Freedom Island: Marketing a Book With a Shy Author

Over the years I've worked with authors with a variety of personalities. While writing is a solitary pursuit, the extrovert must come out once the book is finished. Contacting agents or editors requires a fair amount of nerve, and once the book is slated for publication there is always a lot of promotion involved. Most of the writers I've worked with eagerly await the chance to do book signings. However, once in awhile they don't. I've got one of those now.



J.R. Sinclair, author of Freedom Island, isn't a "difficult writer." He's just shy (so shy that 'Sinclair' is actually a pen name). He doesn't like travel. He doesn't like to talk about himself. He just wants to stay home and write. Okay. I get that. But it presents a challenge for a publisher. Especially for a small press, where we depend upon our authors to do lots of the promotion, along with us. So . . . what to do?



We analyze everyone's strengths. J.R. would hate doing a traditional book tour but he is great at internet research, and we're going to make the most of that as we find potential markets for his book. Remember that I mentioned that Freedom Island is political fiction? With the mid-term elections happening this year, interest in the election process is ramping up again. So, we want to find readers who are interested in politics and in what this election is all about. We know there are millions of them. Now we have to figure out how to reach them as we strive for our goal of creating a bestseller. J.R.--this is where you shine. Get me those names!!



On the production front, I'm excited to say that the cover design for Freedom Island is done. Here is a picture of it---simple, basic, and it conveys the theme of the book--that freedom is the most important thing we have. I'm getting very excited about the upcoming introduction of it. Advance reader copies pretty soon!



Lee Ellison
Senior Editor
Secret Staircase Books

Next: Publication dates and other tedious schedules