• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Mo Fanning - British writer and comic

  • Home
  • My Books
    • The Armchair Bride
    • Rebuilding Alexandra Small
    • This is (not) America
    • Five Gold Rings
    • Talking out loud
  • About Mo Fanning
    • Mailing List
    • Support my writing
  • BLOG
  • BUY SIGNED COPIES

Marketing

Marketing notes from my editor

August 22, 2017 by Mo Fanning Leave a Comment

Getting old by Mo FanningReady to look at marketing your finished book. Maybe I can help?

Last time round, I talked about how editorial feedback made me think again about something as basic as the character names and elements of setting. How the current market expects certain things.

She went further and gave me helpful tips to help pitch the finished product – and I thought I’d share them with you – even if you might be direct competition. That’s how wonderful I am.

Does your title fit?

My working title (and the one I’ve used on this site) is ‘Since you’ve been gone’ – it’s a story of how a life changes after someone moves out. In terms of marketing this book as a commercial proposition, she suggests a rethink. ‘Since you’ve been gone’ fits with a sad story: an emotional family drama. My story is more hopeful and uplifting. She suggests titles that reference the central setting of a café or food. Ora title that evokes the setting of Brighton, or being by the sea or a summer romance.

Practical considerations

Word count of 72k is perfect for this area of the market. And let’s face it, we all still wonder if people have attention spans. Ten years back, anything under 80k was madness. But the golden rule remains. Take as many words as you need to tell the story well. That said, I can’t see rom-com publishers welcoming a 140k word saga.

When submitting, she suggested I include a short book blurb of approx. 300 words or less. Essentially boiling down the copy into a concise, snappy overview of the story, bringing out the central themes of the book. A shoutline, that would sit nicely on the front cover of the book is also recommended. Do some of the marketing for whoever you want to win over.

Your influences

Some editors warn against this, but mine reckons it’s always useful to say which books or authors you feel your writing is comparable to in a covering letter to help place you in the market. And that can work both ways, some publishers might not need ‘the next Marian Keyes’ – in which case it’s best you make sure they know that’s what you are (before everyone ends up disappointed a year down the line).

I hope these tips help you as much as they have me.

Filed Under: Tips, Writing Tagged With: Marketing, Writing

Primary Sidebar

About Mo Fanning

Mo Fanning (@mofanning) tells jokes on a stage and writes commercial fiction. He’s the bestselling author of The Armchair Bride and Rebuilding Alexandra Small. Mo makes fabulous tea – milk in last – and is a Society of Authors member and cancer bore.

Join my mailing list

When you join my mailing list, you’ll get the inside scoop on all of my new books. You can find out about every book I publish as soon as it’s released and has made its way to Amazon and other online retailers.

By subscribing, you agree with Revue’s Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Secondary Sidebar

Rebuilding Alexandra Small by Mo Fanning
The Armchair Bride by Mo Fanning
this is (not) america
Five Gold Rings by Mo Fanning
Talking Out Loud by Mo Fanning
Society of authors member

Footer

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

All content copyright Mo Fanning

  • Books by Mo Fanning
I use cookies on my website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Cookie settingsACCEPT
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT