SFA 089 – Book Marketing Tips and Shooting for Bestseller Lists

Our guest this week is successful romance author Victorine Lieske. She self-published her first book, Not What She Seems, in April of 2010. In March of 2011, Not What She Seems began its 6 week run on The New York Times best selling eBook list. By May 2011 she had sold over 100,000 copies. Victorine’s first romantic comedy novel hit the USA Today Bestselling books list in January 2015.

Victorine also has several non-fiction books for authors available, including How to Write a Swoon-Worthy Sweet Romance and Whole Book Marketing: An Indie Author’s Guide to Selling Books.

We asked her a number of questions related to book marketing, what it takes to hit a bestseller list, and her Facebook group and YouTube Channel.

Here are some of the specifics:

Could you tell us about your writing career and what led you to indie publishing?
What kind of changes have you seen in the last ten years of self-publishing?
You’ve written in a couple of genres; what decisions have gone into choosing certain genres?
You were one of the very first self-published authors who hit the NYT list. What sorts of takeaways do you have from that experience that can be applied today?
What are some of the challenges to hitting a bestseller list?
The common wisdom is that you aren’t eligible for the newspaper lists if you are Amazon exclusive. Is that true? Is it worth launching wide specifically to aim for the bestseller list?
You’ve got two Facebook groups for writers (Writing Gals and the Writing Gals Critique Group) and a YouTube channel. What sorts of behind-the-scenes things do you have to do to keep them running?
For the Facebook groups, how often do you find you need to post or interact to keep things lively? How does that compare to how often you need to post on Youtube?
What role does marketing play in your success?
What are some common mistakes you see from authors when it comes to marketing?
If an author has more than one series, or even more than one genre, should marketing be done simultaneously across two or more of the different series? Would an author (particularly one with a tight budget) be better served focusing on a recent series, or perhaps whatever series is selling best at the moment?
You’ve co-authored a book on writing to market. What do you think the state of that is in 2021?
Many authors are frustrated by the cost of advertising and feel the only way to sell is to spend a ton on ads. Do you think that’s true? Or can someone who comes in with a professional book package and who is writing in a commercial genre still do well today?
How does your marketing business plan look for new releases compared to backlist books?
It looks like you’re in KU with your books. What are your thoughts today on the wide vs. Amazon exclusive debate?
Do you feel there are different appropriate marketing tactics for people who release fairly frequently versus people who only release periodically?