Self-Published Thriller 'Silent Child' Created Noise and a Goodreads Choice Nomination

The Goodreads Choice Awards surface some of the most popular books readers have enjoyed during the preceding year, and more and more self-published authors are starting to show up in the Opening Round. Silent Child by Sarah A. Denzil is one of the five self-published titles nominated for an award this year, though more books will be introduced on November 7, when the number of write-ins get tallied up for the Semi-Final round.

The dark psychological thriller has been generating buzz among readers since it was first published in January. We asked Sarah, who is based in the UK and also writes Young Adult books under the name Sarah Dalton, to share some thoughts about the nomination, her approach to book promotion and marketing, and what she will do if she wins.

Congrats on the Goodreads Choice Award nomination! How did you react when you found out?

Shocked and happy! I kept looking at the other authors in my category and feeling overwhelmed that Silent Child is among them. There are #1 New York Times bestsellers and authors who have movies made of their films, and then there’s me with a cover I made myself and a book I had no idea would ever do this well.

Tell us about the publication process of your book. What was harder than you thought, and what was easier?

Well, almost everything went wrong before the publication of Silent Child! My computer died, which meant I couldn’t work on the file for some time, and at one point I thought I’d lost the most recent version with some new edits on the document.

For the first time in ages I’d actually set up a publication date and lined up a few ARC reviews and almost missed that deadline because of all the issues that kept cropping up. The book ended up a lot longer than I’d anticipated, so proofreading took longer, and then the file was ‘stuck’ in publication for a few days, which sometimes happens when you self-publish. I made the deadline by the skin of my teeth!

What has your approach been to how you interact with readers?

It’s wonderful that readers can contact me so easily via a platform like Goodreads, or on social media. I read my messages and reply. I tend to stay away from the reviews as they are a space for readers, not authors. Recently I’ve really enjoyed writing up a few reviews of books I’ve especially enjoyed.

What has been your most successful strategy for raising awareness for your book?

To me, the best marketing strategy is making sure the book has an excellent cover that conveys the genre, the blurb is compelling, and the introductory price is low. For books written in a very popular genre those components are extremely strong.

What do you enjoy about Goodreads?

I’ve really enjoyed revisiting some of my favourite books and writing a short review explaining why I enjoyed the book so much. What always surprises me is that other Goodreads users like my reviews, which indicates they find them useful! I’ve always been a little reticent about giving my opinion on other work (as a writer myself) but it’s fantastic to see other users interacting and enjoying reading my opinion on some great literature.

What advice would you give other self-published authors?

The story is so important. Readers want a great story more than anything. Hone your craft, do your research, back up your work, keep going, outsource where you can, get involved in the community.

What books are you reading right now? What books in other categories do you hope win an award?

I just finished reading The Birds, and I’ve also had the pleasure of reading an ARC for thriller writer friend Shalini Boland. Right now I’m browsing the Choice nominations adding scores of books to my already insanely long TBR! I’m also a YA writer, and I loved One of Us is Lying and I love the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. I’ve heard great things about Little Fires Everywhere but I haven’t read it yet! Basically, I need to read a lot faster!

What are you working on now?

I’m working on edits for my fourth psychological thriller, which is about a nurse who works at a high-security psychiatric hospital and believes her patient might be innocent of the crime she allegedly committed.

What will you do if you win the award?

Allow myself out of the writer’s cave for a glass of champagne. Or eat an entire cake!

Silent Child is nominated in the Best Mystery & Thriller category in the Goodreads Choice Awards 2017. See all the nominees here and be sure to cast your vote for your favorite books in every round. Winners will be announced December 5.

Sarah will be answering questions the week of November 12 in the comment section below! Leave a question or post a comment for her to see, or ask her via Ask the Author on her Sarah Dalton profile.

Next: Why It's an Honor Just to Be Nominated

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