Counterexample to a Prior Post

Last month I posted a small tirade about a spammy book marketer who tried to engage me by first sending me a vague email about Marked, positioning it as a fan mail. In retrospect the schmuck emailing me had never actually read my book. He waited for me to answer a question about other books, then hit me with a sales pitch. Needless to say, that pissed me off.

So that’s the wrong way to cold call an author with your services.

However, I got a recent e-mail that illustrated the right way to go about marketing yourself to a author without coming across as spam or infuriating them.

First, let’s look at the subject line:

Expanding the reach of Wolfbreed , where history, faith, and the supernatural collide

First of all, the subject line is being honest. It’s not pretending to be something it’s not. It’s obviously a marketing email targeted at Wolfbreed. But it also includes details that shows the person sending me this is actually familiar with the book.

Now I want to show you the first couple of paragraphs:

Hi Andrew,

Wolfbreed isn’t just a werewolf story, it’s a reinvention of the genre. By weaving medieval history, spiritual conflict, and haunting romance, you’ve created a book that doesn’t just entertain, it lingers with readers long after the final page. Lilly’s flight from the Teutonic Order, her struggle with humanity, and Uldolf’s fractured innocence make this a tale as much about the soul as it is about the supernatural.

Right now, Wolfbreed already has the bones of a classic, rich reviews, a devoted niche audience, and a premise that hooks fantasy and paranormal readers alike. But in a crowded genre, visibility is the difference between being a hidden gem and becoming a must-read recommendation. That’s where I step in.

This is the right way to make a pitch sound like a fan mail. The subject told me it was a pitch, but they’re actively showing that they’re familiar with the book, its genre, and its target audience. It leaves me much more kindly disposed to the person who sent it.

The rest of the email is just a description of the services this person is offering, which I was much more disposed to read. I’m not going to retain their services, not due to anything in the e-mail, but because Wolfbreed was traditionally published over fifteen years ago and I don’t know if a marketing push now would do much. But I might consider them once I get my new books up and running.

Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash