The Ignorance-Is-Bliss Approach

Do you keep track of your sales numbers? If so, how? What tools and processes do you use? Would you recommend doing so?

by Dietrich

You finish your novel, send the manuscript to your editor, and now you’re faced with a choice: stress over marketing metrics, or close the laptop and let the universe take the wheel.

If you lean toward the latter—like I do—you’re not alone. Some of us share a similar philosophy: obsessing over data can choke the creative process. We figure that if something earth-shattering happens (like a book hitting a major bestseller list), the phone will ring.

This attitude lets us focus on writing the next book while we occasionally check reviews to keep a finger on the pulse. This hands-off approach helps keep our mental health intact, but it’s also a little like driving blind. Relying solely on a publisher or publicist has a few snags. Publishing houses tend to move slowly, and royalty statements don’t arrive weekly. By the time you notice a dip or spike, months could have passed. Also, publicists eventually move on to other projects, leaving no one to monitor your daily metrics. Small victories can slip by unnoticed. For example, your book might be climbing a specific Amazon subcategory, but you’ll never know if no one is watching.

Fortunately, tracking your numbers doesn’t require a degree in data science. The industry has evolved, making the process relatively painless. Amazon Author Central offers free geographic data on your weekly BookScan sales (which capture physical book sales in most major retail stores) and tracks your historical Amazon Author Rank. Additionally, some major publishers now provide internal author platforms with up-to-date print and e-book sales data.

You don’t need to check the numbers daily. A simple monthly check-in works well: set a calendar reminder for the first of the month and spend ten to fifteen minutes reviewing your data. Or, you could just check the data after a specific event, such as a major media interview or a promotion, to see whether the buzz has translated into sales.

Knowing your numbers can tell you where your readers are buying your books, which marketing efforts are paying off, and how your career is moving. It removes some of the guesswork from the business side of writing. That said, if the idea of tracking data still triggers a headache, you still have reader feedback through reviews and comments.

Ultimately, there is no single best way to manage a career. Whether you dive into data science or remain blissfully detached, the goal is to find a routine that supports the business without draining your creativity. One thing most of us can agree on is that the best marketing tool we will ever have is that next great release.

Part coming-of-age story and part family drama, set against the harsh backdrop of World War II Ukraine and Germany.

In the winter of 1945, a German village deep inside Ukraine burns under Russian assault. Young Jakob Fritsch, torn from his family, is forced onto a cattle car bound for a work camp where death looms. When a Stuka’s bomb derails the train, Jakob escapes the smoking wreckage alongside two untrustworthy survivors. They forge through snow-laden wilderness, hunted by soldiers and partisans.

A tragic turn forces Jakob to go on alone. Starving and freezing, he braves the perilous countryside of Poland en route to Berlin — the only place he can go — which is being torn apart from all sides.

Far away in the shattered outskirts of Berlin, Frida Beckmann lives amid relentless bombing raids and encroaching Soviet forces. With her father in a prison camp and her mother broken by grief, Frida shoulders the weight of her family’s survival. Tested by hardship, betrayal, and loss, she is pushed well beyond her years.

Jakob and Frida navigate their war-torn paths, struggling to survive in a time stripped of mercy — seeking refuge when all the world’s gone mad.

Wanna Buy a Book?

 

Terry here, with our question of the week:

Do you keep track of your sales numbers? If so, how? What tools and process do you use? Would you recommend doing so? 

I wouldn’t have the foggiest notion how to keep track of my sales numbers. Way back when I was a fledgling author, I was interviewed by someone who asked how many books I’d sold. I told him I didn’t know. The next day I called my editor to ask him so I could tell the interviewer. He said, “That’s none of his business. And the only thing you need to know is that you sell enough so we want you to write another one!” 

As I understand it (poorly) even if you track your sales numbers, it’s usually wrong because 1) not all sales are reported 2) it doesn’t include x, y, or z, or 3) the numbers are just wrong. 

What I do know is that my current publisher, Severn House, will only give me a contract for another book if I reach a threshold of a certain number of hardcover books sold. It seems like an incredibly low number, but apparently not. Now, the publisher has been sold to another “umbrella” company and the focus will be different. Something about “number of ebooks sold.” Fine. Whatever. I’m dancing as fast as I can to get the word out about my books. If I also had to keep track of the number of books sold, I’d go crazy. 

One of my former agents, with whom I have a cordial relationship notified me a few years ago that she had been “checking” the sales numbers of all her clients. She discovered that the publisher I was with at the time had failed to report a number of sales and they owed me money. Not an astronomical amount, but enough for a nice dinner out in Los Angeles (which ain’t cheap). I didn’t ask her how she checked. I still wonder how the publisher got away with it. I also wonder if other authors in the publishing house had eagle-eyed agents, so they too found out they were owed money. I have my suspicions. 

I’m a traditionally published author, which may have something to do with my inability to check sales. I know independently published authors who check their sales every, single day. They can tell you how many they’ve sold at any given time. I don’t know what tools or process they use. But I actually roomed with one of them at a conference, and first thing every morning she checked her sales. I was in awe.

For those who do check their sales, either traditionally or independently published, here is what I wonder: 1) Do you trust the sales numbers? Is there any way to make sure the numbers are accurate? If not, what do you do about it? Is there someone you can complain to? 2) If the sales aren’t good, what do you do about it? Do you buy another ad? Hire a publicist? Discuss it with your agent or editor? 

One last thing I wonder: do those who sell millions or copies keep track of their sales numbers? Or do they have “people” for that?

What do I keep track of? by Matthew Greene

Do you keep track of your sales numbers? If so, how? What tools and process do you use? Would you recommend doing so?

This is a tricky one, since the short answer is: "No, I don't." And the longer answer is something along the lines of: "I know I should keep track of this and so many other things, but my irrational fear of numbers is something I really should process with my therapist."

Of course, I'm trying to get better about keeping an eye on the business-related side of things, especially with some exciting career developments in the works. (Watch this space.) One of the rude awakenings I've had about pursuing a creative career is the amount of mental energy I have to devote to the non-creative parts. And clearly, it's something I'm still getting comfortable with.

But, rather than writing a whole blog post about some numbers I don't track, I thought I'd try and identify some numbers that I do track. Are these are significant as sales numbers? Debatable. But they are, in fact, numbers. And they include:

Number of hours spent writing last week: 12 (This was lower than usual this week because I started rehearsals for a play and got consumed, but enough with the excuses!)

Number of words I'm averaging per hour: 700 (Always looking for tips on how to increase that number. Are my fingers not fast enough? Possibly.)

Number of Nerds Gummy Clusters consumed while writing in a typical session: 18

Number of regrets about the aforementioned Nerds Gummy Clusters: 0 (Life is hard enough.)

Number of gay books read during pride month so far: 4.5

Number of projects I'm bouncing between at the moment: 9

Number of projects I should be working on at one time: 3, tops

Number of margaritas it would take for me to agree to taking on another project: 1.5

Number of days I spent this week being grateful I get to spend (most of) my time doing creative things: 7 (awwwww...)

But, all those fun things aside, I fully acknowledge that keeping track of sales numbers is important, and I should be much better about it. (More to talk about in therapy.) I look forward to hearing from the other authors on this topic this week, who are undoubtedly better at this than I am!

Bad Reviews by Poppy Gee

What advice do you have for new authors on reviews? Do you read reviews? What is the best ever review you’ve received? What’s the worst and most hilarious? Share it with us!

An effective piece of writerly advice is to go online and read the one-star reviews of your favourite authors. It's perversely pleasurable and reassuring to be reminded that even bestselling authors get bad reviews.

Can you guess which bestselling author received this shocker? 

Oh but then it gets so so so much worse. Just a few hours after the wifey leaves, the author introduces a hot young Yankee law student, who is rich and smart. Despite her being over qualified for the job she begs Jake to let her "carry his briefcase" and work as his free law clerk. This bra-less (yes they mention that she is bra-less at least 5 times in the book) scantly clad liberal lady throws herself at Jake again and again. Of course he dutifully denies her. Why is this character introduced? To feed the male fantasy of course. What's hotter than lording over a smart strong woman who happily follows your every bidding and drools over your amazingness...

Oh, dear. Poor John Grisham. As a fan of his work, I don’t agree with this take at all. In this next review, the reader describes all the things they hated, which are the things I like about Patricia Highsmith:

This novel moves at a dismally slow pace. The reader has to wade through more than 100 pages before any real hint of a plot appears. The story line is weak and drawn out with repeative descriptions of topography and bland dialog. I only finished it because I paid handsomely for it.

Another reader admitted: 

At one point, I actually chose to scrub my bathtub instead of sitting down to finish the book...

Ouch. Poor Patricia Highsmith.

It’s a good idea to avoid looking at reviews for a few weeks or months after your book first comes out. Unless you’re a professional actor, it’s hard to do publicity or events after reading a sharply worded account of the disappointment and dismay you’ve wreaked on an innocent reader.

But after the excitement and anxiety of launch fades, it can be productive to read your reviews. Do this analytically. See if there are some common reactions. For me, many readers were frustrated by my ambiguous ending in BAY OF FIRES. That’s something I won’t repeat, or at least, I’ll work harder to make sure my next endings are stronger.

My worse reviews are etched into my aching heart:

God Awful

That was it. I felt terrible for that poor reader. And then this one:

The ending was so bad I wanted to throw the book against the wall when I finished, but it was an iPad so I couldn’t.

Ouch. Poor me!

The best one I ever got was in a newspaper where the reviewer likened my writing to Annie Proulx. That was lovely to read.

Reviews are for readers. Try not to worry too much. 

If you’re feeling disheartened by a particularly vicious one star, pour a nice cold drink and head to your favourite author’s Goodreads page. It works a dream!

One Star, Shining in the Darkness, by Catriona

What advice do you have for new authors on reviews? Do you read reviews? What is the best ever review you’ve received? What’s the worst and most hilarious? Share it with us!

I read trade reviews when I'm lucky enough to get them - the Wall Street Journal said "Hitchcock-like suspense" about The Dead Room and all of a sudden I know what my first tattoo would be. 

And I read Amazon reader reviews too - but with one proviso: I read them about books I'm maybe going to buy and read. That's what they're for. I don't read Amazon reviews of my books; they're not for me. 

So my advice to new authors would be - don't read your Amazon reviews. Don't read the five-star ones and don't read the one-star ones. They're not for you! It's impossible not to see how many reviews you've got and what the overall star-rating is but you don't need to click through.

I'm a hard-core non-clicker - I don't click on anything online that I didn't specifically search for - so it's easy. Hang on, sometimes I click on things that friends send me. At the moment that's mostly videos of very refreshed Scots being jolly in Boston.  

My favourite review was probably the first one I ever got. Stuart Kelly writing in the Scotsman called me "an exemplary crime-writer". You could have fanned me flat with an eyelash. And I was already so cool and professional that I immediately wrote to him to say thank you. Shudder. He was kind enough not to say anythimg about that when I met him at a festival soon after. 

My funniest review was from another UK newspaper - I genuinely can't remember which one - that accused me of not writing tartan noir. Um, guilty as charged, m'lud. It's not actually obligatory to write disaffected cops in seedy settings because you're a Celt. Right? It was such a bizarre complaint. 

I do love a good stupid review, mind you - almost as much as I love a good non-apology - and the one-star reader reviews of inarguably five-star books are a rich seam. I'll never forget the review of Pride and Prejudice that called it "an older and more boring Bridget Jones". Oh burn. Or the review of Catch-22 that said "It's like Mark Twain's Huck Finn, just an endless barrage of needless prose, instead of focusing on plot and character development by showing not telling". Oy-oy, I thought, someone's taken a class and reckons Twain and Heller would have got a lot out of it too. Brilliant.

Cx

Do You Trust the Source?

  

What advice do you have for new authors on reviews? Do you read reviews? What is the best ever review you’ve received? What’s the worst and most hilarious? Share it with us!

 

My advice to authors about reviews is simple: DON’T.

 

The easy answer, which is not a cop-out, is to say that the writer you are today is not the writer you will be tomorrow. If you are serious about writing, let your skills unfold naturally. Listen to yourself first. Trust yourself. If you have an editor, that should be enough. A good editor will show you the gaps and force you to think about your skills and structure. Agree or disagree, the friction should force you to question your intentions and capabilities.

 

Reviews are different, though they are supposed to be unbiased.

 

Think of reviews as drinking water. You go to the sink, run the tap, and fill a glass. Water should be clear and tasteless. It’s a public commodity from a trusted source. Most people never think about where it came from, who tested it, or whether the pipes between the reservoir and the faucet did their job.

 

Sites such as Amazon and Goodreads are public, a democratization of opinion.

 

The Good is that readers no longer have to depend on the arbiters of culture, those newspaper critics who decided what deserved attention.

 

The Bad is, to paraphrase Thomas Jefferson on democracy, the review you get is the review you deserve.

 

The Ugly is trolls and the complete absence of standards. Nobody agrees on what those stars mean. There are no half-stars. Is it a B+ book awarded a B because of the editing? A four star book merits three or two stars because a stray wet gremlin ruined the formatting? Then there are paid reviews, and the occasional author who uses an alias to knock down another writer.

 

The Absurd are the nonsense reviews we’ve all read: “Three stars. Book arrived damaged” or my favorite, “Five stars. DNF.”

 

An algorithm replaces word of mouth, which is how books are found now. The reality is that the marketplace is vast and the field uneven. Publishers publish what they think will pay their rent. Bookstores stock what they think will sell or what they can return to a warehouse. Marketing budgets matter. Money matters, while authors just want to be read.

 

Most of my reviews have been glowing, but the funniest one came after I had the book (now out of print) reissued. Context: the book had profanity in it, and I tend to use profanity as a pressure release, so it’s never gratuitous. Before I reissued it, I systematically un-F’d my manuscript.

 

Lo and behold, a generally positive review appeared, except for one criticism: the author resorted to profanity.

 

Confused, I did a word search for all the usual suspects. The offending epithet?

 

A single use of the word damn.

 

It would be nice if readers gathered and discussed my novel while they enjoyed an aperitif. That’s how art survives. That’s how word of mouth works.

 

The paradox is that writers know all of this and yet we seek validation from reviews. We’ve all done it. We’re human. Like all humans, we need water to survive. Just remember that not every glass is clean. Look at the water, smell it first, and then decide whether you really want to drink it.

 

Trust the source because it might just kill you (or so says Adrian Monk).

To Read or Not to Read...

 

What advice do you have for new authors on reviews?

The most consistent advice I’ve received as a newer author is, don’t read the reviews. I didn’t get that advice, at first, but time has taught me the error of my ways, as it does. I won’t say that I am 100% cured of my affection for a great review, especially if it says something like, I read this book in one setting because I couldn’t put it down. For me that is that review is the chef’s kiss of reviews. But it is no longer an obsession. When my book first released, I sat huddling over my phone refreshing it every few seconds watching and reading every review as it rolled in, trying not to care too much, while feeling like my whole life depended on those words. With every good review, my pride soared through the roof. I had never been so happy and confident, sure that those words written by some stranger, proved that I was to be a writer.

So, what’s so bad about that? Nothing. Not really. But what about when the review says, and it will, eventually, because there’s no pleasing everyone, and trolls, “this book was the worst book I ever read.” What happens to all that pride then? It’s a strange, but very human trait, our ability to believe the worst far easier than the good. I’m sure that’s not true for all, but it’s true for a lot of writers I’ve met. Maybe it’s because of what the great Erykah Badu said, “I’m an artist and I’m sensitive about my shit.” But a bad review will stick in your craw like a popcorn husk stuck in your back tooth. You’ll still be trying to understand exactly what they meant, long after the buzz from all those previous five-star reviews are long gone. So, you have to ask yourself, is it worth it?

Being a writer was not only hard to do; it was hard to even dream about. There weren’t a lot of successful writers in my neighborhood. In fact, becoming an actual writer with books in a bookstore or a library seemed as big a dream as being Michael Jackson, fantastical and unrealistic. So, achieving that dream deserves to be acknowledged by applause, a pat on the back, or a review.

But maybe, like everything else, in moderation. I don’t think it’s anything wrong with celebrating your own success. I admit that I have snuck a peak or two at some of my reviews, the good ones and the stinkers. The good ones for an ego boost. But sometimes the bad ones can provide some insight, especially if the bad ones start to reveal a trend. It’s not nice, but if everyone mentions, the same issue, I’d probably take note. I once got a one-star review that simply said, “not my type of book.” Best one-star review ever.

So read them, or not. Use the good ones as a pick me up, the bad ones for whatever they can teach you, if anything. As long as you don’t try to write to the opinion of others and remember reviews are simply opinions. And as we all know, opinions are like…I think you know the rest.

 

 

 

 

Publicity | Making the right choice by Faye Snowden

This week's question: After your book is released and the publicity campaign for its grand entrance nears completion, how do you keep your book on the red carpet and in the spotlight? 

This week’s question identifies a precise moment in my life. My latest book, A Killing Breath, was released on April 17th to respectable reviews. It debuted #5 in the African American mystery and suspense category on Amazon. In the middle of its publicity campaign, I was on deadline for the fourth and final book of the series, A Killing Earth. Amid the writing and rewriting, the tearing out of hair, the book signings, and festivals, I was finally able to send Earth off to the publisher. 

After the publicity campaign for Breath concluded, I was truly and frustratingly exhausted. The burnout was real. All I wanted was to lie in the summer sun, sip my whisky and read a book that I did not write. 

Which brings me back to this week’s question and this moment. After peaking at #5, Breath Amazon’s ranking fell. It was like someone popped a balloon. I know that it wasn’t the only book to do so after the launch concluded and the publicity waned. As authors we understand that. The demand for publicity is like that monster at the end of a horror movie that keeps popping up for one last jump scare before its final demise. Except publicity is immortal. And it’s gluttonous. As authors, we are compelled to keep it fed.

So, what can we do to keep our books alive? Writers responding to this week’s question have offered some fine advice. I’ve also given it some thought. We could mine our books for material to use in blog posts, articles, and on social media. We could make deleted scenes and chapters available on our websites or in our author newsletters, create a Pinterest mood board reflective of our setting. And those research rabbit holes? They are gold. For example, in Earth the killer buries his victims alive. I spent an age researching people who started the journey to the graveyard with their hearts still beating. There was this one story about someone who sat up in the casket at his own funeral and asked for a drink of water. 

No need to stop there. 

We could tie events from our books to events in the real world as long as we are thoughtful. My book is set in a fictional town called Byrd’s Landing, Louisiana. It would be crass for me to use a real-world hurricane as a promotional opportunity, but October 12th, National Gumbo day? Fair game. And there are the opportunities we can glean from relationships we cultivate with local librarians, book clubs, and independent bookstores. We could find community through organizations such as Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and Crime Writers of Color. Aside from getting the word out about our books, the conversations with fellow bibliophiles and authors would be well worth the trouble. 

We can choose to do all or none of these things. Another option would be to focus on one or two that we can fit into our lives already filled to brimming with our day job or jobs, grandkids with their sweet grubby little hands, gardens and cookouts, baseball games and Sunday dinners, all of which brings me to my last point. 

There is one choice we cannot make if we want to stay true to who we are. Writers must write. Feed the publicity monster when required, but after a launch draft the next book while remembering the words of Ray Bradbury: 

The Pros and Cons of Writing a Series By Rob Hart

Jim: Today we welcome Rob Hart to 7 Criminal Minds. Rob is the author of the terrific five-book Ash McKenna series of PI novels. As great as those books were, Rob wanted to reach a larger audience via a Big Five publisher. (Wouldn’t we all?) He certainly accomplished that—and how—with his breakout hit, The Warehouse. I’ll let him tell us about the challenges and rewards of writing a series. His latest release, Three Hitmen and a Baby, is the third of Assassins Anonymous series. Three Hitmen and a Baby hits bookstores next Tuesday, June 16. 

**********

My first novel came out in 2015. New Yorked was a punk-rock hardboiled novel following an amateur private investigator named Ash McKenna. It was an origin story, about the kind of person who might become a PI later in life.

It was received pretty well for a small press book, and I wrote four more in the series, closing out with Potter’s Field in 2018. I had sent Ash around the country, and then the world, before bringing him back home.

It was immensely rewarding, and I loved telling his story.

And when I was done, I never wanted to write a series again.

My next two books, The Warehouse and The Paradox Hotel, were standalones. They were bigger swings, and got me into the Big Five league of publishing.

The thing about writing a series is: unless you’re picked up as a TV show or a movie, or you really explode with readers for some unknowable reason, then there’s a degree of diminishing returns. You’ll watch your sales dip slowly, release after release, because it’s harder to get a new reader to tune into the third book in a series. They feel overwhelmed at the idea that they might need to read two other books just to understand what’s happening.

And given that we’re all currently being crushed under the heel of relentless late-stage capitalism, who even has time to read anymore? Every series book you write should work as a standalone, and I’m sure some people picked up the second or third or fourth book, not knowing about the others, and probably had a good time.

But it can eventually feel like you’re inviting people to a Tupperware party.

Plus, it’s hard to remember stuff over the course of five books! By the time I got to the fifth, I could barely remember what I put in the first. So it was nice, with The Warehouse and The Paradox Hotel, to build a sandbox, blow it up, and walk away.

Then came Assassins Anonymous.

It’s probably the best elevator pitch I’ve ever come up with: a John Wick-level assassins gets into a 12-step recovery program for killers. I wrote the book the same way I always do, assuming it would be the last book I ever write because why in the world does anyone let me do this for a living? 

But Putnam had signed me to a two-book deal, so when it came time to discuss that second book, the word “sequel” was floated. And that’s the thing about the Assassins concept; it supports a series. You’ve got multiple killers from different walks of life, you’ve got the 12 steps to work, and the container created by the program and the no-killing vow.

It didn’t hurt that when Steven Spielberg and Amblin optioned it, they were envisioning a series of films, and were keen for me to build out more of the world.

So last year we got The Medusa Protocol, still featuring Mark, the narrator of the first book, but shifting the camera a bit to include another member, and her POV.

Come June 16, the third book hits: Three Hitmen and a Baby. And I’ve already filed the fourth, called City of Killers, due to come out, most likely, next June. 

There’s something really comforting about writing a series. It’s like slipping on a well-worn pair of shoes. I know these voices, I know these characters. I enjoy digging deeper into who they are, and looking for new aspects of their lives—and their recovery—to explore.

I got lucky, too: when the first book in the series came out in paperback last year, Barnes & Noble picked it as their June mystery and thriller pick. We moved an enormous amount of copies, and it’s still selling pretty well, a year later.

Had that not happened, I’m not sure we would have made it to a third and fourth book.

The Medusa Protocol did not sell as many copies. Again, second book in a series. But we’re hopeful that since so many people picked up the first, it’s going to be a slow burn, and it’ll continue to do steady sales.

Now my contract with Putnam is up, and I’m at a crossroads. I like working with them, and I love my editor Daphne, so it’d be nice to stick around. I could write more Assassins books. I also wrote an ending for the fourth book that, if we decided to move on, or even hit pause for a bit, I think it would be satisfying to readers who’ve stuck with the characters.

I’m not tired of writing them, but we need to look at what the market will support, and how the movie is developing. Plus, I’ve got a lot of ideas. It’d be nice to mix in a standalone or two. Blow up some sandboxes. Try out some new stuff.

Who knows. I’ll figure it out. I’ve got time.

Now, this is where we bring it back to being somewhat instructional, because as a freelance editor and a mentor in Seton Hill’s MFA program, that’s just how I roll…

A lot of aspiring authors envision their first book to be the start of a series, and I get asked this all the time: should I pitch it as a series, write multiple books, etc?

And the answer is no. The chances of selling a series straight out of the gate is pretty low—especially if you’re a debut. Most publishers don’t want to commit to the second book in a series until they see how the first one does… or if you can even sell books in the first place.

You can write that sequel or trilogy or quadilogy or whatever. But that first book needs to work as a standalone. It needs to feel satisfying if it ends up being the only part of the story. No cliffhangers. No prologues.

When you’re querying agents or talking to editors, it’s okay to say a book has series potential, or that you’re working on a second one in case there’s interest in more. But don’t expect anyone to pick it up sight-unseen.

Thems the breaks. Publishing is a business, not a meritocracy.

And you need to go into it knowing that while writing a series is fun, you might not get lucky enough to finish it.

That all sounds very discouraging. I don’t mean it to. Go out there, have fun, leave your heart on the field. Because while writing a series can be a little challenging, and there are things to keep in mind about the reality, it can also be a hell of a lot of fun.

Oh, one final note: the Ash books are currently out of print. Bummer! When Polis closed I decided to hold onto my rights, because there’s been some movement on the TV side—some very cool people are attached to a brilliant pilot script. So I’m waiting to see how that works out before seeing if someone will bring them back into print.

Say a little prayer, cross your fingers, or just send some good vibes…

XX

Rob Hart is the USA TODAY bestselling author of the Assassins Anonymous series. The latest entry, Three Hitmen and a Baby, comes out June 16. He also wrote The Warehouse, which was translated into more than 20 languages, and The Paradox Hotel, which was nominated for both a Lambda Literary Award and Japan's Seiun Award. He co-wrote Scott Free with James Patterson, the novel Dark Space with Alex Segura, the comic book Blood Oath, also with Segura, and the novel Detour with Jeff Rake, creator and showrunner of TV's Manifest. He currently teaches in Seton Hill's Writing Popular Fiction MFA, and lives in Jersey City. Find him at www.robwhart.com.

 

Keep the glow-up

After your book launches and the big publicity wave dies down, how do you keep it happily alive when the spotlight moves on?

by Dietrich

You did it! Your new release made its grand entrance. The launch party was a blast, the champagne flutes are cleared away, and just like that…

Crickets.

Welcome to the afterparty—that phase after you’ve sat there grinning, waiting for the chirp to be replaced by the roar of soaring sales. It’s when your book steps out without a full entourage of publicists holding up its train, and you accept that the spotlight has wandered over to someone else’s shiny new release.

And you know what? That’s okay.

Sure, you’d love to keep the buzz going, but deep down, you knew the fireworks were never meant to last. At this point, you settle in, roll up your sleeves and get to work. You post fresh content on your website and socials — glowing reviews, behind-the-scenes rabbit holes from your research, deleted scenes that still have some life in them, and silly extras like “If My Book Were a Cocktail” (because readers oddly love that kinda stuff). Every new post is another little spark, another reason for readers and algorithms to rediscover your book.

You know happy accidents only happen when you stay in the game. So, you rack your brain for promo ideas because you know your book has legs, and you’re determined to help it along. You’ll gladly send copies to book clubs, jump on Zoom calls as a guest author, say yes to podcasts, and cheerfully haunt local bookstores for signings. You team up with fellow authors, join panels, and pray that your book gets passed around like the literary hot potato it deserves to be.

And when you’ve done all you can, you get to do the best thing of all: sit at your desk and start writing the next book. Because nothing breathes fresh life into your backlist like a new frontlist title. Readers who loved your last book will suddenly remember you, and your older stories get to come out and play again.

You picture someone handing their well-loved copy of your debut to a friend, saying, “You’ve got to read this.”

And one day soon… you’ll do it all over again. New book. New launch party. Champagne flowing. Publicity wave cresting…

And yes — probably more crickets.

But you’re in the game, and you love it because nothing beats it.

Part coming-of-age story and part family drama, set against the harsh backdrop of World War II Ukraine and Germany.

In the winter of 1945, a German village deep inside Ukraine burns under Russian assault. Young Jakob Fritsch, torn from his family, is forced onto a cattle car bound for a work camp where death looms. When a Stuka’s bomb derails the train, Jakob escapes the smoking wreckage alongside two untrustworthy survivors. They forge through snow-laden wilderness, hunted by soldiers and partisans.

A tragic turn forces Jakob to go on alone. Starving and freezing, he braves the perilous countryside of Poland en route to Berlin — the only place he can go — which is being torn apart from all sides.

Far away in the shattered outskirts of Berlin, Frida Beckmann lives amid relentless bombing raids and encroaching Soviet forces. With her father in a prison camp and her mother broken by grief, Frida shoulders the weight of her family’s survival. Tested by hardship, betrayal, and loss, she is pushed well beyond her years.

Jakob and Frida navigate their war-torn paths, struggling to survive in a time stripped of mercy — seeking refuge when all the world’s gone mad.