How To Get Your Book Noticed

It’s impossible to forget the thrill of the moment when you come across a great idea for a novel. For me, the idea was a child with past life memories of being a soldier in Vietnam and the challenges this presented his mother as she looked for answers. As I wrote, this grew into alternating voices of the mother Eve and Thomas, a soldier in the 1960s serving in Vietnam. 

I spent the next eight years developing Beware the Tall Grass and grappling with questions including: What will Eve do when she wants to give her child a perfect childhood and he is marked my memories of war? How will her marriage endure the pressure of a troubled child? How does Thomas balance a love of humanity with the work of being a soldier? How are the young son Charlie’s and Thomas’s stories connected? 

Once the hard work of writing is done, there is the challenge of finding a publisher. When you find the right home for your book and get a publication date then another kind of work begins. Your book will become one of many. 

When I walk into Carmichael’s, my local independent bookstore, it is easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of books on the shelves with new ones coming each week, and that’s just the books that get shelf space. Small press and self-published authors soon learn that a book release doesn’t mean your book will be on display in stores for readers to casually discover it. It takes hard work, strategic choices and a pinch of luck to help your book get noticed. So what can we do to help our books find readers? Here are a few strategies I have picked up as I have tried to help my books Lost Girls: Short Stories and Beware the Tall Grass: A Novel find their readers. 

Use Established Networks 

Writers support other writers. Compile a list of writing friends and colleagues who might help generate early sales, spread the word, and participate in book events with you. If you are in a writing program or take classes this is a great place to look for allies. Be sure to offer your support to them by reading and reviewing their books or offering to interview them if you have a blog and column. 

Reach out to organizations where you attended school, social clubs, former employers and neighborhood associations to see if they can feature your work in their newsletter or bulletin. 

Don’t forget to reach out to friends and family with news about your book. Invite them to book events/parties and enjoy celebrating with those you love. 

Look into joining Facebook groups (like this one) or other social media groups of writers that write in your genre. Often these are great places to glean tips, share experiences, and get support. 

Find Your Niche

Where do you live? 

I am based in Louisville, Kentucky so I look for opportunities in Southern journals and magazine that want to cover southern writers. I also look at city and statewide publications for interest. 

What is your book about?

Beware the Tall Grass features issues of war, motherhood, advocacy, reincarnation so I look for groups with interest in these topics. Journals that feature writing related to war or motherhood, and groups with an interest in the occult.

How old are you?

As a woman over 50, I can contribute columns to publications that cater to my demographic. I call also seek support from groups of women my age who would welcome the chance to explore the work of a kindred spirit. 

Don’t be afraid to mine your differences. All of these questions can help you find your niche.

A Pinch of Luck 

There is an old adage that hard work plus opportunity equal luck. Don’t be afraid to mention your book in situations outside of book promotion. One of my hobbies is entering contests and I got selected to play “Stump Mark” on the Live with Kelly and Mark talk show. I had to give Mark Consuelos two statements (one true, one false) to see if I could fool him. My true statement was that my father and I are both novelists.  After quizzing me, he guessed that that was true. I didn’t win a coffee mug and t-shirt, but I got to discuss my book on national television, which resulted in a surge in sales. You never know where or how you might find readers. 

—

Ellen Birkett Morris is the author of Beware the Tall Grass: A Novel, selected by Lan Samantha Chang for the Donald L. Jordan Award for Literary Excellence. She is also the author of Lost Girls: Short Stories, winner of the Pencraft Award, and of Abide, and Surrender, poetry chapbooks. Her fiction has appeared in Shenandoah, Antioch Review, Saturday Evening Post, and South Carolina Review, among other journals. Morris is a recipient of an Al Smith Fellowship for her fiction from the Kentucky Arts Council, and grants from the Kentucky Foundation for Women and the Elizabeth George Foundation. Her essays have appeared in The Keepthings, Newsweek, Next Avenue, AARP’s The Ethel, Oh Reader magazine, and on National Public Radio. Find her at ellenbirkettmorris.com.

 

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: How To and Tips