In January of 2026,
just before my knee replacement surgery, my publisher at Pandamonium Publishing House and
I had a meeting to ‘plant seeds’ as she put it, for the spring and summer book
marketing seasons. My chin trembled. “Umm. Wait. You know that I’ll be out of
service for 6 to 8 weeks, right?” I asked her with the calmest voice I could
muster. Honestly, I could sense her grinning back at me through my cell phone. She
casually went on to explain that I’d only had to post twice a week, and they
would supply the images I’d need to pull off this Fairy Falls Narrative Campaign, as I dubbed it. “Fine,” I moaned. “What
does this campaign entail?”
The goal was simple.
To position Lost & Found and Blackflies & Blueberries—the two
books I have published so far in Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls teen psychic
mystery series—as dark, perceptive, outsider-driven stories set in a town with
secrets. Not cozy. Not gentle. Not seasonal fluff. I was instantly engaged. My
publisher went on to say that these books are not: cute animal stories, cozy
small-town tales, or gentle mysteries. They are: animals as witnesses, psychic
intrusion into hidden crime, corrupt systems inside “safe” spaces, and
outsiders seeing what insiders refuse to. “Basically,” she explained, “It’s
perception vs. reality.” It was my turn to grin. This marketing idea sounded
fresh and out of the box. Better yet, it was doable while I recovered from
surgery.
So, how did we go
about creating this framework? By choosing the appropriate campaign style. This
was narrative marketing, not polite promotion. The tone is unsettling,
observant, and atmospheric. We are creating intrigue, not asking for attention.
Then the fun began for me with just under two weeks before surgery, as I had to
create the content needed to commence this campaign. My publisher gave me a
template to follow with examples of what was to be expected, and I worked
diligently on these six key strategies until I had enough narratives to run. To
give you an idea, these are the content types I had to follow:
·
Fairy Falls Incident Posts, that had to look like town notices, alerts,
or reports.
·
Anonymous POV Drops, in an animal’s POV, a townsperson’s POV, an
observer’s POV, or a killer’s POV.
·
If You Lived Here Series, where I’d post a narrative stating something
like, ‘If you lived in Fairy Falls, you’d trust the wrong people.’
·
Watcher Imagery and Cryptic Lines, using normal, peaceful photos, then overlay
narrative like ‘Fairy Falls sees everything’. That’s it. No sales language. No
calls of action. Just atmosphere.
·
Urban Legend and Myth Framing, using Fairy Falls legends, things people say
but can’t prove, or stories no one wants to repeat.
·
Outsider Perspective Content, where outsiders would always see the cracks,
or it takes someone who doesn’t belong to notice, or no one inside Fairy Falls
wanted to see this.
All these narratives I
had to create must align with teen identity, alienation, and distrust of
authority.
Easy-peasy, right? Well, it was a challenge, but I managed to
conjure exactly what my publisher was looking for. Yay, me! I also had fun
learning how to add type to an image and pick that atmospheric music to go
along with it on Instagram, and then share on my social media accounts. I know from
past experience that when doing a campaign like this, you must show up
consistently, however choosing to take a week and a half off to recover from my
surgery was a no-brainer for my health and well-being. Once rested, I jumped
back on the book marketing bandwagon with a renewed sense of excitement,
knowing that I am indeed planting seeds that will hopefully sprout into
connections with future readers. And in the grand scheme of things for authors,
it is all about connecting with readers. That, and have a supportive publisher
who pushes you out of your comfort zone. Wink.
If you’re an author, have you run any
interesting book marketing campaigns? If you’re a reader, what kind of campaigns
draw you in and get you excited enough to read the featured book? I’d love to
read your comments. As always, thank you for spending your time reading my blog,
and I hope that I’ve added value to your day! Cheers!
Lost & Found, Book One Buy
Links:
PANDAMONIUM
PUBLISHING HOUSE ׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES
& NOBLE
׀
Blackflies
& Blueberries, Book Two Buy
Links:
PANDAMONIUM
PUBLISHING HOUSE ׀ AMAZON ׀ BARNES
& NOBLE
׀
