Book Release Tips

My debut novel, Betrayal of the Band, released in August. Yay! Through the last month, I discovered a few marketing successes that caught me by surprise, and I wanted to share.

First off, marketing is not a strong area of mine, since it requires talking to strangers. Strangers who might reject you. But with the help of family and friends who love me (more than I expected!), I’ve managed to do some successful marketing. 

1. A Local Press Release. When the book officially released on August 11, a friend wrote a press release for me. Totally unexpected, and not something I’d even considered. She sent the release into the paper and the news stations. The paper printed it the following week, and I was invited to attend an authors’ day at an education conference happening in October and received a congratulations postcard from the Friends of a local library. Also, the press release included two book signing events I had scheduled, and a local bookstore owner attended one to invite me to do a signing or event at his store. So notifying local news agency of a release can generate marketing opportunities!
2. Book Signings. Bookstores are the obvious ones, but depending on your publisher, Barnes and Noble or other big booksellers may not be an option. But bookstores aren’t the only places to sell books. Local businesses like to be involved in their community, and you, a local author, are a member of the community, a really awesome member of the community because you actually wrote and published a book. Don’t confine book signings or selling to bookstores only. If your community has a First Friday or other regular event where businesses stay open later and/or offer special events to entice customers, ask about doing a signing there. If the book features a tea drinker, talk to a local tea shop. If the book features a musician, talk to music stores. Get creative. Readers don’t only shop at bookstores.
3. A Party. Throw a party and celebrate your accomplishment! This party can be big or small, real or online. Whatever kind of budget or resources you have, use them to invite everyone who has support you and encouraged you and gotten excited for you to help celebrate. I don’t know if the party I hosted was a big success as far as marketing and sales go, but the event was a boost for me, and a chance to celebrate with people I love while also introducing a few new readers to my book. And any opportunity that involves cupcakes and prizes has to fun for everyone.

What about you? Any book release and marketing successes? Any big plans for a debut release? 

Sarah Tipton is a writer of Christian Young Adult fiction. Her debut novel, Betrayal of the Band, released in August 2017. Visit sarahtiptonbooks.com to connect.

Weaving in the Normal Abnormal

Summer nights. In Alaska, where I live and where my debut novel (releasing in August!) takes place, nights in the summer don’t look much different than summer days. I’m not above the Arctic Circle, so technically, we don’t have 24-hours of daylight, but the period from sunset to sunrise is twilight. May through July is my favorite time to adopt a puppy because the middle of the night visits outside give me the chance to see the midnight sun, like last night, when my not-really-a-puppy-anymore Yorkie needed to go out at 2 a.m. It could’ve been 2 p.m., except the city was quieter and I was tired.

For Alaskans and my characters in Betrayal of the Band, putting on sunglasses at 10 p.m. is normal, but how do you weave in something so normal to your characters that they wouldn’t think about it, yet it’s not normal to most of your readers?

1. Action. As mentioned above, putting on sunglasses at 10 p.m. or squinting against the sun’s glare. Those are natural actions for the character which serve as a reminder to the reader that the setting is different from their normal. 
2. Add a Character New to the Environment. Introducing a character, either as a POV character or a supporting character who is new provides the opportunity to talk about the unusual normals, because to them—like the reader—it isn’t normal. 

What ways have you seen authors make clear their characters’ normal when it’s abnormal for the readers?

Sarah Tipton decided she wanted to be sixteen forever, and she’s accomplishing that through writing contemporary YA fiction. In 2015, Sarah won ACFW’s Genesis Contest in YA, and her debut novel, Betrayal of the Band, releases August 2017. She finds plenty of creative inspiration in the heart of Alaska where she homeschools her five children. When she’s not sitting cross-eyed in front of the computer getting hand cramps, she enjoys running, reading, and getting crafty with yarn.