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Monday, July 26, 2010

Are first chapters an effective marketing tool?

A discussion at Lyons Literary blog convinced me they are. Or could be, if your first chapter interests people. :)

So in advance of tomorrow's release of my historical novel (which I like to call a historical adventure romance), I've posted the first chapter of Angels, Sinners and Madmen on my web site. While historicals may not be to everyone's liking, I hope the first chapter will entice people to want more. The trailer and excerpt are here.

On Wednesday, I'm also launching a new blog series called Casting Call - I hope you'll check it out. First up is Angels, Sinners and Madmen.

Though I'll still be visiting plenty of blogs (see the crazy schedule here), today also marks my last official stop on my blog tour at Margaret West's wonderful blog.

And tomorrow is my monthly post at Popculturedivas, a tribute to my much-maligned home state of New Jersey. I hope you'll pop over!

4 comments:

  1. I can't wait to read the first chapter -- and the whole thing actually! Good luck with the new release and not going crazy with your busy schedule!

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  2. Thanks so much Rebecca! And thanks for checking it out! I'm going to eventually add in all the first chapters on my web site, over time.

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  3. Jersey? You're from Jersey! (And if you think I'm using that atrocious clearly NY accent you're mistake. *G*)Hello fellow much-maligned Jerseyian. :)

    I agree, first chapters can be a great tool. I've bought a great many books based on first chapters. My problem is that once I get around to reading if (if it's not an immediate read which so few are anymore) I read chapter 1 and think, oh, I've read this already!

    I try (and have no idea if it works or not!) to post a long-ish scene from the middle of the book so that when readers get to it, they don't automatically think "Oh, I've read this!"

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  4. Hm, I left a reply earlier and Blogger ate it. Grrr.
    Anyway, thanks much Isabel! Hello to a fellow Jerseyite. Yep, the Joisey accent's one of the urban legends I address in my post. :) I'm transplanted one state over, but I'll always be a Jerseyan at heart. I go back as often as I can to visit my hometown of Lambertville, a gorgeous little artsy town on the Delaware.
    Interesting - one of the arguments about first chapters was that going into a bookstore, you could read them there, so why not digitally? Seemed to make sense. My memory's not long-term enough to retain it. :)

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