I am advert/promo blind. From the time I was a small child, my gaze would skate across ads, looking for the actual stories. I can hypothesise that we couldn’t afford many luxuries when I was a child. Being sucked in by ads was bound to end in heartache, so I trained my brain not to see. Whatever. In the current world, and as an author, this is a severe handicap.
How ads work is an alien language to me. Again, I can hypothesise that I write great, contemporary romance with relatable characters facing real issues who earn their happily-ever-afters, and that the books should speak for themselves. My males are the ultimate fantasy, sexy and thoughtful, passionate and also having their woman’s back. There’s spice, too much for some, not enough for others but hopefully perfect for the characters I write.
Other writers write terrific, excellent, mind-blowing books too, and if you want to be seen and picked up then you have to be on the socials and you have to be eye-catching.
A long time ago I saw a quote from a book called Toxic Sludge is Good For You: Lies, Damn Lies and the Public Relations Industry by John Stauber & Sheldon Rampton (1995, most recent edition 2011). A note from their first edition:
“Academicians who study media now estimate that about 40% of all ‘news’ flows virtually unedited from the public relations offices, prompting a prominent PR exec to boast that ‘the best PR ends up looking like news’.
… the fact that the 150,000 PR practitioners in the US outnumber the country’s 130,000 reporters (and with the media downsizing its newsrooms, the gap is widening)”
I found it scary then. It’s on ‘roids now. What’s real? How do you know something is real or good? Your favourite influencer told you so? Their best friend told you so?
The impact of reading Stauber & Rampton’s book on me is that I always verify the source of my information. With the passage of time, the book’s thesis resonates more strongly. In the current world promotion, not substance, is the stuff that counts.
Large publishing companies have branding and marketing departments, whereas small and indie publishers usually lack the expertise and funds to make an impression. Increasingly, large publishers are also outsourcing their marketing to authors, picking up a new author when they have a proven track record of followers.
So, as an author with a small publisher, I either buy in the expertise or master the skills myself. Social media adds the extra complication, or so it seems to me, that I am the product, not my writing but me. Audience fascination with the person behind the story is as voracious as the growth of PR in the past and the persona, not the product, can be as false as the idea that toxic sludge is good for you.
I don’t want to be the product.
Sadly, the entire point of this is that I have to change. I can’t glaze over at adverts or promos. I need to study them, learn from them, apply them to myself and my work and go forth and conquer the world, that is, sell my books. The fantasy of a publicist saying, Jennifer, let me handle all of that for you in return for first edition signed copies of your books is just that, a fantasy.
So, now for the hard grind. If anyone has any ideas—easy, free or cheap preferably, on how to become a bestseller, please drop me a line. Because I’d rather be writing.
What’s on the horizon for me:
My next release, Tainted, a standalone contemporary romance releases in January 2027.
Honour or loyalty—which would you choose?
Forensic accountant Poppy Madsen sacrifices her home and her reputation to her grandfather’s crusade for justice. Lawyer Mitch Watkins believes she’s guilty as hell, but his gut or his gonads keep telling him there’s a bigger secret here.
📌 divided loyalties
📌 heroine in hiding
📌 secret world
📌 forced proximity
📌 making love vs a one-night stand
My current work in progress (WIP) is a companion book to Lela’s Choice, You remember the outline:
Lela Vella’s teenage niece flees to Malta. Terrified by what she might find, Lela chases her, only to be met by her father’s newest hitman, Hamish McGregor, a lawyer intent on reaching her niece first. Despite mutual suspicion, attraction smoulders. In the race to find Lela’s niece first, will they choose compromise or walk away from love?
My WIP is about the niece, Sophie. And Sophie’s had a few ups and downs since we last met the soon-to-be eighteen-year-old runaway. She’s twenty seven now and back to explain why she left Piet and Malta without a word.
I’m appearing at the Australian Romance Readers Association (ARRA)’s annual A Romantic Rendezvous events in March 2027 in Sydney and Canberra. The special guests have been announced. Amy Andrews, multi-published spicy romance author and Ilona Andrews, the husband and wife team writing urban fantasy and paranormal romance. Keep up to date on developments by joining ARRA’s Facebook page.
Find me on:
- Instagram https://www.instagram.com/romanceauthorjen/
- Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/jenniferrainesauthor
- Goodreads—https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22577889.Jennifer_Raines
- Bookbub – https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jennifer-raines
- Diana Kathryn Penn’s Indie Reads Aloud podcast has recordings of me reading the opening 20 mins of my books:
- Betrayal—Choosing Family Book 3 (episode 212)
- Quinn, by design—Choosing Family Book 2 (episode 208)
- Masquerade—Choosing Family Book 1 (episode 188)
- Lela’s Choice (episode 143)
- Planting Hope (episode 101)
- The Anderson Sisters (episode 54 Taylor’s Law and 80 Grace Under Fire) http://www.dkpwriter.com/indie-reads-aloud-podcast.html
You can also contact me directly via the contact page on my website if you have any other questions.
