Jessie: Wondering how to make summer last more than a few more weeks!
One of the best things about attending conferences is getting to meet other authors, especially those about whom you have heard lovely things. I had just such an experience in New York last month when I became acquainted with Alexia Gordon. I am delighted to welcome her to the Wickeds today!
One of my blog-mates over on Missdemeanors posed a question to our group—what do you wish you had known earlier in your writing career? Several of us responded we wished we’d known how much marketing and promotion was involved in being a published author. Book tours, conference panels, newsletters, blogs, social media posts—keeping yourself and your books in the public eye is a full-time job. So much so that some authors hire a publicist to help them.
Luckily, the crime fiction community—that includes authors, agents, bloggers, publishers, editors, and readers—is generous with its time and effort to promote members of the community. Bloggers review books and invite authors to guest post on their blogs. Authors Tweet other authors’ books, share their book news on Facebook and Instagram, and cross promote each other in newsletters. Lone Star Literary, an online literary magazine, hosts book blog tours and features books with a connection to Texas. Many of those books are crime fiction titles. Agents, editors, and publishers help generate buzz. And readers—prime members of the community—read the books, review them, and recommend them to friends. Organizations and groups like Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Crime Writers of Color, Mystery Writers of America, and Pitch Wars offer advocacy, advice, and support to aspiring, new, and established authors. Lots of cheerleading goes on in the crime fiction community. Funny, considering crime writers spend an inordinate amount of time thinking of interesting ways to kill people. You’d think we’d be a scary bunch, instead of a warm and welcoming community, always ready with a kind word, a shoulder to cry on, or a drink at the bar.
A newer method of book promotion, one that’s growing in popularity, is podcasting. According to a Musicoomph[dot]com infographic, there are nearly one million active podcasts in 2019. Of course, not all of them are devoted to crime fiction. Many don’t focus on books at all. Several podcasts are all about crime fiction, though. Shedunnit features authors and stories from the Golden Age of detective fiction. Unlikeable Female Characters, hosted by “feminist thriller writers,” hosts authors who write female characters to whom the words “nice” and “ladylike” are insults. Game of Books pairs crime novels with wine recommendations. Authors on the Air is a broadcast radio show rather than a podcast, but many crime fiction authors sit down for an interview with host, Pam Stack. Writers on the Beat, Public Display of Imagination, Criminal Mischief, and Authors of Mass Destruction are a few of several other crime fiction-themed podcasts.
And there’s a new kid on the podcasting block—The Cozy Corner with Alexia Gordon. That’s me! A member of the Authors on the Air Global Radio Network, The Cozy Corner airs every other Wednesday on podcast listening platforms like Spotify, SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, AnchorFM, and PocketCasts. I interview a different author each episode, concentrating on those who write mysteries that avoid explicit sex and graphic violence. I cover the crime fiction spectrum from cozy to traditional to the edge of cozy. Past guests include Gigi Pandian, V.M. Burns, Olivia Matthews, and Paula Munier. Abby Vandiver, D.A. Bartley, L.A. Chandler, and Susanna Calkins are a few of my future guests. I’m excited to be able to offer another outlet to promote members of this supportive, giving, creative community I belong to.
Alexia’s books can be found at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Indiebound and Henery Press. She loves to connect with readers on Facebook, Goodreads, Twitter, Pinterest and on Instagram. You can also get in touch with her at her website and can read her posts on Miss Demeanors and Femmes Fatales.
Readers, do you listen to podcasts? Read newsletters and book blogs? Do you follow authors on social media? How do you support crime fiction authors? What guests would you like to hear on a podcast?