Exploring Genre: The Relationship between Genre and Book Marketing

By Iola Goulton | @IolaGoulton

Australasian Christian Writers and Christian Writers Downunder share a post on the first Monday of every month, and this is the first joint post for 2018. Happy New Year!

Our 2017 posts focused on genre, and we are continuing that theme in 2018. If you'd like a catch-up, click here to read the useful summary Jeanette O'Hagan provided us with in December.

Because we believe that every author needs to understand the concept of genre, what genre they write in, and the expectations of that genre. Why? Because understanding is the core of your marketing strategy.

We're not alone in that belief. In her recent blog post 18 Rock Solid Book Marketing Strategies for 2018, Penny Sansevieri of Author Marketing Experts says:

Be clear on your genre. You shouldn’t even be considering publishing unless you know, without question, what genre you’re in. Book sales only happen when your book is in a clearly defined market. Don’t make the reader try to guess.

In fact, although Penny doesn't say so, most of her marketing recommendations can be related to genre:

Social Media

Knowing what genre you write will help you focus your social media efforts on the networks your readers use, not the networks recommended by the latest social media guru.

Write More Books

... in the same genre. Especially series. Readers love series.

Price Your Books to Sell

Pricing is often related to genre. If you're trying to sell the Kindle version of your self-published romance novel for $9.99, you're not going to make many sales because that's out of line with what romance readers expect to pay.

Make Sure Your Cover Matches Your Genre

Thriller readers aren't looking for books with werewolves or unicorns on the cover.

Connect With Your Readers

Which means knowing who your readers are. Which means knowing your genre.

Maximise Amazon

In particular, make sure your books are categorised properly on Amazon, so people who are looking to buy your genre find your books. Because people search Amazon for three main things: author, title, and genre. And they'll never know to search for you by author or title if they don't know your genre.

Build Your Fan Base

The easiest way to start is by finding and following readers who've read and reviewed books like yours. You know, books in the same genre.

Redo Old Covers

Especially if they don't reflect your genre.

Be Aware of Your Brand

And make sure it reflects your genre. If you're writing urban fantasy, your website should have a dark, gritty urban feel. No matter how much you like lambs frolicking in fields, that's the realm of Rural Romance.

Support Other Authors

Especially in your genre. Because if their readers keep seeing your name and realise you have a book, they might just check you out.

Collaborate

The best collaborations are the ones where there is something that unifies the collaborating authors. Like genre.

For example, 13 members of Australasian Christian Writers and Christian Writers Downunder have recently collaborated to develop and promote an Australia Day Giveaway—books by Australian authors, set in Australia, or both. That promotion has raised awareness of Australian Christian Fiction as a genre, promoted the participating authors, and given us all a boost to our mailing lists.

(We're considering running a couple of genre-based group giveaways during the year. Keep an eye on the Facebook group for details.)

Most authors I know find marketing harder than writing. 

If you don't know and understand genre, you're making marketing even harder. Certainly harder than it needs to be.

If you do know what genre you write, great! Perhaps you'd like to contribute an article? It's called content marketing, and it's a great strategy for people who aren't comfortable with pushy-pushy-pushy self-promotion.

If you're not sure what genre you write, go through our previous posts and make sure you check out the new post on the first Monday of each month. And leave a comment telling us something about what you write. Maybe we can help!

About Iola Goulton

Iola Goulton is a New Zealand book reviewer, freelance editor, and author, writing contemporary Christian romance with a Kiwi twist. She is a member of the Sisterhood of Unpronounceable Names (Iola is pronounced yo-la, not eye-ola and definitely not Lola).

Iola holds a degree in marketing, has a background in human resource consulting, and currently works as a freelance editor. When she’s not working, Iola is usually reading or writing her next book review. Iola lives in the beautiful Bay of Plenty in New Zealand (not far from Hobbiton) with her husband, two teenagers and one cat. She is currently working on her first novel.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter

CWD & ACW - What's The Difference?

By Jeanette O'Hagan and Narelle Atkins | @JeanetteOHagan @NarelleAtkins

Happy New Year and welcome to 2018!

We’re looking forward to showcasing the writing from Christian writers in Australia, New Zealand and the wider Australasian region on our group blogs this year.

On the first Monday of each month we share a cross-post on the Australasian Christian Writers (ACW) and Christian Writers Downunder (CWD) group blogs.

Many of our group members have asked why we have two group blogs for Christian writers in our part of the world.

Today we’re going to answer your questions concerning ACW and CWD and let you know how you can contribute to each of the group blogs.

Question 1. What’s the goal and purpose of ACW?

Narelle: Our overall goal for ACW is to connect writers and readers who enjoy reading a wide range of genres including fiction, non-fiction and children’s books. We're planning a few changes for 2018 to engage with readers more on our blog and in our Facebook group.

Our blog members include Christian writers who are traditionally published, indie published, and aspiring to publish. Some are writing for the Christian market, while others are writing for the general market. Many are targeting the US market, as that is where most readers are based.

Although we focus on supporting writers and readers in Australasia, we welcome international writers and readers on our blog and in our ACW Facebook Group. We actively promote books on our blog and social media, including Facebook, Twitter @ACWriters and Pinterest.

Question 2. What’s the goal and purpose of CWD?

Jeanette: Christian Writers Dowunder is aimed at Christians writers (and those associated with writing field, e.g. editors, illustrators, reviewers and publishers) who live in or are from Australasia. We aim to provide a safe and encouraging place for Australasian Christians who write – whether they are taking their first baby steps on their journey as a writer or have been travelling this road for some time – to ask questions, celebrate milestones (new releases, awards, or finishing a first draft), interact, pray, encourage, help and inspire each other. 

We encourage mutual support through social media and other means. We have a CWD Facebook Group, Blog and Twitter list. In the past we published an anthology with contributions from members, Glimpses of Light. Like ACW we are also an affiliate of Omega Writers.

Question 3. Who can join the CWD Facebook Group?

Jeanette: 

Christian writers – whether just starting out or veteran, whether writing non-fiction or fiction, poetry or blogs, whether published or unpublished, whether aiming for the Christian or general market or both, and also Christians associated with writing – editors, illustrators, publishers, reviewers. We encourage our members to share their milestones and new releases, but discourage spamming the page or being argumentative or disrespectful to others.

While we will accept applications from Christian writers from outside the Australasian area, if they have an active friend in CWD or a trusted recommendation, our primary focus is ‘Downunder’.

Question 4. Who can join the ACW Facebook Group?

Narelle: We welcome writers and readers from around the world in our Facebook Group.

We have group etiquette guidelines regarding self promotion by authors in our Facebook Group, particularly that we don’t allow promotion of books published by vanity presses.

Question 5. How can you contribute to the ACW blog?

Narelle: We post five days per week, Monday-Friday, and we set up our ACW blog calendar many months in advance. We will start organising the May-August 2018 blog calendar in early March.

I encourage all writers who are interested in contributing blog posts to join the ACW Facebook Group. Blogging opportunities will arise from time to time which we’ll post in the Facebook Group.

Please contact either myself, Iola Goulton or Jenny Blake if you’re interested in guest blogging on ACW.

We share new book releases on the ACW blog. In 2018 we’ll post New Releases on the second Monday each month. We collect new release book information in the ACW Facebook Group.

Question 6. How can you contribute to the CWD blog?

Jeanette: 

CWD generally posts inspirational blog posts related to writing (inspirational, craft posts, the writing and publication journey, short fiction and poems, conferences and events, and also new releases or member achievements) on Mondays and Thursdays. Our blog team are highlighted on the blogsite with images and a short bio.

In 2018, we are looking at some tweaking of this—with Mondays continuing our current content, with writing related and inspired blogs and Thursdays as a series of ‘Meet our Members’ interviews. We may also have occasional writing-craft series.

From time to time, we do have opening on our CWD blog team. If you are a CWD member and are interested in guest blogging for us, please contact myself or email. We also value comments on the blogsite as this encourages our bloggers.

Question 7. How do you see CWD and ACW as groups that complement each other and also connect with Omega Writers Inc.?

Jeanette: 

All three groups have historic connections and many members in common, with some different emphases. It’s been a delight to see the groups working together with strong connections and support between the administrative teams.

CWD aspires to provide an encouraging faith community for writers in which questions can be asked, achievements celebrated, and their books or other publications highlighted. We value interaction and mutual support between members.

Both CWD and ACW do not have a paid membership or financial backing, and are primarily active on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Blogsites).

Omega Writers’ paid membership and structure enables it to have local writing groups and to provide workshops, Book Fairs, the annual Writers Conference, and the CALEB prize. Omega Writers has made an enormous contribution of writers in the Australasian region and we would encourage you to become a paid member (it’s not exorbitant & has benefits), join a local chapter in your area, and/or one of the focused FB groups.

Narelle: ACW strives to promote and market books by Australasian authors. We want to share our love of books with readers and provide posts that will interest readers.

Our blog calendar is structured to include educational posts that support writers with relevant information on writing craft, publishing and book marketing.

We share a quarterly blog post with CWD from Omega Writers and encourage our members who live in Australasia to join Omega Writers.

Omega Writers offer many benefits for writers that aren’t available in ACW, including writing chapters with online and in-person meetings, writing contests for published and unpublished writers, critique groups, writing retreats and an annual writing conference.

We support Omega Writers in their goal to promote Australasian authors and books to the wider reading community.

__________________________________

Do you have any other questions regarding CWD or ACW?

Jeanette and Narelle are more than happy to answer your questions in the blog comments on both blogs and discuss how you can become more involved in our vibrant Christian writing community in 2018.

Get Your Armadillo On!

by Andrea Grigg

Photo credit: Jim Mullhaupt via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

One thing I know for sure: being a writer is not for the faint-hearted or the thin-skinned. We’re faced with so many challenges, not the least of which is, ‘What if someone doesn’t like my book and gives it a negative review?’

I mean, I pour my heart and soul into my books, right? How could someone reject my baby?!?

In answer to that, here’s a quote from Joanna Penn, whose workshop I attended last month: “Your book isn’t your baby, it’s your employee. Make it work for you!”

Isn’t that a refreshing way to look at it? (Check out Joanna's website The Creative Penn - it's fabulous!)

But how do we prepare ourselves for negative reviews? And how can we deal with them when they happen?

Some writers never read reviews of their books, but I do. I’m way too curious. According to The Five Love Languages, I’m also a ‘words of affirmation’ girl, so it can be tricky for me. But I’ve learned a couple of things along the way which I’d like to share with you in the hope it will be of help to some.

I’ve had two negative reviews quite recently. One of them was for my novella, ‘All is Bright’, which I indie published last year in a box set called ‘An Aussie Summer Christmas’ along with five other authors, including our own Narelle Atkins and Rose Dee. Unfortunately, I can’t directly quote the review for you, as the boxset no longer exists on Amazon, but I can certainly remember the gist of it!

In ‘All is Bright’, my heroine, Amy, has been secretly in love with her brother-in-law for years, and continues to feel horribly guilty, even though her sister passed away five years ago. The reviewer hated the premise, citing it as being disgusting and immoral, along with a few other choice adjectives. ‘All is Bright’ was responsible the boxset receiving three stars, not four.

The second negative review was given to ‘Too Pretty’ only last week. I was at the Hillsong Colour Conference, where I’d been mightily inspired and encouraged. Just as well! A review for ‘Too Pretty’ came up in my Twitter feed one night, so I checked it out. It was really well done, with all these funny gifs which really made me chuckle. Until I came to the words: “What did I think of the book? I didn’t like it.”

Believe me, she didn’t. For two reasons, neither of which I agree with, funnily enough J You can read the review here if you like. Seriously, the gifs are awesome!

For an affirmation chick like me, by rights these two reviews should’ve flattened me. My roomie at the conference, who also happens to be my bestie, said, “How do you cope with something like that? I’d be devastated if that was said about something I’d created.”

But I’m not devastated. Here are some reasons why:  

1.    As mentioned before, not everyone will like my stories, or ‘get’ my work. After all, each of the seven billion personalities on the planet are unique and will never totally agree on anything, especially when it comes to taste in music, art or books. It’s just the way it is, so I choose not to stress over it. There’s no point.

2.    Having a negative review makes the rest of them genuine. Clearly, I haven’t bribed my friends and rellies to write lovely things about my books.

3.    There can be elements of truth in negative reviews. If you end up with a number of them all saying the same thing, then perhaps it’s a good idea to take notice!

4.    Negative reviews of my books DO NOT define who I am, because my identity is not defined by my writing. It’s defined by who I am in God.

To my mind, that last one is the most important. Last year I went through a bit of an identity crisis. You can read about that here.

In a nutshell, if you know who you are, or more importantly, whose you are, then negative reviews are a thousand times easier to handle. God loves me. He adores me. And while that may sound incredibly simplistic, at the end of the day, to me, that’s what matters the most.

Andrea Grigg lives on the Gold Coast, Queensland, and is the author of two contemporary Christian romance novels, and a novella. She would love to connect with you via: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/author.andreagrigg?ref=hl

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/andreagrigg

Email:    andreagrigg@live.com