Novel Marketing

A writers conference with no pitch appointments, no breakout tracks, and no recordings? What’s left? A conference that sold out last year! The Novel Marketing Conference is different, and every single attendee that responded to our survey said they were glad they came in 2026.
 
In this week's episode, I break down exactly why I removed those traditional writers conference elements and what we added instead. Here are three things you'll learn:
 
Which feature past attendees consistently name as the most valuable part of the entire weekend.
Which parts of the Novel Marketing method you can only learn in person at the conference.
What we’re adding to Thursday night’s ice-cream social in 2027!
 
The 2027 conference is already filling up. Super tickets are gone, but standard and gallery tickets are still available. Don’t wait to secure your spot. There's a live count of available tickets at NovelMarketingConference.com. When they're gone, they're gone.
 
Listen to the full episode, read the blog version, or watch on YouTube to get the complete schedule and see why this might be the best investment you make in your writing career this year.
 
Blog link: https://www.authormedia.com/announcing-the-2027-novel-marketing-conference/
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Have you ever finished a book you loved, handed it to a friend, and heard back, "It was fine"?
That disconnect has nothing to do with the quality of the writing. It has everything to do with a principle C.S. Lewis understood well enough to write classics that have endured for decades.
In this week's episode, I sat down with bestselling novelist Angela Hunt to break down the four ancient loves that drive all fiction, and how mastering them can help you produce a bestseller and a classic.
You’ll learn
The type of love almost every genre needs more of, and why the most violent stories need it most.
How the loneliness epidemic is creating a massive hunger in readers, and which type of love lonely readers are yearning for.
The type of love that makes for a classic but is hardest to write and easiest to botch. Get it wrong and your climax feels cheesy. Get it right and readers won't shut up about your book.
We also explore the dark side of each love and how to use that tension to propel your plot forward.
If the stakes in your story aren’t working or you’re sick of cheap, salacious storylines, listen in or read the blog version to learn how to incorporate these four types of love into your story. This one might change how you outline your next book or build your characters.
Blog link: https://www.authormedia.com/the-four-loves-that-drive-fiction/
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The difference between making thousands of dollars on your next book and losing money can come down to a few cents per click.
If your ads generate even a few pennies of net profit, you can run them until you've sold tens of thousands of books. But if you're losing money, no amount of spending will fix it.
 In this week's episode, David Gaughran, a veteran of digital advertising, joins me to talk about how to make your book advertising actually pay you back.
Here's a taste of what you’ll learn:
Why the authors spending the most on Facebook ads are often doing it wrong (and what to do instead)
The marketing asset that makes every advertising endeavor more profitable
How to reach your exact readers on Facebook now that author targeting is gone
Listen in or read the blog version to discover how to approach book advertising strategically. You will feel more confident about when to advertise and when to invest your time (and dollars) elsewhere.
Blog Link: https://www.authormedia.com/15-rules-for-book-advertising-with-david-gaughran/

Author Media.social link: (Live at 11:02 AM on May 6) https://authormedia.social/c/novel-marketing/15-rules-for-book-advertising-with-david-gaughran
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We’ve arrived! It’s the 500th episode of Novel Marketing.
To celebrate, I’m giving away the MacBook Neo I reviewed a few episodes ago, but I’m also revealing my worst takes and biggest mistakes over the past 500 episodes.
Some of those takes were correct, but when circumstances changed, the advice was no longer good. But sometimes, I was wrong from the start. Gather ‘round and hear the tale of the evolution of the host and his book marketing advice.
Listen in or read the blog to find out which pieces of advice have stood the test of time (and always will) and which pieces you can cast off like a crumpled first draft.
And don’t forget to enter to win the MacBook Neo! You can find links and details on the blog or YouTube.
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Most authors can tell you their royalties but not their net profit per book. They spend money on ads, see sales come in, and assume things are fine. But are they? Sales and profit are not the same thing.
How can you find out if you’re making money or just making sales?
In this week’s episode, you’ll hear from Eiri Theodorou, founder of Publisher Champ, an analytics platform used by over 25,000 authors.
You’ll learn
How one of Amazon’s metrics is somewhat misleading (and how to find the truth)
How you can track real-world marketing (like speaking and interviews) in a dashboard
How to find out if your best-selling book is masking problems with your other books.
If you want to stop guessing about your profitability, listen in or read the blog version. You’ll be able to invest in marketing with more certainty and become truly profitable.
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