Inside the Blogosphere: Book Marketing Favorites
John recently asked if anyone would like to host the “Inside the Blogosphere” series on their blogs and I volunteered. Of course, I’m later than I expected on this, but in any case, here is this round’s question: What is your favorite form of book marketing? And what form of book marketing do you find most convincing? The question is based on John’s Tor article. Here’s what everyone had to say: Lisa (Danger Gal): I used to work in television and now I’m a web designer, so I’m often drawn to the visual nature of book trailers. When done well, they do tempt me to at least find out more about a book. Ultimately it’s the cover, book blurb, and first few pages that convince me, though. If those don’t hold up to what I expected from the trailer then I don’t buy. When I’m perusing in a book store, certainly the cover is what grabs me. Often I’m in that store looking for a specific title, though, after having read a review. When it comes to covers, a depiction of a strong heroine will always interest me. Internet ads do draw me in, and I have in fact purchased a few books from clicking on Internet ads, but they function for me similarly to how book trailers function. I think Web sites are a critical tool in maintaining a connection to an author’s core audience. It might only rarely draw in new readers, but it will harness the pull of existing readers and may capture the attention of a reader on the fence about a particular author. It’s a great way to build a mailing list and use that mailing list to drum up anticipation of new releases. As a reader I’m not so interested in blogs where authors talk about the mundane details of their lives, though I may be in the minority on that — and it does seem to depend on how entertaining an author can make the post. I’d rather read some insight into their research methods, what inspired some of their stories, or other topics that directly relate to their books. Author interviews can be useful, but I don’t often have time to read them. Twitter is fun, and if an author is particularly witty in this format then it’s a great tool. FaceBook does seem to be able to reach audiences in ways a web site often doesn’t. I think FB can be a useful tool to push audiences to an author’s Web site. John Markley: I like a nice, extensive publisher website, especially if it goes beyond just listing the books available. I love reading background info on books and authors, author interviews, fan discussion, and things like that. If the website is interesting, I’m a lot more likely to spend some time exploring it and end up stumbling on new books that seem like they might be interesting. It’s a strange irony that with a few exceptions- principally Baen- SF publishers really seemed to lag behind on this until fairly recently, and in some cases still do. Ace, a name that’s been a Titan of science fiction publishing longer than I’ve been alive, has an official Internet presence consisting of a three-paragraph historical overview and a bare bones entry for each book on the Penguin Group Inc. website. It doesn’t seem to be a question of resources; indeed, my experience is that smaller publishers often seem to put more into this than bigger ones. Night Shade Books is a small company but has a nice site, while Ace is an arm of a huge publishing conglomerate and yet has less info online than the cereal I had for breakfast this morning. I’ve bought books that I would have most likely overlooked from learning about them on some of the more interesting publisher websites, so I’m hoping that more publishers will take advantage of this form of promotion. Elizabeth : Personally I find the cover as the biggest marketing tool. Probably fickle, I know. Even had I never heard of Peter V. Brett’s The Painted Man, before buying it, I would have bought it. Purely for the fantastic artwork on the front. I’ve picked up many a new author because of the illustration on the front cover and similarly, there are books I won’t touch with a pitchfork because of the lurid covers. I also like continuity in covers – for instance, the new covers done for Robin Hobb genuinely appeal to me. I have read all of them but am keen to own them all over again, purely because of the emblematic covers. Similarly the new covers brought out for James Barclays books – genius marketing. Another author whose work I admire greatly is Charles de Lint – recently his older novels are being re-done and the artwork is indicative of the magic within the books. Something which Orbit is doing – as I’m sure many others know – is doing behind the scenes peeks at how front covers are put together. Visit the Orbit blog to view what they’ve done for Joe Abercrombie’s newest novel – it is very much an eye opener. Press releases – very few readers see them. As a book blog reviewer, I love them! I keep all of mine tucked into the books I get sent. I do read the sheets as a lot of times it has more information about the author and the novel than just the blurb on the back and at times they make mention of the marketing they have in mind for the book – and that is something I find very interesting. Book reviews – I have a few other bloggers whose sites I visit to catch up on reviews on books I don’t have and I have been swayed to buy loads this way. I will however not read reviews on books that I have got to review myself. You have to keep an open mind and