John Meszaros asked Stephanie R. Sorensen:

what did you do to market and advertise your book?

Stephanie R. Sorensen Hi John,

Hey, first of all, it's great to meet another author who is as fascinated with Japan as I am! I need to check out "At Yomi's Gate!" You and I share a big marketing challenge in our topic and subject matter, because Japan is pretty far off the beaten path in our culture at this moment in time, although maybe the Pokemon Go craze will somehow help our cause!

I'm still figuring out marketing and advertising and plugging away at that mission. Here's my untested theory on marketing an indie book for a first time emerging author, for what it is worth:

1) Long and slow, after launch, not hard and fast before launch (like a traditional book). Not because hard and fast isn't better and more effective, but because an indie author with no established reputation and a tiny budget cannot win with a big pre-launch rollout. So what does a successful "long and slow" frugal indie launch look like? My theory and plan:

2) Reviews, reviews, reviews. Good and bad. Customer, blogger and editorial reviews. Real reviews from unbribed strangers. So I query Amazon reviewers, do non-reciprocal reviews with Goodreads review groups, do Goodreads giveaways (Goodreads giveaway allocation algorithms are rumored to favor people who complete reviews), query relevant book bloggers, query magazines/book review sites (Historical Novel Society) and submit the book for editorial reviews, free where possible (Booklife PW) and paying for them when necessary (Kirkus, BlueInk, Clarion). Reviews--real reviews--help readers decide what to read, and having lots of reviews makes readers feel safe about their decision. Readers who feel safe and know what to expect are more likely to take a chance on an unknown author, so...reviews, reviews, reviews.

3) Contests for indie authors. So far I'm 2 for 5 on coming up with something out of a contest entry fee, garnering a finalist and a bronze medal, helping me break out of the endless sea of self-published books as something readable and of decent quality. Again, more reassurance for wary readers.

4) Netgalley. Netgalley is an online site for reviewers, bloggers, book buyers, media people and librarians to download free digital copies of new books, both traditionally and indie-published. My one month experiment with Netgalley has yielded, from 499 impressions, 87 downloads, 14 reviews (blogs, Amazon, Goodreads), 2 author interviews and some fun fan mail. I like Netgalley!

5) Goodreads ads: I've spent the mighty sum of $60 experimenting with Goodreads ads over the five months since I launched, not to drive sales, yet, but to understand what ad copy works with readers. I now have a good idea of what makes readers respond to my book ad. Once I reach critical mass on the customer/blogger/editorial review front, I will use that knowledge to do some real advertising. Same for Facebook--I've done some tiny sum experimenting and now have it pretty well figured out, but want to wait until I have more reviews locked down. That reader reassurance theory again...

6) Bookbub (future plan). Once I reach critical mass on reviews, a fuzzy line but somewhere between 50 and 150 reviews, with some good editorial reviews and maybe another contest win, I plan to apply to the Bookbub curated section and run a short promotion, supported by advertising on multiple channels. IF they accept my book, that lets me reach 2 million readers in a single blast, which, IF the indie publishing gods smile upon me, should translate to an exciting assault on the Amazon ranking hill and blast me to the top of my category for a moment or two. This blessed event, should it occur, will get the Amazon recommendation engines working on my behalf and jumpstart real discoverability and sales for "Toru: Wayfarer Returns." Once that happens, spending on advertising is probably worthwhile.

7) Write the next book in the series. Readers who like "Toru" say they want to read the next book, so I'm working hard on it now! I hope to do my big Toru promotion right before the launch of the next book in the series, indie publishing gods willing, and snag those readers who like "Toru" and roll them right into pre-ordering the new book.

It's a grand experiment, and who knows how it will turn out. I view the challenge as a human soul bravely struggling against the algorithms that run our world to break through and solve the discoverability problem.

I wish you the best with your book and hope this is helpful.

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