RRBC Spotlight Author: Marcha Fox

Today, I'm thrilled to be hosting fellow Rave Reviews Book Club member Marcha Fox.  When you're done here, be sure yo check out her scifi novel The Terra Debacle.  Take it away, Marcha!

Learning the Hard Way: Why Book Blurbs Should Target Your Market

As an author, you want to maximize book sales. No matter how much you love what you do, you still want to share your hard work and maybe even make a few bucks. This requires getting it into as many readers' hands as possible, but the unfortunate fact of life is that you're competing with literally millions of other books.

It wasn't this way a mere twenty years ago or so, when self-publishing options were expensive with poor distribution, if any. If you had a few thousand dollars you had nothing better to spend it on, you could get your book printed at a vanity press who'd provide you with a few thousand copies, most of which would wind up in a spider-infested corner of your attic or garage.

The ebook revolution changed all that, giving virtually anyone with internet access the opportunity to publish a book. Print on demand (POD) publishing was another boon. Thanks to computer technology, it was no longer a practical necessity to make large print runs. This, also, was perfect for independent authors, saving money as well as all storage space in your attic or garage.

Before you congratulate yourself on taking advantage of this technological wonder, however, consider the downside. First of all, now there are millions of books available that may never go out of print. NEVER--not the usual six weeks shelf life of the past.  Even those that were out of print are being resurrected. Thus, the list keeps getting longer and longer and longer, until it implodes in on itself and becomes a blackhole.

Coupled with that infinitely long list is the need to bring attention to your literary masterpiece. One marketing class compared it to being in a packed Super Bowl stadium trying to draw attention to yourself, but multiplied one hundred times over. Good luck with that, right?

Furthermore, will every Tom, Dick, Harry, and Jane even like your book? Some genres are more popular than others, plus people have preferences. How many books have you started, but never finished, simply because it wasn't your "thing?" I'm not talking about one that was poorly written or edited, but one that simply wasn't for you. For example, I'm not a big fantasy fan. Same goes for vampires and zombies. Ho-hum, no thanks, I'd rather watch old M*A*S*H reruns.

So why waste your time and meager funds marketing and promoting to the entire world population when only a rather small percentage is likely to be interested? Yet, this is something you may be doing inadvertently and of which I am guilty as charged, as I discovered when I received a few poor reviews.

You can't please all the people all the time, so bad reviews like poop, happen. However, I foolishly invited it because my book description didn't present its content accurately.

My initial intent was to write science fiction for a younger audience, from middle to high school, who was interested in science. Young geeks, if you will. When I was that age, I loved sci-fi, but was always disappointed that it was largely bereft of actual science. The stories were great, but I didn't learn a thing. So, after getting a physics degree and working for NASA for 21 years, I was poised to write the books I wanted when I was a kid. And I did.

But did I label them as such? NO!! I was an idiot, and misrepresented them. Duh!

There are many sub-genres for science fiction. Mine is hard science fiction, meaning it actually has science in it. Not all sci-fi fans like that. Furthermore, while I integrate the technology and science into the plot, I do explain it a bit more than some adults care for.

The result was a couple bad reviews from readers who expected something else. These 3-star blasts stated it was a good story for a younger audience who was new to science fiction coupled with too much techno-babble. The irony was too much--that was exactly what I was aiming for! When I've had the privilege of meeting members of my young, target audience who've read my stories, they love them. Unfortunately, this group rarely writes reviews.

The lesson for you? Make sure you're up-front with your description. If it's for younger readers, say so. Target the people you know will like it. A disappointed reader may feel they've been duped and thus may not even finish your story, much less give it a fair review. Worst case, they might even ask Amazon for their money back.

One analogy comes to mind thanks to the recent long, dry, hot Texas summer. When I watered my trees, I didn't have the hose nozzle on some fine mist with a diameter of several feet. I had a directed stream to get the most water in a concentrated area. This is how you need to market you story--starting with your description. Hopefully my new one, which starts out with "a family-friendly geek fest...", will be more effective.

I have my fingers crossed.

AUTHOR BIO:

Marcha Fox is an avid science fiction fan and author with over 20 years’ experience in positions ranging from technical writer to engineer to manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. She earned a Bachelor’s Degree in physics, which was but a prelude to her interest in the unexplained mysteries of the cosmos. Inspired by science fiction to pursue a career in a technical field, she hopes to instill the same fascination in young readers, while providing older ones with classic hard science fiction.

Born in Peekskill, New York she has lived in California, Utah and Texas in the course of raising her family, which included fifteen years as a stay-at-home mom before returning to college in her 30s to obtain her degree, a feat accomplished while she still had six children at home. All are now grown with children of their own providing her with 17 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren so far. Never at a loss for something to do, besides writing she’ a professional astrologer who enjoys gardening, her two Bengal cats and a sassy tuxedo, and keeping up with family.

THE TERRA DEBACLE: PRISONERS AT AREA 51 

https://books2read.com/u/b6QelW

Blurb:  Thyron is a flora peda telepathis (telepathic walking plant) from the planet Sapphira on an adventure gone terribly wrong. The bad decision of a human girl and her maniacal robot companion has stranded them on Earth, where his botanical cousins face horrible fates such as consumption by herbivores, incineration, and brutal annihilation for use as building material.

Following capture, Thyron is transported to Area 51, where NASA exobiologist, Gabe Greenley, studies his every move, ecstatic with the opportunity to examine an entirely new lifeform. In due course, the scientist makes a ground-breaking discovery, distressed by the fact he can never share it due to his security oaths and research agreement. Eventually, he’s confronted by an even worse ethical dilemma that forces him to make a treasonous and potentially deadly decision.

Will Thyron’s psychic powers be enough to save him? Is Greenley friend or foe? Or does the exobiologist have a few secrets of his own?

Find out in this unique combination of hard science fiction, suspense, and a touch of humor populated with memorable characters in a setting loaded with intrigue. Unexpected plot twists coupled with a unique ending make this an unforgettable tale whether you’re a science fiction fan, botanist, UFO aficionado, or simply enjoy a good story.

Twitter: @startrailsiv

Facebook:  @marchafoxauthor

Website: https://www.startrailssaga.com