WW II Spy Novels discussion

Authors: when you have a new book release or a movie deal to announce, we consider this big news. Its not just the usual 'author promo' that we're all stymied by.

Here's what you should do.

Contact a group moderator with the following pieces of info.

First,
(1) The book's *page location* on Goodreads. (provide link)
This will be placed in the 'new titles directory' by a moderator. This directory is a list of all recent author-member releases on the group front-page.

Then,
(2)
Write us a book/author 'blurb'. This has to look *sharp* because it *may* go out in a message circulated to all members. [We only bother our members for new book releases, no other form of promo is worth the intrusion].

Anyway, here's an example of a 'blurb':

"Henry Brown is a veteran of the Airborne Infantry and an indie-author currently living in central Florida. He has published 11 books, in which he explores various sub-genres of men's adventure. His last three works are paramilitary thrillers about former operatives (unofficially) known as, 'The Retreads'. 'False Flag' is the latest. This time, his Retreads don't face terrorists, sex-traffickers or modern-day pirates, but elements of their own government which consider *them* subversives. 'False Flag' projects stringent present-day political attitudes into a near-future scenario that really, none of us would want to face: the restriction of all forms of personal initiative".

Next.
(3)
Book 'synopsis'. This would appear in a post you (yourself) write and post in the 'author promo' discussion bin. Sure, you can include pricing info, reviews, and where-to-buy, etc. But also describe the book's premise. Why not? This type of post can stay up for 2-4 weeks. Nice exposure.

Here's an example (*taken from Henry Brown's book, above*):

"Loss of freedom. Militarization of the police. Politicians who routinely break the law and violate their oaths. A powder keg of race-based animosity. A mortally wounded economy. An ignorant population hostile to those who draw attention to the real, underlying problems. For some, these are signs of progress. For others, these are harbingers of impending oblivion. This speculative tale follows how these and other trends may lead to their logical conclusions in the very near future; and how a few good men respond."


Next.
(4) a book 'pitch'. This must be extremely succinct because it will 'tag' your book in our shelves; and the allotted space for a tag is small.

Here's an example of a book 'pitch':

"New political thriller by Steve Anderson, set in the present-day Pacific Northwest. A dangerous recipe of semi-automatic weapons, home-grown marijuana, and a cold-case file that just won't stay cold."

(5) Make sure your book is added to the group bookshelf (the 'authors-in-residence' shelf, that is) and that the pitch is included. If you can't do it yourself, ask a mod for help.

Sincerely,

Feliks

Thanks for the procedures. It really helps. I agree with you about 'author promo' that we're all stymied by...and I am an author.

Yep. My pleasure.

I just took over moderation of the 'Mystery Lovers!' group (1563 members) for just this very reason (spam). Promo had been allowed to overwhelm the group, it was freely running rampant. The group was dead, no moderator, no discussions, everything beaten down to a wreck. Insanity. 1500+ readers!

And the 'World Mysteries' group also just took me on. Another 1,500.

So, if an author works with me when he has a publishing event, he gets immediate exposure to 3,000 possible book-buyers. If not...? Sheeesh

Does the pitch go in the "why we're reading this" field?

Yes. Its called 'Why this book?' as well

Feliks wrote: "Yep. My pleasure....

So, if an author works with me when he has a publishing event, he gets immediate exposure to 3,000 possible book-buyers. If not...? Sheeesh"

That is such a great proposition for authors. Everyone wins.