Aim Off Target

 

Writing the book is merely the top of the iceberg, as every new author will tell you. After writing, there's revising, rewriting, editing, finding a publisher, and the long, tedious task of selling it. You can't just create a book and expect the masses to rush to you these days. To succeed, you must take your book to the masses.

While the obvious options (local media, book reviewers, editors, and authors who specialize in the subject area or genre you've written in) are usually overloaded with review copies, certain media sources aren't used to receiving book releases. And that is why I’ve found a bit of success with an alternate strategy: aim off target.

Keep in mind that you're not shooting at random; you should aim and polish your pitch. Here’s how we did it with Flightless Goose years ago.

When sharing the book with publications in the medical and disability fields, we spotlighted that this is a book that teaches children how to deal with disability and difficult situations. When we went to automotive magazines, we highlighted that the goose is playing too close to the road and has an auto accident, so the book promotes road safety in play areas. When we went to style and fashion publications, we shared images of outfits worn by the geese and touted the style of the illustrations.

Flightless Goose received as much attention from these non-literary markets as it did from the traditional book reviewers.

Read my full article on the topic at Writers Weekly:

https://writersweekly.com/this-weeks-article/aim-off-target-by-eric-d-goodman

Wolfe on Steinbeck

When Tom Wolfe spoke about the state of the American Novel at the National Book Festival years ago, he was adamant that the state of the novel was not good.

Wolfe believed that modern American novelists — especially the young — have nothing to say. He also described what he considers the Europeanization of the American novel.

"America has been Europeanized. America believes that the novel should be psychological instead of being about something. But this is an astonishing, unexplored country — go to it!"

He explained that many great American novelists were actually reporters. "Take John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath. He worked as a reporter to get his material. He needed to be a reporter for the material and exposure to the types of characters and situations he was writing about."

Tom Wolfe encourages today's novelists to get the scoop before attempting to master the craft.

Visit Tom's bookshelf at the link.
http://www.tomwolfe.com/bookshelf.html

Wrecks and Ruins Full Cover Revealed

 

For Valentine’s Day, here’s more about my forthcoming novel that’s been described as an anti-love story that corrects itself.

You may have seen the front cover for the forthcoming novel, Wrecks and Ruins. Now, I’m pleased to share Apprentice Houses Press’s full cover, front and back.

The front and back covers both feature a Cicada sketch from Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural history, with wood photography by Patrick Fore. The back cover provides a brief description of the novel and a briefer author’s bio.

This will be the cover for the advance reading copy, so there may be slight variations before the final release. But chances are, this will be close to what you’ll see on bookstore bookshelves—online and in person—this April.

Learn more at www.EricDGoodman.com.

Cover Reveal: Wrecks and Ruins

Loyola University’s Apprentice House Press has revealed the cover for my forthcoming novel, Wrecks and Ruins.

The cicada sketch featured as a woodprint on the front cover is a variation of a cicada sketch from the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural history, with wood photography by Patrick Fore.

I’m excited to share the book cover. Stay tuned for more news to come on Wrecks and Ruins.

www.EricDGoodman.com