Category: writing

Turning Buzz into Sales

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Lately, my thoughts have wandered into the murky waters of sales.

The other day, my husband and I were talking (we do that sometimes). He’d just finished reading an ARC of my debut novel, Wildflowers from Winter, and was excited about the story. So he asked a question most writers ask before publication.

How can we get your book out there?

My brilliant answer?

Word of mouth.

I know. Revolutionary thinking.

But seriously. Word of mouth is huge when it comes to generating a buzz.

Because let’s say my friend Sherrinda reads the book in Texas and she really likes it, so she talks to her friends and family. And my friend Jill reads it in Michigan and she really likes it, so she talks to her friends and family. And my friend Jenny reads it in Georgia and she really likes it, so she talks to her friends and family. And…you get the picture. 

Then hubby asked another question. 

How often does the buzz lead to actual sales?

My brilliant answer?

I have no clue. Because really, it’s impossible to quantify or measure. But I do know that buzz is a good thing. In fact, I recently emailed Jody Hedlund about the subject and she said this:

The more people we can get “talking” about our books, the more interest we potentially generate. And it often takes multiple times of seeing/hearing about a book before someone will actually decide to make the purchase.

What prompts a person to talk about a book? I can only speak for myself.

I buzz about books based on two criteria:

  • How much I like the story
  • How much I like the author

There. That’s it. 

If I find a book that I absolutely love. I mean, stay-up-until-three-in-the-morning love. And on top of that, the author is someone I like. Well then, that is a magical combination. Give me that combination and I will buzz, buzz, buzz like a dutiful worker bee.

How we turn that buzz into actual sales is slightly more mysterious. Very much beyond our realm of control. So what’s a writer to do?

Focus on the things we can control.

  • Write the absolute best story we can write
  • Be likable (translation: be real and be nice)

There. That’s it. 

Maybe not the magic key so many of us wish existed. But a pretty good place to start.

Let’s Talk: What leads you to buy a book? Not just talk about it or recommend it. Not just review it or be an influencer. But what prompts you to make a purchase? 
 

Wildflowers from Winter Interview

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

A few weeks ago, my publishing house had a big sales conference. As a fun way to promote my book, we did an interview. With me as interviewee and my husband as interviewer.

The original version had a lot more questions and back and forth banter, but since I am incredibly long-winded and six minutes is entirely too long for a promo video, they narrowed it down to one question.

What are my hopes for my book?

I hope you enjoy!

 

And just for fun, here’s an after-the-scenes interview snippet of me and the hubs. He was such a good sport through all of this!

Let’s Talk: Tell me what you’re up to this weekend!

ARCs and a Super Duper Early Giveaway

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

Last Thursday, my doorbell rang at 2:30 p.m. and my first thought was, “Bookmarks!” Actually, that’s a lie. My first thought was, “You’re going to wake up the kid!”  But once that passed through the system, my mind jumped to bookmarks. 

So I raced downstairs and opened the door and found……two boxes. 

This puzzled me. I was pretty sure we didn’t order that many bookmarks. Surely they weren’t my ARCs. Those weren’t scheduled to arrive for another two weeks. Curious, I picked up a box. And the weight made my stomach go all fluttery.

I hurried to the kitchen. Grabbed the nearest knife. Cut through the tape. Tore open the top. And there they were. My ARCs had arrived!

Seeing my book was a lot like seeing my son for the first time. I used to think, before I gave birth to Brogan, that I’d cry when the doctor handed him over. But when the moment came, I was not emotional. It was all too surreal to be emotional. And I was high on Percocet. The same thing happened here (only without the drugs). I didn’t hold my book in my hand and weep for joy. I held it in my hand and laughed. Not because the book is funny-looking. But because I couldn’t believe what I was holding.

Instead of crying, I felt like tossing the books up in the air and rolling in them. 

Once that passed, part of me felt like shoving them into some envelopes and sending them out right away. The other part wanted to hide them from the world.

Before I explain this interesting conundrum, how about a definition?

ARC stands for Advanced Reader Copy. Do you see that purple circle on the bottom right of my cover? That purple circle lets people know that the copy isn’t the final version. It’s a version that has not yet passed through copy edits and galley proofs. And since I’m a perfectionist when it comes to my writing, the idea that people will be reading imperfect copies makes me a wee bit twitchy. Thank the good Lord for that purple circle because I already found two errors. One on the very first page, where it says He man, instead of The man. Just for the record, my book is not about Heman.

Anyway, I have a box of these at my house.

Waiting for the right moment to make their way into the world and hopefully, create some buzz. 

The early kind. 

While my amazingly awesome in-house marketer will use the ARCs to create a buzz in bigger circles, I’ll use them on a more personal level. 

Here’s what I plan to do with them:

  • Visit the book stores in my area. Introduce myself to the manager. And leave him/her with an ARC and bookmarks. 
  • Give an ARC to the lovely lady in charge of my church’s Books and Things kiosk to see if they might sell my book at church.
  • Give an ARC to a friend who writes for the Quad City Times to see if she’d be interested in featuring the book in an article.
  • Send ARCs to book reviewers who’ve agreed to review Wildflowers from Winter on their blog.
  • Send ARCs to people who have volunteered to be early influencers.
Timing is key.
 
I don’t plan to send them out until late March. I don’t want the buzz to die away before the book hits the shelves.
 
But still. It’s Christmas time. And in the spirit of Christmas, and in an effort to let go and dive into the scary world of sharing my work, I’d love to giveaway a free ARC to one of my awesome blog readers. All you have to do is leave a comment that you’re interested, and I’ll pick the winner on December 14th. Come Christmas time, you could have a shiny new book on your door step (albeit, an imperfect one). 
 
Let’s Talk: Are you a perfectionist? In what areas of your life? Would you like an ARC of Wildflowers from Winter for Christmas?