If I tell you a hen dips snuff, you better look under her tongue!
The same holds true when I tell you that marketing historical fiction can be fun.
Truthfully, marketing any genre is difficult and time-consuming work. So my philosophy is that we might as well have fun while we’re doing it.
Both published and unpublished authors often obsess and stress about marketing. Likely that’s because selling or not selling books may well impact whether or not we get another book contract. Even so, don’t let that scare you away from a new way of approaching the activity.
One day, while stressing over the whole job of marketing my work, I decided life is way too short and writing is way too much fun for me to allow marketing to leave me feeling negative about it. So, by an act of my will, I reframed the process and ran smack into the law of attraction. Which is:
When we have fun, we attract people to us.
Now, I create enjoyable ways to market my books and set up activities that make me laugh. For example: I spent four days in Orange, a southeast Texas town with a population of 18,000, launching the third book in my Sidra Smart mystery series, Dead Wreckoning. I had tons of fun and sold 150 books.
As my final draft neared completion, my protagonist started making pickles. So, I made a few dozen jars, affixed a cute label, and took them there to sell along with my books. The pickles led folks over to my table. One man bought a jar of them just because he loved the label. Folks who bought the whole mystery series received a free jar wrapped in colorful tissue paper and stuffed into a bag. Customers walked off with smiles on their faces.
It’s only fair to mention my sister lived in Orange then and knew everyone in town—not literally, but almost! She handles my cash box. Plus, she draws people to her like my fair skin draws mosquitoes. People come over to chat with her; she introduces me and tells them about my excellent book! I almost had to tie her to the chair to keep her from dashing back to a nice warm car when the wind gusts got up to 35-45 miles per hour, and the chill factor froze our bones, but folks came despite the weather and bought a record number of books. So, if you want to rent my sister…
Also, there is something to be said about regional stories, and that something is excitement. People love reading a book that features locations and sites they recognize. Three different papers ran articles and photos of upcoming events. Many folks came by and said, “Oh yes, this is the book I read about in the paper.”
I sign books in coffee shops, antique stores, and boutique wine shops. At the same time, an Elvis impersonator sings at art events, a Chamber of Commerce, an antique store, libraries, a pharmacy, a Mardi Gras celebration, a Crawfish Boil; anywhere I can set up a table. I often offer something for the customer, such as a live band playing great music, wine and cheese, cookies, sandwiches, and coffee. Following the theme ofDead Wreckoning, which features the ghost of Jean Lafitte and fictional female pirate Mary Anne Radcliff, I dress in a pirate costume, offer a treasure chest overflowing with gold-wrapped candy, have a couple of alligators (not live) sitting on the table plus a pirate hat and knife, and a skull and crossbones banner.
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