Instead of answering, I went through all the responses thus far and made a spreadsheet of the answers. (This is absolutely non-scientific and possibly inaccurate, plus there's no data as to how well these strategies worked, but hey, I was curious and thought maybe others might be interested too.)
I also have a list of "Other" answers that didn't fit neatly in these boxes or struck me in some way-- I'll link those next.
@ElisesWritings@RubyJones I haven’t heard of reading and reviewing as a marketing strategy, though I do a ton of reading and reviewing when I can, mostly to spread the word about amazing books, as well as to fill the creative well, study craft through incredible storytelling, and to find similar books to target for ads, etc (If you like X and Y try Z— and if you like X or Y but haven’t tried the other, do that too!)
@skaeth@RubyJones it struck me because I wonder if the odds of hitting your target audience with in-genre reviews on review sights are better than posting to anyone and everyone you do (or don't) interact with on social media. I'm guessing its impact is hard to track though.
I should do more of the latter, but with an epic, portal, YA Fantasy with incidentally queer characters, limited romance & initially low magic... non high-risk-of-misleading ones are pricks to find 😆
Good Morning Mastodon and Fantasycon! Hope you’re all ok? Today I’m currently reading the engrossing SF tale on Hamlet that is The Death I Gave Him by Em X Liu. What are you reading at the moment?
@RunalongWomble Hello, Womble. Just finished 'The Dentist' by Tim Sullivan, a UK crime procedural set in Bristol. Main detective character is on the autistic spectrum, which makes him very good at details and patterns but not so good at interacting with colleagues and the public. Compelling mystery, well-paced but not sure how I felt about the writing style. There was a lot of jarring head-hopping (jumping between POV and POV), often within the same paragraph. @bookstodon
@RunalongWomble
Hello Womble, just started 'The blighted stars' by Megan O'Keefe. Fun space opera so far. Sabotaged ship leads a group of survivors to crash land on an Earth-like planet which is not as hospitable as they were led to expect... @bookstodon
A few days after arriving, we took a trip to Khan Market. Khan Market in Central Delhi is a tiny area of boutique shops, restaurants, and bars. It is one of a handful of places that you'll see a lot of expats in Delhi. It is considered India's most expensive retail market (in terms of real estate cost). We sometimes feel a little silly but we have many, many fond memories of Khan and we had to go. A few highlights from the visit:
We had a strong Irani chai, a Bombay Sandwich (in @seanbala's opinion, one of the greatest culinary gifts to mankind) and a raspberry soda.
An Irani Chai is like a normal Indian chai but made much stronger.
The Bombay Sandwich is a thick grilled vegetable sandwich with very thinly sliced beets, potatoes, cucumbers, and tomatoes, all sprinkled with a big helping of cheese. Difficult to make, impossible not to eat!
When the hunter becomes the prey. My new novel ‘The High Road’ is a fast-paced contemporary thriller set mainly in central Scotland and the far north-west.
Sandwood Bay in north-west Sutherland has an important part to play in the story as it develops, and the book reaches its climax nearby.
The story is presented as a found footage montage 👍
This has been on my watchlist for years and I'm glad we finally watched it! One of the most genuinely freaky movies I've watched this year. If you're looking for interesting characters, tasteful jump scares, and lingering psychic damage, this is a must watch!
I finished my last novel for this spooky season this morning. Fittingly, it was "I'm Thinking of Ending Things":
No monsters to be found in this one 😐
The story kept me guessing for a long time 👍👍
The only reason this doesn't immediately beat "Red X" and "The Between" for the best novel this season is because I guessed the ending a little early. Still, a thrilling and interesting read!