"Patch of Dirt": A Marketing Lesson

How many times have you as an author heard that marketing is key to getting your book noticed? I thought I had a solid marketing plan built around my novel being a western noir. I was wrong.

After a recent talk with my publisher “Patch of Dirt” is now going to be marketed as a Big Sky Romance. During our discussion it was felt by the publisher that millennials wouldn’t know what a western noir was, but would know Big Sky and Romance.

As a western noir, "Patch of Dirt" was rated quite low on Amazon, as a Western Romance the rating was quite a bit higher. The entire campaign is being refocused on getting "Patch of Dirt" into the the upper reaches of the Amazon ratings. The first step is to add the words "Big Sky Romance" to the cover. I have a book signing July 2nd at Fiction Addiction in Greenville and will make every effort to present it as a Big Sky Romance novel.

I should have made a list of all possible subtitles. As I look back now I wonder what would have happened if I had presented "Patch of Dirt" as a Big Sky Romance novel.