode, you'll gain insight onThe author's experience in each stage of book-baby developmentHow to cover the expenses related to holding your book baby for the first timeHow to nourish your book baby and promote healthy growthListen in or check out the blog version of this episode to find out what to expect when publishing a book and what your "book baby" needs for a healthy gestation, birth, and life.https://novelmarketingconference.com/ https://novelmarketingconference.com/Support the show

Novelists often struggle with what to write or say in their email newsletters, blogs, and podcasts. Unpublished novelists often feel like they have nothing to talk about, and published authors know readers tire of constant book promotion emails.So, what should novelists write about?Writing a novel is a bit like woodworking. When you craft something from wood, you often have leftover pieces of lumber you can use elsewhere.Savvy carpenters and writers know how to put the leftovers to use.A novelist's leftover lumber is research!In this week's episode, we'll visit with a historical novelist about how you can repurpose research.You'll discoverHow to share your research in a way that interests your readersLogistical tips for conducting research on-siteHow to engage readers in different stages of your book's developmentListen in or check out the blog version of this episode. You might discover you have plenty of interesting bits about your novel to share with your readers.https://novelmarketingconference.com/ https://novelmarketingconference.com/Support the show

Have you ever wondered if a course would be a better way to present the material in your book? Have your readers asked you to develop your book into an online course?You probably know that online courses tend to sell at higher price points than books, but you also know they are a lot of work.Will it be worth it for you? For your readers?I’ve been creating and teaching online courses for over a decade and had to learn many things the hard way.In this week’s episode, you’ll learn the easy way about the lessons I learned the hard way.We’ll discussWhich types of online courses work in different situationsHow you can make sure your course will sellTips for creating your first courseListen in or check out the blog post version of this episode to discover whether the material in your book could be presented in a course and become a secondary source of revenue for you.https://novelmarketingconference.com/ https://novelmarketingconference.com/Support the show

You probably know that offering a reader magnet on your website is imperative to growing your email list, tantalizing readers with a sample of your writing, and eventually getting them to buy your book.If you write novels, your reader magnet should be a short story, but if you don’t know how to write a great one, you’ll miss out on the many advantages short stories provide.In this week’s episode, Steve Diamond, author and cohost of the Writer Dojo podcast, and I discuss the art of writing short stories.You’ll learnThe biggest mistake authors make when publishing short storiesHow short story techniques differ from those used in long-form piecesTwo exercises that will build your short-story-writing muscles Listen in or read the blog version to discover all the ways writing short stories can benefit you, and learn to write a great one.https://novelmarketingconference.com/ https://novelmarketingconference.com/Support the show