I originally shared this information about book marketing and COVID-19 in a newsletter I sent to my subscribers last Wednesday. I received so many positive comments that I am sharing it here too (with some additional information). To receive my newsletters, which has information I don’t typically include on my blog, click here. When you subscribe, you’ll automatically receive my 64-page ebook Twitter Just for Writers for free.

This past week I messaged several clients about how, in the face of COVID-19, they might consider adjusting their messaging.

You see, while other book marketing experts advise you to “stay the course,” I’m swimming upstream.

Why? These are unusual times.

With twenty states, as of this writing, under “shelter-in-place” orders, as authors, we need to think about what our readers need to hear from us – not what we want them to know about us and our books.

And with a record number of cases of COVID-19 in New York State where the number of Coronavirus infections double every four days (as of March 28).

Given this reality, how can we stay the course without looking foolish?

We can’t. As authors we need to reach out and be a resource for our readers in whatever capacity we can.

Domestic Violence Author

I work with an accomplished domestic violence therapist. Typically, we tweet about a range of issues related to coercive control and physical abuse.

But what happens to those women who are stuck at home with abusive spouses during stay-at-home orders?

The messaging needed to change to reach and help these women during these unusual times.

Now we have a plan in place.

Child Psychiatrist

I also work with a child psychiatrist. Under normal circumstances, she’s concerned about the dangers of vaping, youth mental health, and day-to-day parenting issues.

Everything has changed.

So for her, our messaging will switch to how parents can ease their kids’ anxieties during this time.

Psychologist

I also work with an author who focuses on depression, PTSD, and people who have suffered from traumatic brain injuries, mainly due to car accidents.

We will switch his messaging to helping his followers remain hopeful and encouraging them to seek help when they need it.

Poet and Novelist

I’m fortunate to be working with a poet and novelist who has been on the New York Times bestseller list.

Typically, we post her poetry, excerpts from her books, and quotes from authors and poets she admires.

We are adding to her editorial calendar things that people can do at home with their kids, such as the Smithsonian webcam tours.

Instead of the typical quotes from authors, we make sure that those quotes include messaging about hope.

Book Marketing and COVID-19 for Fiction Writers

If you write fiction, here are some things you can do:

1. Reduce the prices of your ebooks. People are stuck at home, and there’s only so much Netflix they can watch. If you sell your ebooks for $4.99 or more, reduce the price. I’m serious. A lot of people are out of work and want to read. Make reading affordable for them.

2. Emphasize the benefit of escaping into a romance novel. Romance readers are voracious readers. If you write romance, you already know that. Give away your earlier books for free, then discount your ebooks wherever you sell them. Then promote your colleagues’ books.

3. Reach out to your young adult readers on Tumblr or Snapchat. Provide them with free PDFs of some of your novels.

4. If you write children’s books, write new stories and have them available for download on your website for parents. Ask your illustrator to create some pages to accompany your stories that parents can download for their kids to color.

5. Communicate with your readers via a new Facebook group or Zoom. Better yet, organize a Zoom meeting with other authors in your genre. Let your readers discuss their reactions to your books. Also, let them air whatever issues your readers want to talk about right now, even if it’s not about your stories. Also, try scheduling a Facebook Live or Instagram Live session. They can be fun. You have time to learn new skills so test the waters and see what works. You can also organize a Twitter chat with other authors in your genre or by yourself. Note: The links in this section are to how-to articles to help you get started.

Focus on Hope and Help

Really focus on how you can bring hope and assistance to your readers. 

Unlike some marketers, I don’t think this is a time to push book sales as much as to make your writing available to your readers and new readers.

Offer opportunities for escape, imagination, and help.

Your readers need you and want to hear from you. Give them the messages they most need to hear from you.

Get your writing out there as much as you can. You will benefit from the exposure of free books over time, and your readers will develop more loyalty toward you.

Think about your readers first. That is always the first rule of book marketing, and that will never change.

To receive my 64-page ebook, Twitter Just for Writers, for free click here.

Frances Caballo is an author and social media consultant. Her focus is on helping authors surmount the barriers that keep them from flourishing online and building their platform. She also provides content writing and email marketing services. Find out how you’re doing on social media.

The Indie Author Weekly Update is different today because our world has changed.

We are living amid COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders and worrying about the worldwide pandemic. Therefore, please read the first four posts. They are the most important to your career right now.

Please read the post on using Instagram during this unusual time of ours.

Lisa Tener’s post is also a must-read in my view. She is a phenomenal and accomplished book and creativity coach.

Also, be sure to read BookBub’s post on how authors are helping each other with their book launches.

Instagram Tips for Our Times

Instagram Provides Tips on Maintaining Connection via Instagram Live During COVID-19 Lockdowns by Andrew Hutchinson: If you use Instagram, try live streaming to keep in contact with your readers during COVID-19 shelter-in-place orders. This post provides tips on how to do this.

Inspiration for the Indie Author

Keep Going: How To Be Creative For The Long-Term With Austin Kleon & from Joanna Penn: Austin Kleon is a New York Times bestselling author or four books and speaker. Joanna Penn’s podcasts are always worth listening too. (Yes, I listen to it too.) Of course, you can always read the transcript.

A Creative Approach to the Coronavirus-Inspired Lifestyle by Lisa Tener: Lisa Tener is an accomplished book and creativity coach. Creativity feeds our souls and that’s why it’s important for all of us to pursue creative endeavors. Read her 11 tips now.

Authors Helping Authors

Many writers’ new releases have been disrupted by COVID-19. See how fellow authors are stepping up to help from BookBub: I love this post. I always say that on social media we don’t have competitors we have colleagues. Work together with other authors, especially those who are struggling. By doing this, you build social karma.

Indie Author Branding

What’s Your Author Brand? by Sandra Beckwith and from TheBookDesigner.com: I find that indie authors resist discussions about branding. Guess what? It’s essential to your book marketing. So read this post and learn from it. Sandra Beckwith offers excellent tips.

Book Reviews

Amazon’s Review Rules Have Become Even Stricter in 2020 by Anne R. Allen: Do not try to game Amazon’s review system. Doing so will only bite you in the proverbial butt in the end. Read this post, follow the rules, and don’t try to “swap” reviews with other authors.

Of Note

Free Download from Writers Digest: 10 Situation Starters to Beat Writer’s Block: Need inspiration for a short story or even a novel? Here are some free writing prompts. You can also check Twitter daily. Use the hashtag #WritePrompt.

Quote of the Week

Frances Caballo is an author and social media consultant. Her focus is on helping authors surmount the barriers that keep them from flourishing online and building their platform. She also provides content writing and email marketing services. Find out how you’re doing on social media.

I’ve been aware of romance author Kate Kisset for some time and follow her on Instagram, where she has a distinctive style.

After observing her social media over the past year, I finally decided to interview her.

How long did it take you to write 13 romance books, and how long does it take to write one book?

The 13 releases are a combination of boxed sets, novellas, and novels.

I started writing my first novel, Love at Last, in 2013, and it took me two years to release it.

Back then, I had no idea what I was doing. As much as I tried to research and “do the right thing,” I can see now how clueless I was. And I took my own sweet time about it!

How long it takes me to write a book depends on the story. I thought for sure, by now, I’d have the process down pat, but every project is different.  

An idea for a story will usually start in the “simmering stage.” If the concept stays with me and continues to invade my thoughts, then I’ll plot out the story.

The hardest part for me is the actual writing and making the commitment to sit in my office and get those words on the page. But once I start writing and the words start flowing, I can get a first draft written in about a month.

“Love at Last” was successful. And is still doing well. How do you compare that book’s ratings with your other books?

Love at Last was my first book. It’s been around the longest and has the most reviews.

I try not to compare my books. For example, one of my latest books, Heartbreaker, has far fewer reviews. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t a strong book.

I devoted far less time to finding reviewers for Heartbreaker. At the time Heartbreaker was released, I was spending every moment writing the follow-up books, Love Maker and Dream Maker. There was only so much I could do. Unfortunately, finding reviewers came last on my “to do” list.

Luckily, I have a small (but mighty) band of readers who’ve been with me from the start.

How long have you been using social media to reach your readers?  

I’ve been using social media from the beginning. I’m guessing around 2014, a year before I launched Love at Last.

I hear some authors complain that readers are unable to leave reviews on Amazon. Has that been a problem with any of your readers?

It has been a problem sometimes, but I try not to worry about something that’s out of my control.

I also make it a point to not to stress out my ARC team. I treasure these readers and know how dedicated they are.

If Amazon isn’t letting someone leave a review, there’s nothing they can do. They’ll usually update me on the situation and keep trying.

We hear that it’s essential to publish a lot of books as quickly as possible. How do you feel about that advice?

If readers want another story from you, I think it’s important not to disappoint them. That said, I wouldn’t suggest releasing book after book in an unpopular series.

It doesn’t matter how many books you release if the stories aren’t connecting with readers.

But there is a benefit to staying current and relevant to your readers with a steady stream of new releases. Last year, I released my Lonesome Cowboy trilogy over three months. But I’d been working on them all year.

At writer’s conferences, experts encourage writers to form a VIP list or street team and dedicated readers who will spread the word online about our new books. Do you have a street team? 

I don’t have a dedicated street team, per se. I do have a private Facebook group, and my ARC team helps me get the word out. I think it’s important to be realistic about how many teams, groups, social media platforms, etc. you can manage. Every team created requires management, and I need to concentrate on my writing.

Love those opened shirts on your cowboy series. Where do you find the models? (Asking for a friend.)  

Thank you! I absolutely adore those covers! You’d be surprised at how difficult it is to find hot models. They’re all stock photos that my cover designer and I spent hours finding. Shutterstock, Deposit Photos, and Fotolia are a few sites I use.

Your book photos aren’t lurid. Did you make that choice early on?

It wasn’t a conscious decision. The focus was to convey the story through the cover and to capture the reader’s attention. Love in the Vineyards has a different heat level than Lonesome Cowboy, and I think the covers reflect that.

On Instagram, you have a distinctive style. How did you arrive at that?

Thank you! I keep changing it up on Instagram, but I’m working on keeping a consistent color palate. 

In January, I was in peach mode. If you scroll back, you’ll see all the photos in my feed have a peachy hue.

For February and the release of Love X 2, I changed my color scheme to red to take every advantage of my book cover and Valentine’s day. I posted a red heart, on February 1st to signal the change.

I’m always playing around with Instagram because it’s so pretty and easy to use. I’ve made genuine connections there.

Lately, I’ve been using the stories feature heavily. That area doesn’t necessarily “match” my feed. I use stories to post what I’m doing at the moment, or if I want to add music to a photo.

Instagram seems to come naturally to you. Is that true? 

Out of all the social media sites, Instagram is, by far, my favorite. I absolutely love it. And as a former disc jockey, when they gave the option of adding music to your stories, it was a match made in heaven.

I could spend hours on Instagram, cruising my favorite authors. I also spend far too much time on animal posts. Without a doubt, I’m addicted. 

I love this line in one of your Instagram captions: “And after secretly meeting Colt in Dream Maker’s laundry room, her desire for him is on the spin cycle.” Sometimes, I think Instagram was made for romance writers. What do you think?

Thank you! I had so much fun writing Colt and Mariah’s story. And, yes. I do think Instagram was made for romance writers and storytellers in general.

Posts can be short and sweet. The right photo can have a significant impact on your mood. In the words of Rod Stewart, if done right, “Every Picture Tells a Story.”

About Kate Kisset: She is a USA Today bestselling author known for crafting contemporary romances that are “unputdownable, heart melting, and sexy as hell.” Kate divides her time between Northern California wine country and the beaches of Southern California. When she’s not writing, Kate’s favorite job is being “The Mommy.” She enjoys hiking, eating chocolate, reading, listening to music, drinking wine, and walking her loyal companion, Luciana Parmigiana her rescue-dog-editor. Find a list of all of her books here.

About Frances Caballo: She is an author and social media consultant. Her focus is on helping authors surmount the barriers that keep them from flourishing online and building their platform. She also provides content writing and email marketing services. Find out how you’re doing on social media.

It’s Friday so it’s time for another Indie Author Weekly Update. How the week goes.

I hope you like this mix of blog posts today. My favorite is Anne R. Allen’s.

Why are there so many scammers in the indie publishing field? I don’t know. And there’s stupid advice. Anne covers it all in her new post.

Don’t you hate it when you’re reading a novel and a character, stops to gaze out the window? How many times have people written that before? Well, Nathan Bransford writes about this and more in his newest post. By the way, he’s an editor and a blogger and kind of a big deal.

Indie Author Scammers & Dumb Advice

Clueless Advice People Give New Writers: 10 Things to Ignore by AnneR.Allen: There are so many scams out there. Once at a conference, a “publisher” approached me about “publishing” my next week. Ha! I would have had to pay for all of their costs. I would have made money once “eventually.” Maybe. Maybe not. I’m so glad that Anne wrote this blog post. Read it and beware!

Cost of Indie Author Publishing

Self-Publishing: It’s Going to Cost How Much, You Ask? from TheBookDesigner.com: New indie authors can sometimes be shocked at the costs of self-publishing. Because editors and designers can be expensive, some authors hire professionals in the Philippines or elsewhere. However you choose to lower your costs, remember that it’s important to produce the highest quality book that you can. Don’t cut corners to the point that you publish inferior products. Read this post to find out what the typical publishing costs are and be prepared.

Audiobooks

Opportunities In Audiobook Publishing with Michele Cobb and from Joanna Penn: In this new podcast, Michele Cobb talks about the expansion of the audiobook market and shares tips for marketing audiobooks.

Writing Advice

Avoid these generic reactions by Nathan Bransford: I know I never include writing advice on my blog but I really like this post. Bransford offers some great advice give it a good read.

Quote of the Week