Read on Twitter
A thread about promoting your book on Twitter. I keep seeing books advertised really badly on Twitter. And I used to work in marketing, so here are a few thoughts.
I& #39;ve seen many book tweets this evening that follow this formula:
"Jake looked at the dragon."
Book 1 of the Glob& #39;rhn& #39;roak Wars Chronicle
<cover pic>
"Jake looked at the dragon."
Book 1 of the Glob& #39;rhn& #39;roak Wars Chronicle
<cover pic>
That tweet tells me NOTHING. I don& #39;t give a crap who Jake or the Glob& #39;rhn& #39;roak are. All you& #39;re doing is throwing words at me (some of which I can& #39;t even pronounce). If I& #39;m going to buy your book, I& #39;m going to need more than that.
Give me a reason to care. I have no reason to care about your made-up society, and calling it a chronicle, saga, song, or whatever does not lend it gravitas. It just makes it blend into the billion other books out there with similar titles.
Instead, tell me the theme. Ask me a question. Make it personal.
Who do you save when your world ends?
What do you do when your brother murders your father?
If you had a magic sword, who would you kill first?
How do you know your lover isn& #39;t a monster?
Who do you save when your world ends?
What do you do when your brother murders your father?
If you had a magic sword, who would you kill first?
How do you know your lover isn& #39;t a monster?
These questions are infinitely more engaging than "Read the first book of the Ghal& #39;hkl& #39;hoofenfroofen Chronicles."
Because here& #39;s the tough truth: At this stage, as readers, we don& #39;t care about your intricate worldbuiding. We don& #39;t care if Count Brazen has annexed the marshlands. We don& #39;t care about the fate of the Roxxxxxiean Empire. What we want to know is...
What are we going to get out of reading this book? Why should we spend out $$ and our time? Don& #39;t throw names at us, give us something that hooks us in - and trust me, some random out-of-context sentence isn& #39;t going to cut it.
So stop with all the Chronicles stuff. Give us a title that stands out. Give us a hook we can& #39;t resist. Don& #39;t tell us about your story, tell us why we should be reading it. What is it going to do for us?
In product marketing terms, don& #39;t list the features of the product, entice us with its benefits.
And just to put my money where my mouth is, here& #39;s my pitch for my novel, EMBERS OF WAR...
How can you put the past behind you when you& #39;ve done something unforgivable? Three years ago, the starship Trouble Dog took part in a war crime. Now she& #39;s searching for forgiveness. A nail-biting new space opera series from the BSFA Award-winning author, Gareth L. Powell.
Yes, I should have included a link on that last tweet in that thread. So, for those of you who are curious:
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Embers-War-Gareth-L-Powell/dp/1785655183">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Embers-Wa... …
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Embers-War-Gareth-L-Powell/dp/1785655183">https://www.amazon.com/Embers-Wa... …
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Embers-War-Gareth-L-Powell/dp/1785655183">https://www.amazon.co.uk/Embers-Wa... …
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Embers-War-Gareth-L-Powell/dp/1785655183">https://www.amazon.com/Embers-Wa... …
