I imagine most of us have all endured the frustration of trying to market our books through Amazon or on social media. We've all read countless articles and videos offering the 'secrets' of unlocking online sales. Entire libraries could be filled with all the 'how-to' books produced over the last few decades on book marketing.
I know that there are some authors who succeeded at online sales. I really haven't and I have read many of those books and have watched the videos and followed Amazon's directions on advertising to the tee. But I have never experienced much success. (Until very recently)
Today, however, I have a bestseller on my hands and its via a completely different model. I am a local bestselling author.
My crime novel, Darkness at Death's Door, is set in my locale, Door County, Wisconsin. Door County is a tourist haven, sometimes known as "The Cape Cod of the Midwest." Every year, thousands of visitors come here for vacations, weddings and honeymoons, and weekend getaways. And many of them are looking for summer reading to fill the lazy or quiet moments.
Copies are flying off the shelves at the local bookstore.
I'm not unique. There are several other authors who have penned Door County mysteries, all of whom have had similar success. I admit it, that's the main reason I sat down to write Darkness. I'm now committed now to write three more local crime novels over the next 18 months. I'd be crazy not to.
You may not be fortunate to live in a tourist destination, but there should be a market for localized fiction in your area. People like to read about places they are familiar with and to see characters interacting with the local color. Maybe you could write about a murder taking place at a popular local landmark or a romance unfolding in the colorful small town you were born in. There are people around you who would love to read that.
If you have a work in progress or have a list a planned novels or stories, ask yourself, "Could I switch this to a local setting without affecting the story?" Or: "Could localizing actually enhance the work?" You aren't necessarily selling out by changing the setting. You may inject more life into the story by putting your own memories or feelings about a familiar place into the work.
Here are the basic lessons I learned from going local:
The more locales and landmarks and history you can add to the story the better. I set Darkness in 1971, so in addition all the local color I added a vintage flavor that gave the familiar a twist. I found this really appealed to lifelong residents or visitors who have been coming here since they were kids. You get comments like "I remember when..." and "that reminded me of..." But even if you set your story in the present, readers will enjoy reliving their visits to a prominent park or a lake shore beach or a quaint downtown.
Develop a relationship with local bookstores. They are you best friends; believe me, they usually love localized books because they know they are easy sellers. Some may buy copies outright, some may put you on a consignment basis. Either one is fine, because if the book sells, you make a profit either way. A local bookstore usually likes to host book launches or author signings, which is a great opportunity to meet your readers and sell more books. Bookstore owners can also give you an idea of what sort of books sell locally.
Get publicity in the local press. When you publish your book, send out a press release to all the local papers, radio, and TV stations. A healthy local paper is a great outlet, because their regular readers usually read the whole paper every week. I had people coming into the local bookstore looking for Darkness because they read about in the paper. I also had a spike in sales on Amazon during the period the article came out. Obviously the same holds true for local TV and radio, but that is less likely than a piece in the paper, which is nearly a given.
Write in a popular genre. If you are committed to writing literary fiction, that's fine. You could still benefit from localizing. But if you want a better shot at a bestseller, pick one of the top selling genres: crime and mystery, romance, fantasy, historical fiction, or young adult/children's. Literally all I have to do is tell someone, "It's a crime novel set in Door County," and most of the time I make sale. It's ridiculously easy. Selling my science fiction books not set in Door County is definitely tougher.
Look for area book festivals or consider the farmers markets. I sell my books in Door County at a booth in our farmers market and at an annual book fair in July. We also have a Christmas market which I haven't tried previously, but expect to sell a lot of copies at this year. Selling your books in person isn't all that hard. You develop an "elevator pitch" of about two or three sentences to get passerby's attention and if they stop and engage with you, then you’re halfway there. Once you've gone through the process a few dozen times, you should be a real pro. And it's usually a very positive experience talking to people about books and writing, even it you don't wind up making a sale.
Connect with a local writers group. I am very fortunate that Door County has an excellent support system not only for writers, but all other kinds of artists and musicians as well. I realize not every place is as lucky. But if you do have local or regional writers group, it's a great resource. You can meet writers who have had success with localization and get tips and guidance from them. You may be able to share costs of a booth as we do with the farmers market. You can find beta readers and teachers. But it's also great to have other writers to just talk to about writing.
As I said, localizing your book doesn't mean you are selling out. I put just as much imagination and passion into Darkness as my previous books and in the process advanced my craft. It turns out I really enjoy writing crime fiction. I may well keep writing it after I finish my Door County "quadrology." And I really do love my home, that's why I moved here. The synchronicity is deeply satisfying.
"The home should be the treasure chest of living."
Le Corbusier
This is all excellent advice. I live in a tourist city and plan on doing something similar. Thank you for putting all these tips into one super helpful post.