Marketing Insider — Author Beth Vogt

Originally published by ACFW Colorado’s The Inkwell Blog.

We’re finishing off our Marketing Insider series with Colorado author, Beth K. Vogt. Beth believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” Wish You Were Here, her debut novel from Howard Books, released May 2012. Her sophomore effort, Catch a Falling Star, releases May 2013. Beth is an established magazine writer and former editor of Connections, MOPS International’s leadership magazine. Today she talks to us about the process of working with a publisher on a marketing a novel.

Thanks for joining us today, Beth! We’ve been talking about all aspects of fiction marketing for the last few weeks. Since Wish You Were Here released, I’ve seen all sorts of fun marketing efforts on the net. What kinds of activities did Howard do to promote your debut novel?

Howard Books has a wonderful author site on their website that I love directing readers to. They also developed creative questions for book clubs to use Wish You Were Here  (May 2012) and Catch a Falling Star (May 2013), as well as Author Q&A, which I think is terrific for readers to learn more about me as a person – you know, the gal behind the author name. Besides things like that, they worked with GoodReads and NetGalley to get Wish You Were Here into readers’ and reviewers’ hands. Howard also provides support and training for authors to help us increase our marketing savvy.

You make this easy on me. That’s my next question: what did you do to support your publisher’s marketing efforts?

I helped my publisher compile my list of endorsers and influencers. (My recommendation: start early!) Two major things I did:

• I joined forces with three other debut authors (Katie Ganshert, Olivia Newport and Dani Pettrey) and we all helped one another and encouraged one another as we prepared to launch our books. And then Rel Mollet of Relz Reviewz and Kelli Standish helped us put on this a-ma-zing online book launch. It was live –real time video with giveaways and fun interaction with online friends.
• I enlisted Litfuse Publicity to organize a blog tour for me. Amy Lathrop and her team are the best at helping to create a buzz for an author!

What was your biggest (marketing-related) surprise as a first time CBA fiction author?

No matter how much I do, there’s always something else, something more to be done. And there’s always something new to try. Google+. Pinterest. Rebelmouse. (Really … Rebelmouse.)

That’s understandable… new things seem to be popping up every day! What do you wish you’d known about marketing as a first time CBA author?

I wish I’d discovered the “magic button” to push to make Wish You Were Here an instant best-seller. Doesn’t every author wish that? But then author Susan May Warren told me: It’s a marathon, not a sprint. I remind myself of that truth often.

And here’s what I learned: I can only do so much to market my book. At some point, I have to step back and start writing the next book. But I can always celebrate another author’s success. Always.

Here’s the overall lesson I’ve learned this past year: In God’s economy, it’s not about my book being a best-seller or not being a best-seller. It’s about how he is using all of this process to scrape off my rough edges and transform me into who he wants me to be—so I look less like me and more like him.

Thank you so much for those inspiring words: that’s the perfect note to sign off our interview series. We loved having you, Beth, and wish you the best with your next book!

You can catch up with Beth online at her website, www.bethvogt.com. Catch A Falling Star is currently available for pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online booksellers.

Tags: Beth K. Vogt, Catch A Falling Star, fiction, marketing, promotion, publishing, Wish You Were Here

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