That Hated Nine Letter Word

21 May 2019 // Book Marketing Tips // Add Comment

By Guest Author, Adair Sanders

In a perfect world, all I would have to do is write. Magically, everyone would know about my books, know about me, and storm the bookstores and internet to get their collective hands on my latest fabulous creation. Oh, if only…

As authors who work hard to get our books “out there”, we unfortunately know that in the real world we must expend time and energy engaging in that dreaded nine letter word “marketing.” Rarer than the last survivor of an endangered species is the author who has had the great fortune of being discovered by a mainline publishing house, Hollywood or cable TV. It happens, but it’s one in hundreds, if not thousands, of writers who are just as good at their craft, or better even, that the golden one whose books have made it to national acclaim.

Marketing Strategy

When I began my writing journey I didn’t give much thought to marketing. In truth, I had no idea HOW to market, and besides, marketing seemed like a lot of hard work for potentially not much return. And, I was lazy. I just wanted to write. Bah humbug on all that other stuff. But, I also realized that if I wanted to sell my books, people would have to know about them.

The first thing I did was set up an author website and a presence on social media, linking the posts on my website to Twitter and Facebook. I also created a Facebook page for each of my books, along with a page for the Allison Parker Mysteries. I began to speak at independent bookstores, making certain I had an article in the local newspaper prior to the event. As a result of a book event at Malaprop’s Bookstore I was invited to be the featured speaker at Appalachian State’s Library Board Annual Dinner last fall. I’ve been hosted on local radio once, and just recently was interviewed for an upcoming podcast on The Bookshop at the End of the Internet. I’ve reached out to various local magazines, resulting in a few book feature articles. This year I decided to start applying to book festivals, the latest being the 2019 Amelia Island Book Festival in Florida in which I participated in February. In sum, I’m trying to get my name and my books out to the largest possible audience in a variety of venues and methods.

Targeted Marketing

My most successful marketing strategy has, by far, been the use of Facebook. Via Facebook advertising and targeted marketing I have been able to reach the largest group of potential readers yet. Just this month I had a speaking event in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In addition to press in the Chattanooga online newspaper, I paid $25 for Facebook marketing to link that story in a targeted ad to people in the Chattanooga area over the three days preceding the book event. I hit almost 2000 people for a minimal expenditure. The Chattanooga event at Star Line Books was one of the most successful I have had in attendance and in sales.

For me, marketing is an evolving practice. I try to take advantage of every opportunity to speak, whether at bookstores, college campuses, or even country club luncheons. Getting my name and my books known by as many people as possible is my goal. The various methods I have used are showing some positive results, albeit fairly slowly. All I know is to keep at it, and write, write, write.

Meet Adair Sanders

Adair Sanders was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee in an era where girls of a certain social class were expected to marry well and never work. Exhibiting her penchant for being contrary, Adair left the confines of an all-girl education to pursue a psychology degree and a law degree from the University of Tennessee. For the next thirty years – give or take a few – Adair enjoyed disproving the agenda her parents had designed for her, becoming the first female member of a men’s dining club in Knoxville, Tennessee and then the first female partner in an old-line law firm in Jackson, Mississippi all the while, more or less successfully, balancing a home life of husband and children. Yes, honey, you can have it all.

After the death of her father in 2007, Adair felt called to write the story of her family’s generational dysfunction. Although still practicing law, Adair spent her evenings writing, and thus was birthed her first book, a memoir, aptly entitled Biologically Bankrupt. Three years later, having exited her firm in early retirement (an act which greatly peeved many of her male partners), Adair decided to take a dialogue writing class at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC. Low and behold, two days into the week-long class, Allison Parker, trial lawyer extraordinaire, made her appearance known to Adair, and the rest is history.

As Sick As Our Secrets, An Allison Parker Mystery, was released at the end of 2010, inviting the reader to follow the spunky Alabama lawyer as she uncovers a delicious trail of sex, blackmail and murder. Book two in the mystery series, What Comes Around, was released in December 2015. Fans will find it hard to put down this thriller as Allison and an F.B.I. task force race the clock to stop a serial killer. The third book in the series, Ashes to Ashes, was released in December 2016. A killer has made one attempt on Frank Martin – will he or she make another, or find a second target. Book four in the series, as yet untitled, is due for your reading pleasure in 2018.