BFS Online: The Book Journey – Marketing

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Marketing: A discussion on the role of marketing in book success. How do you find your readers? What strategies get your book noticed?

Join moderator Lauren McMenemy as she chats to Beverley Lee, Nicole Eigener, Jenn Hanson dePaula and Stuart Conover about the best booky boosts and the dos and don’ts of marketing.

Beverley Lee: Beverley Lee’s solo works specialise in atmospheric horror, creeping dread, and broken boys – sometimes altogether – but are always filled with heart and the tenuous threads of relationships pushed to the brink. All the Feels all the time. Vampires are her first love and occasionally they stop whispering long enough for her to write other books. When she’s not writing you’ll find her rambling through the countryside, dreaming about male vampires kissing, and exploring time-worn graveyards. Find out more about Beverley on her website or on Instagram. Buy Beverley’s books here.

One benefit of the internet age is that beautiful friendships can be forged across seas and timezones: and over the centuries-old love of writing vampires. Here, two dark fiction authors — one in the UK and one in California — Beverley Lee and Nicole Eigener, collectively known as Nicoverley, bring you the collision of their separate revenant worlds, and they welcome you into their crimson web.

Nicole Eigener: Nicole Eigener is the author of Beguiled by Night: A Vampire Tale (Polidori Press, 2020) and Citizens of Shadow: Beguiled by Night Book Two, in which Vauquelin’s story continues. They are also co-author, with Beverley Lee, of Crimson is the Night: A Vampire Novelette and the forthcoming novel series A Conclave of Crimson (2024), featuring a meeting of characters from Lee’s Gabriel Davenport series and the Beguiled By Night series. Nicole is a lifelong student of French history and the macabre. Their love for haemovores became a beautiful marriage to their obsession with French culture, specifically of the seventeenth-century, which features prominently in their work. Nicole lives in Southern California. You can learn more about Nicole here and you can buy a book here.

Jenn Hanson-dePaula: Jenn Hanson-dePaula is a marketing and social media expert who has been working with authors, musicians, and other creatives for over 23 years.  Jenn got her start in the music industry working for Essential Records in 2000 serving as the label publicist. In 2001 she was asked to join EMI CMG to serve as label publicist. For five years she helped musicians take their career to new heights, and actually has a platinum record to prove it. In 2005 she ventured out on her own to start BookEnd Media, which was formed to serve the independent music and author communities. As the music and publishing landscapes changed and social media outlets became more and more prominent, she refocused the company, naming it Mixtus Media. She decided to concentrate on authors and book publishing to help her clients form a deeper and more powerful online presence. She has worked with a wide range of authors – from New York Times best selling authors to self-published authors starting from scratch. Jenn is a 2000 graduate of Greenville University with a degree in Communication: Public Relations. In 2012 she was named “Outstanding Young Alumna” by Greenville University for her work in marketing and entrepreneurial ventures. Learn more about Jenn and Mixtus Media here. out more about Micaela on her website. Or follow on TikTok and Instagram.

Stuart Conover: Stuart Conover is a father, husband, rescue dog owner, horror author, blogger, journalist, horror enthusiast, comic book geek, science fiction junkie, and IT professional. With all of that to cram in daily, it is highly debatable whether he ever is able to sleep, and rumors have him attached to an IV drip of caffeine to get through most days. A resident in the suburbs of Chicago (and once upon a time in the city), most of Stuart’s horror fiction takes place in the Midwest, if not the Windy City itself. From downtown to the suburbs to the cornfields – the area is ripe for urban horror of all facets. Recently, he has also heavily delved into writing both science fiction and fantasy. Visit Stuart’s website to find out more. He’s also on Twitter, Bluesky, Instagram and Facebook. All his works are available here.

Lauren (LJ) McMenemy: Lauren McMenemy wears many hats: Editor-in-Chief at Trembling With Fear for horrortree.com; PR and marketing for the British Fantasy Society; founder of the Society of Ink Slingers; curator of the Writing the Occult virtual events. With 25+ years as a professional writer across journalism, marketing, and communications, Lauren also works as a coach and mentor to writers looking to achieve goals, get accountability, or get support with their marketing efforts. She writes gothic and folk horror stories for her own amusement, and is currently working on a novel set in the world of the Victorian occult. You’ll find Lauren haunting south London, where she lives with her Doctor Who-obsessed husband, the ghost of their aged black house rabbit, and the entity that lives in the walls. Learn more about Lauren on her website. Or this website. She’s also a social media queen. Find her on Twitter, Instagram, Instagram (Society of Ink Slingers), Bluesky, Threads or Mastodon. Whatever your social media pleasure, Lauren has you covered.