Ways to use a novella or short story in your book marketing
Short Stories and novellas can be easy to whip up and can be fantastic tools in your marketing arsenal. But how can you get the most bang out of these smaller assets? This post will explore some ways to use these to help grow your brand, sell more books, and cross-promote with other authors.
First, let’s tackle the difference between a novella and a short story. Novellas are 10,000 - 40,000 words. Short stories are under 10,000 words. There you go, that’s the difference. While both can end on cliffhangers, traditionally they are standalone works with a complete and satisfying story arc.
The most common method of delivery/sales is ebook format for short stories, though novellas are often also sold as paperback and audio, depending on their length.
If you’re creating either, it’s typically because you like to create shorter fiction or it’s for marketing purposes. This post is going to focus on the latter.
Once you have a short story or novella in hand, what should you do with it? Here are some ideas.
Use it as a lead magnet. This is a great way to get verified and authentic newsletter subscribers. Offer the novella or short story free to new newsletter subscribers. I suggest using BookFunnel to handle this distribution. They sign up for your newsletter and they get a copy of the story for free - it’s a win-win.
Another way to do this is to offer an extended epilogue or spin-off story at the end of a book, with the same trade off (email address for story). “Want to read a short story with Ella and Don ten years in the future? Sign up for my newsletter here <insert link> and I’ll send you this funny and heartwarming story as a thank you!”
Use it as a free or discounted starter for your other books. This is a common practice. You can release the novella or short story at a low price, and move it to free (or run frequent free promos on it). The idea is to get as many downloads as possible, have tons of readers read it, fall in love with your writing and characters, and then pay for and gobble up the first book in the series, or the standalone that is linked to this novella.
Include it in an anthology. Anthology submissions are all over, just keep your eyes open in reader groups or approach similar authors and propose creating one. Anthologies are collections of short stories or novellas that are bundled together as one product. If a group of participating authors all promote the anthology release to their audience, it can be a great generator of sales and can expose your short fiction to a wide audience. Anthologies are normally discounted in price, but some are successful at full price. Typically you will retain your rights and can also do the other items in this list, with that story - but be sure to ask.
Add it to a boxset as a bonus. Boxsets are a great way to earn additional revenue on backlist (already published) titles. Your readers might have already purchased your books separately, but bundling them as a boxset with a bonus novella is a great way to encourage them to also purchase (or download through KindleUnlimited) the boxset.
Sell it as a low-price alternative to your full price books. Sometimes novellas or shorts can just be a great, cheaper alternative to your normal books, and can encourage a lookie-lou reader to take a chance on your writing at an inexpensive price point. Be sure your back matter encourages or sells them on another title, in case they loved this one.
Have any other ideas or experience with using shorter fiction in unique ways? Please chime into the comments and share! I’d love to hear from you.
And if you’re interested in creating a short story in a weekend, or a novella in a week - I encourage you to join into an Inkers Live broadcast I’m holding with bestselling fantasy author Kandace Snow about writing in sprints. Kandace will share 8 tips on how to increase your word count and productivity, which will help you whip out extra stories and short fiction in no time! Click here to join the live event or watch the replay.
