FROM SCRIPT TO NOVEL TO TRILOGY (part 5)
Also with events, always invite the press. Always. It’s a long shot for them to attend unless there’s a newsworthy story involved. I’ve seen authors connect an event to a charity, where book sales go to a non-profit. Or a human interest tale. Unfortunately, an unknown author with a book to sell isn’t high on a reporter’s interest list. But it never hurts to invite them.
I also attempted several other marketing methods with mixed results. Book cover contest, author panels, merch investments, etc. Best advice I can give is to mind your budget, and if a promo or deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
So the in-person and online marketing efforts were hit and miss, but always educational. After about 18 months of effort, I had to come to terms with the fact that this one novel was not going to generate enough buzz or sales to attract the film industry. I had to think bigger.
It was time to write book 2, MECHCRAFT: DISRUPTION. This time around would be different since I had no script to guide me. Again, I ended up loving the process. Eight months and 5 rewrites later, I sent it off to my editor- once again the best money I would spend. She got it into shape and ready for publication. But now, where to publish? I refused to go through the crowdfunding model again.
Meanwhile, the fan base was beginning to grow for the original book. A killer industrial rock band approached me to ask permission to write a song about Mechcraft’s villain. I happily agreed, and now that song is the opener for their latest album. We are going to do mutual marketing when their tour begins later this year.
Likewise, the owners of a chandelier manufacturer created a stunning sculpture of the book’s cover as a gift for me to display at signings. And again, I’m giving them mutual marketing as a thank you.
Back to publishing. I hit up Querytracker, submitting to 10 agents and publishers in a test round to see how my pitch would fare. After about 3 weeks, responses started coming in. 5 agents passed. 3 publishers passed. The 4th publisher, who was high on my wish list, accepted my pitch and signed me for not only the sequel, but they wanted to re-release the original as well. It was a dream come true. Only one problem- the previous publisher’s rights to Mechcraft hadn’t expired yet.
I also attempted several other marketing methods with mixed results. Book cover contest, author panels, merch investments, etc. Best advice I can give is to mind your budget, and if a promo or deal sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
So the in-person and online marketing efforts were hit and miss, but always educational. After about 18 months of effort, I had to come to terms with the fact that this one novel was not going to generate enough buzz or sales to attract the film industry. I had to think bigger.
It was time to write book 2, MECHCRAFT: DISRUPTION. This time around would be different since I had no script to guide me. Again, I ended up loving the process. Eight months and 5 rewrites later, I sent it off to my editor- once again the best money I would spend. She got it into shape and ready for publication. But now, where to publish? I refused to go through the crowdfunding model again.
Meanwhile, the fan base was beginning to grow for the original book. A killer industrial rock band approached me to ask permission to write a song about Mechcraft’s villain. I happily agreed, and now that song is the opener for their latest album. We are going to do mutual marketing when their tour begins later this year.
Likewise, the owners of a chandelier manufacturer created a stunning sculpture of the book’s cover as a gift for me to display at signings. And again, I’m giving them mutual marketing as a thank you.
Back to publishing. I hit up Querytracker, submitting to 10 agents and publishers in a test round to see how my pitch would fare. After about 3 weeks, responses started coming in. 5 agents passed. 3 publishers passed. The 4th publisher, who was high on my wish list, accepted my pitch and signed me for not only the sequel, but they wanted to re-release the original as well. It was a dream come true. Only one problem- the previous publisher’s rights to Mechcraft hadn’t expired yet.
No comments have been added yet.
