Hunted is 2 years old!
October 20, 2020 was the release date for Hunted, my urban fantasy standalone. In the grand scheme of life, 2 years isn’t very long, but it feels like forever ago (and not just because of the pandemic.)
I have learned so much since that book’s release. It was my first true foray into the indie-publishing world. I thought I had my release strategy figured out and could learn marketing on the fly. My past self was funny. I didn’t know much at all.
But before we get into the list of things I’ve learned in the past 2 years, here’s some news:
The ebook edition of Hunted is on sale at all major retailers, now through October 25, to celebrate the book’s “birthday.”
And now back to the real matter at hand. Some of the important things I’ve learned since October of 2020.
1 – Timing a book release 2 weeks before a major election is BAD and watch out for Prime Day
Yeah, that was mistake number one. Every social media platform was more interested in discussing politics and which party they wanted to see win than they were about a debut novel from an unknown author. The thing is, I rarely pay attention to politics and will avoid discussing it like the plague (no matter what side you happen to be on). But I should have taken it into consideration.
I ran a few ads at the time too, but they also failed to pan out. Timing is important.
Another timing factor to consider is Amazon Prime Days. I ran some ads when I discounted The Moon’s Eye in July, the week prior to the sequel’s release. I didn’t even consider Prime Day in my decision – the release date worked in my schedule, and it made sense to put book 1 on sale the week prior. From what I’ve heard, that’s usually a sound plan. But not when your sale (and ads) are competing with Prime Day. Oops.
2 – BookBub!
I first signed up to BookBub after I learned about their coveted featured deals, but they have some other very useful features for authors. Did you know if you add your book information into BookBub prior to the release date that it will email all of your followers – for free – on the date of its release?
And if you have enough followers, it will also send preorder notices – again, for free – as soon as the book’s information has been added.
I have yet to be accepted to the mythical featured deal, but I’ll keep trying. From the sounds of it, it’s worth it.
3 – Kobo and Nook Promotions
This is a very recent find for me, even though my books have been on the Nook store since the beginning, and on Kobo since December 2021. Both sites have a variety of promotions you can apply to as an author, but here’s the catch: The promotions tab won’t show up on your dashboard automatically.
You have to request it.
When I learned this, I emailed Kobo and B&N Press to ask how I might receive access. Within a day, I had access on both sites. (And for the record, the people at Kobo seem very friendly in their emails. It was nice!)
I can’t comment on how well these promotions work, as I have one pending acceptance for Nook, and my first accepted one on Kobo just started. And my books are, unfortunately, not eligible for the Nook Free Fridays due to language and violent content. If my books were more family-friendly, I would be all over that promo if I could get it. Sometimes it’s not about the sales, but about getting exposure.
As my husband put it, I’ve “learned the secret handshake.” I wanted to share this bit because it wasn’t something I was aware of, and I’m sure I’m not the only author who isn’t aware of the promo feature for either site.
4 – People really DO judge a book by its cover
I loved the original artwork for Hunted. I really did. But after quite a few people telling me, “I thought this was going to be gothic or horror,” I realized I had a problem. Hunted is neither; it’s an urban fantasy.
Readers have an expectation when they see a book’s cover. They think they know the genre and what they’re getting into. If the cover doesn’t fit, readers will be disappointed – and potentially never finish the book. And that’s not good for an author…
So, one of my projects this year was to get a new cover for Hunted – and make sure it was appropriate for the genre. I’m very happy with the end result (and the Seattle vibes are perfect!)
5 – There are so many scams.
Thankfully, I haven’t fallen to any of them. I was turned on to WriterBeware (a blog affiliated with SFWA) some time before I published Hunted. I subscribed and followed their social media feeds too. They have A TON of resources for authors.
If something looks too good to be true, it probably is. Verify it’s legitimate before signing up to anything!
If you’re a writer and aren’t following WriterBeware, I highly encourage you to do so. Some of the issues they highlight are very illuminating – and scary at times.
6 – What works for one author’s book might not work for yours
This was a point of frustration for a while. I was doing a number of things that others were having great success with, but it wasn’t working for me. Well, it turns out some of the ad tactics and promos that do well for a genre like contemporary fiction don’t help when your books are fantasy.
But, the good news is, there are so many tools out there that you’re bound to find something that works for your book. It’s a lot of trial and error (on my part, anyway), but I’m starting to kind of figure out some of this marketing thing. I’ve had decent success with Facebook ads (as long as they don’t coincide with Prime Day, haha), but didn’t get much out of some of the newsletter options I’ve tried. But I keep testing things, checking results, and tweaking as necessary.
Sometimes marketing feels a bit like my microbiology job. It’s all just one big experiment, and I have no idea how it will really end up.
Thanks for reading this week’s post and my random rambling about book stuff.
And don’t forget: Hunted is still on sale through October 25!