Ask the Author: Richard Finney
Answered Questions (3)
Richard Finney
Jenni,
Oh shit. Obviously you wrote this months ago and I am just now answering. For anyone reading this... know that I did indeed get in touch with Jeani around the time she originally wrote this goodreads question (via another social medium).
But, let me answer here the question she asks -- Yes, I do know something about the consumer marketplace.... And the answer I write about includes something you brush upon with your question - that there is an essential difference in B2B (or Business to Business Marketing). I believe one of the keys to B2B success is starting with Influential people in the business arena you are writing about so your words/message goes from the top down. Endorsement with movers and shakers in the arena you write about is something that should be employed from the get go. In consumer marketing, assuming that you have written a genre book, and you want to go the indie route rather than the Established Big Publisher route, is the exact opposite of what I write above. You are actually doing everything you can to get your book read by people who love the genre you're writing in. So, it is a bottom up theory of marketing. It's extremely difficult (but getting access to influential people on the B2B level is just as challenging) because unlike B2B. you have to write well in a way that readers will love what you've written. And from there you are betting that genre readers will tell others about your work. It seems like a daunting task initially, but working for you is this -- genre readers read, and after a point they have run out of things to read and are looking for the next new thing. So writing a genre book allows you to feed that appetite. And genre readers tend to be the ones who talk/share their love for something they like. They especially go crazy when they've come across something and someone behind a book that very few people know about. So social media works when you get readers to read your work, and other readers trust that first wave of readers more than they trust critics, or blurbs splashed on the N.Y. Times, especially when the genre you write in is not taken as "seriously" as other fiction genres but has a huge audience.
Oh shit. Obviously you wrote this months ago and I am just now answering. For anyone reading this... know that I did indeed get in touch with Jeani around the time she originally wrote this goodreads question (via another social medium).
But, let me answer here the question she asks -- Yes, I do know something about the consumer marketplace.... And the answer I write about includes something you brush upon with your question - that there is an essential difference in B2B (or Business to Business Marketing). I believe one of the keys to B2B success is starting with Influential people in the business arena you are writing about so your words/message goes from the top down. Endorsement with movers and shakers in the arena you write about is something that should be employed from the get go. In consumer marketing, assuming that you have written a genre book, and you want to go the indie route rather than the Established Big Publisher route, is the exact opposite of what I write above. You are actually doing everything you can to get your book read by people who love the genre you're writing in. So, it is a bottom up theory of marketing. It's extremely difficult (but getting access to influential people on the B2B level is just as challenging) because unlike B2B. you have to write well in a way that readers will love what you've written. And from there you are betting that genre readers will tell others about your work. It seems like a daunting task initially, but working for you is this -- genre readers read, and after a point they have run out of things to read and are looking for the next new thing. So writing a genre book allows you to feed that appetite. And genre readers tend to be the ones who talk/share their love for something they like. They especially go crazy when they've come across something and someone behind a book that very few people know about. So social media works when you get readers to read your work, and other readers trust that first wave of readers more than they trust critics, or blurbs splashed on the N.Y. Times, especially when the genre you write in is not taken as "seriously" as other fiction genres but has a huge audience.
Richard Finney
A thriller novel titled "The Match Maker."
Richard Finney
I've never had writer's block.
I always start with a Road Map.
A road map makes sure I stay on course.
Sure I might not visit every interesting or curious attraction along the way, but I always finish my journey.
I believe the best creative adventures are ones that come to the mind wild and crazy. But after deciding to make the trip, one is best served by working out a plan, not written in stone, but on paper.
I like my road maps to be detailed, but not too thick, so I can fold it up and stick it in the back of my jeans pocket. I want to be able to pull it out when I'm tempted to take a detour by an attractive road sign or by hearing good advice from a fellow traveler.
I have found a really good road map encourages you to take such detours.
When you're in the mood to try something daring, there's nothing better than the security of knowing how to get back on the road that leads to... the end.
I always start with a Road Map.
A road map makes sure I stay on course.
Sure I might not visit every interesting or curious attraction along the way, but I always finish my journey.
I believe the best creative adventures are ones that come to the mind wild and crazy. But after deciding to make the trip, one is best served by working out a plan, not written in stone, but on paper.
I like my road maps to be detailed, but not too thick, so I can fold it up and stick it in the back of my jeans pocket. I want to be able to pull it out when I'm tempted to take a detour by an attractive road sign or by hearing good advice from a fellow traveler.
I have found a really good road map encourages you to take such detours.
When you're in the mood to try something daring, there's nothing better than the security of knowing how to get back on the road that leads to... the end.
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