Promoting Books During the Holidays + writing guides, contracts, & publishing strike
5 steps to market books as gifts; nanowrimo guides; contracts; de-colonizing the hero's journey; native titles; PRH/SS merger blocked; boston bookstores; uk book price hikes; HC strike; decaf ceylon
Greetings readers & writers,
The December holiday season is nearly upon us. I know, I know, it’s barely November! I hate it too. But I do take a certain amount of joy in selecting the perfect book for each family member. The weather has stayed unseasonably warm and a brisk fall wind makes it a little easier to breathe, despite the tension of election season.
No one wants to do marketing right now. We want to play in the leaves and pick the last remaining apples! But the truth is that, between Thanksgiving and New Years is the absolute most wild (and lucrative!) time for small businesses, and they’re gearing up for that right now. Remember: you’re also a small business! So how can you — an author, or even a reader — use the gift-season buzz to your advantage?
Pay attention to your audience, now more than ever. There’s so much advertising noise around the holidays, you want to reach your readers specifically, so that you aren’t just tuned out. Where does your readership get their book recommendations? What kinds of promotions can you aim at them directly? As a reader, what retailers or outlets could use your supportive dollars right now?
Aim for high foot traffic… but don’t be in the way. You’d think events during the holiday crush would be lucrative… but shutting down a corner of a store for an event means less space for browsing for customers. Consider events and dates that equal high foot traffic and a low footprint — book signings/holiday stroll/book fair events are great for this. Low prep, little set-up, hopefully big return.
Don’t be afraid to throw a little money at it. This is the time of year when people are looking to spend money, so if you can, aim to spend a little too. If you know your local winter/craft market gets high returns, splurge for that booth. If you want to assemble a gift bundle promo with swag, now’s the time. Give books as gifts, especially by local authors!
Be a good art friend. Connect with other writers to cross-promote and book talk each others’ titles leading up to the holidays. Reconnect with bookstores where you did events or befriended booksellers and offer to sign stock/gift wrap/be an extra set of hands. Send your friends, family, and colleagues a book rec list of your favorite giftable titles (including yours of course!) Did I mention giving books as gifts?
Start now. Whether that’s buying your holiday gift books early or setting up a signing event, don’t wait. The closer we get to the shopping frenzy, the less time booksellers and business owners will have to meet your needs.
#Throwback Thursday: Finding the Right Marketing Support for You
We’re soon wrapping up another year of Book Marketing Now interviews! This month we have an epic interview featuring the authors/publishers behind Table for 7 Press, a writing group that combined their skills to explore alternative publishing options.
Writing/Marketing Resources
Drop everything and buy Humble Bundle’s 2022 NaNoWriMo e-book bundle, which includes twenty ebooks on writing, including the essential, irreplacable Wonderbook by Jeff Vandermeer, writing guides by K.M. Weiland, and more for only $18. Go go go!!
Author Rachel Bateman has a colorful (free!) collection of downloadable NaNoWriMo/ word count tracking tools on her website.
The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) has a whole webpage of annotated model contract agreements for authors entering into different kinds of business relationships.
Absolutely required reading: narrative game designer and Escape Pod associate editor J.M. Coster shares her talk “It’s Not About You: Beyond the Hero’s Journey” on the ways in which the monomyth of the Hero’s Journey has colonized our narrative landscape and how to reexamine and redefine one’s narrative lens.
Looking to expand your reading list this Native American Heritage month? Be sure to check out the Boston Public Library’s book list for all ages: Native Lives, Native Stories 2022: 63 Books for Children, Teens, & Adults
Congrats to subscriber
on winning one of this newsletter's Bookish Birthday Bundles! Nicole is the writer behind thenewsletter + a book lover, school librarian, and writer extraordinaire.Industry News
The news we’ve all been waiting for: Judge Blocks Paramount’s Sale of Simon & Schuster to Penguin Random House {The Hollywood Reporter}. You can read the judge’s full opinion memorandum here. Mike Shatzkin of The Idea Logical Company breaks down the implications of the blocked merger.
Boston is experiencing a boom in indie bookstores {Boston.com}. Hallelujah!
Price hikes are on the horizon for UK book publishers {The Guardian} (where they don’t have fixed book prices) due to the rise in cost of materials and energy.
Spotify was once again thwarted by Apple when they tried to launch their audiobook feature on iOS back in October {The Verge}.
HarperCollins union members went on indefinite strike today {News4Jax} after a one-day strike in July {Publisher’s Weekly} didn’t move the needle on negotiations with the publisher.
Tea
You may have noticed that the “tea” I drink is mostly herbal blends or tisanes. I have a deep love for tea but caffeine and I are at constant war. So I tend not have many black teas at home… except when I have guests. I recently picked up an old favorite, Harney & Son’s Decaf Ceylon Tea and one whiff transported me to the days when I first started drinking tea (high school!) It has a deep, floral, honey-ed scent and a mild bitterness that takes perfectly to milk or cream.
Make yourself a hot cuppa, galavant in the leaves, support HC union workers, and buy books for all your loved ones (including yourself!)
~Allison
Writer & Marketing Coach
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