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by Madison Smith —

You might not be thinking about the ways in which a title’s audience, setting, and characters will eventually tie into your book’s marketing campaign during the writing process…but you should be. Thinking about publicity opportunities during the penning of a book will give your project relevance and an audience before the book even hits the market.

Noting your book’s audience will make your book relatable and, therefore, marketable. If the audience for your Romance novel is middle-aged women, for example, capitalize on interesting dates, like Romance Awareness Month in August, that fall around the same time as the title’s release. Using relevant dates like these will make media outlets more interested in your title simply because they have an ‘occasion’ for it.

If you already have a storyline, playing with a title’s setting can be a good option to make the book reach broader or more specific audiences. Instead of placing your novel in the West Alps or a location that readers can’t pinpoint on a map, place it in Brooklyn or Seattle so that these recognizable destinations have a quality of familiarity for readers.

A book with abstract concepts can become appealing to readers by tying aspects of your book back to the familiar. The simplest of tweaks can help convince a reader to purchase your book. Let’s say your book contains a male character that loves motorcycles. While there is no problem with motorcycles, the amount of publicity opportunity increases by making the simple tweak of changing the character’s obsession to cars. The Indy 500, for example, which starts 5/24, would allow a PR team to surround a book with the excitement that the race already comes with. It’s a win-win for everyone: the author gets promotion and some Indy fans find a new book to love.

As you or one of your authors pens the next great novel, keep these 3 elements in mind:

— Who will do what (characters and their traits)
— When (are their times of the year that make an easier tie-in with media)
— Where will they be (a location readers can easily envision vs. a far off abyss.)

About the Author:

Madison Smith has enjoyed interning with national book publicity firm, PR by the Book.

While delving into research and the ins and outs of pitching, she’s realized how important plot, storyline and location can be when pitching media. You can learn more about PR by the Book here.