Summary: <br> Today’s episode comes from a listener question. This question came from one of our patrons for the patrons only Q&A episode. In case you didn’t know, there is a bonus episode each month for patrons of the podcast. <br> <br> <br> <br> This month we talked about: <br> <br> <br> <br> * pre-order pricing strategy* How to find the right category for your book* How best to get traffic to your blog* How to get more Amazon reviews.<br> <br> <br> <br> And finally this question that was so good I wanted to devote a full episode to it. <br> <br> <br> <br> Listener Question from Garrett Hutson<br> <br> <br> <br> Any special tips for marketing a companion novel to an existing series? Not a sequel, not a prequel, just shares a significant character with the books of an existing series (and same genre). The connection’s not enough to make it a volume in the existing series on Amazon or D2D, though. <br> <br> <br> <br> Great question!<br> <br> <br> <br> What is a Literary Universe?<br> <br> <br> <br> * A literary universe is a way of connecting books without them being sequels or in the same series. * It is what Marvel and Star Wars do with their cinematic universes. * Extending the universe is a popular strategy right now and can be an effective one. * It’s also time tested. Asimov and Heinlein (The grandfathers of SciFi) both did this back in the day.* Not just for Scifi and Fantasy. Authors are creating literary universes in in all kinds of genres. <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Pros of a Literary Universe <br> <br> <br> <br> * Makes selling subsequent books easier.* Creates binge buyers. * Allows you to explore side characters. * Only have to worldbuild once. <br> <br> <br> <br> Cons of a Literary Universe<br> <br> <br> <br> * Puts a lot of pressure on book #1. Most author’s first book is thier worst book. With a series or literary universe, that first book becomes your most important book from a marketing perspective. * Can be creatively restricting. * How does this book effect the other books?* Stuck in the same micro genre* A dud is riskier. * More potential retcon issues. You have a lot to keep straight.<br> <br> <br> <br> Literary Universe Writing Tips<br> <br> <br> <br> * Recruit continuity beta readers.* Create a way to stay organized to keep all the characters, locations, and plot lines straight. * Experiment with different kinds of plots stories. Captain America Winter Soldier is a Spy Thriller. Guardians of the Galaxy is a space opera. End Game Is a heist. * Avoid time travel. It makes storytelling exponentially more complicated. * Make the connection between the books meaningful. Connect them by more than just easter eggs. * Write lots of short stories as connective tissue. This is helpful for world building. This is also helpful with marketing. <br> <br> <br> <br> Literary Universe Marketing Tips<br> <br> <br> <br> * Create a name for the literary universe that connects the names of the individual series and the individual novels. * Create a landing page on your website for the literary universe that explain how the books connect and the recommended order to read them. You can do this with <a href="https://www.stormhillmedia.com/all-products/mybooktable/">MyBookTable</a>. * Create a design hierarchy for the book covers. Each series needs to be connected, but there should be some design elements that connect the universe together. This could be as simple as a logo. It could also be a pen name. * Let anticipation build, don’t rapid release. Be Disney Plus not Netflix. * Price pulse book 1 ahead of each new launch. <a href="https://www.authormedia.com/108/">Episode 108</a>.* Advanced: Create a wiki for your universe that your fans can edit.
