Big News!!!! Associated Press Writer, M.L. Johnson appeared in The San Francisco Chronicle as saying, Mistress of the Revolution is “definitely a contender for one of the best reads of the year.” You can read the article here. Congratulations Catherine!
 

What I did to promote Mistress of the Revolution

By Catherine Delors

 After all the hard work of writing and editing my historical novel, suddenly my publication date drew frighteningly close. What was I to do? Someone said that it doesn’t do an author any good to have written the best book in the world if no one knows of it. 

Mistress of the Revolution is my debut novel, and I am not a “branded” author with a following of loyal fans. Most of my potential readers had never heard of me or my book. I had to change that! 

I had read somewhere that the publisher’s part in book promotion can be summed up by “We’ll add you to our catalog.” Not true. My novel and profile were indeed added to Penguin’s website and online store, but my publisher did much more than that in terms of promotion. Dutton, the division of Penguin that will publish it, had attractive galleys (also called Advanced Readers Copies or ARCs) printed and sent to reviewers for various newspapers or magazines. 

About book signings? In the movies, debut authors go on twelve-city tours, right? I know, but in the real world, it doesn’t quite work this way. Amanda Walker, my publicist at Dutton, warned me that, unless an author is already a celebrity, the benefits of a book tour do not justify the travel expenses incurred. I looked around on the internet and did find horror stories of even well-established authors going to a book signing where no one – that’s right, not a single reader – showed up. One the other hand, I once went to one of Ray Bradbury’s signings, because I greatly admire his work, and my son is a fan. There were hundreds of people lined up. But let’s face it: I don’t compare to Ray Bradbury in terms of recognition or sales. Not yet, at least. So I will have one book signing at Dutton’s Brentwood, one of the great independent bookstores in my hometown of Los Angeles. I am sure that my friends will come, and I am happy with this. 

I feel that Amanda at Dutton thoroughly covered the written press angle of book promotion. As a result, Mistress of the Revolution was reviewed by Publishers Weekly and Kirkus, and it was selected as an Editors’ Choice Title by the Historical Novel Society. Furthermore, Associated Press is going to cover its release, which should give it a great deal of exposure nationwide. What my publisher did entailed a great deal of work and expense, and it paid off in terms of publicity. But is this enough?  

Some writers hire outside publicists to target niche markets or secure radio and television interviews. Unfortunately, this was not an option for me. Most publicists charge thousands of dollars for their services, and my book promotion budget was, shall we say, limited. In my case, there was an additional problem: THE ACCENT! All the publicists to whom I spoke told me that that there was an umwritten rule among the producers of television and radio shows not to interview any writers with foreign accents. Darn! I was born and raised in France, and English is my second language. 

So what remains open to me and my accent? You guessed it: the internet, of course. The most unpoliced, unruly, vibrant, democratic medium of all. I even titled my blog Writing with a foreign accent. And no one minds on the internet! 

I did hire an outside publicist, Dorothy Thompson, at Pump Up Your Book Promotion. I love that name. For one thing, Dorothy charged a fraction of the fee of a traditional publicist. She organized a blog tour for me. She put me in touch with fellow bloggers, and I began networking. Let me say that I have been amazed by the kindness of perfect strangers.  

Now my blog tour is set up, and I am ready to roll. Wish me luck!