Charred by G.P. Gottlieb - Book Marketing Plan and Chart Guest Post and Giveaway

Charred: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery
by G.P. Gottlieb

About Charred

Charred: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – Chicago, Illinois
DX Varos Publishing (February 21, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1955065675
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1955065672
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BLMFHSQX
Print length ‏ : ‎ 254 pages

Alene Baron is dealing with frustrated employees, closed schools, and a homeless man who harasses customers outside the door of her café. Then, two dead bodies turn up in the burned remains of buildings owned by the husband of Alene’s best friend and pastry chef, Ruthie. Both bodies are wearing jackets that once belonged to Ruthie and crumbled in the pockets are the café’s distinctive wrappers. At the same time, Alene’s uncle, a convicted felon, has resurfaced after disappearing for 22 years. It’s all too much for the owner of the Whipped and Sipped Café.

My Book Marketing Plan and Chart

As writers, we go through months and sometimes years of writing and rewriting before a book is ready to submit to an editor, agent, or publisher. That part is just the beginning of what needs to happen before a book is launched into the world.

My third culinary mystery (Charred: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery, D.X. Varos Publishing) is about to launch on February 21st. The prevailing wisdom of book marketing says that I must show up at bookstores, podcasts, interviews, and a plethora of blogs as a guest poster. I’m also supposed to build up my social media presence by posting content of some kind nearly every day for the months leading up to the launch.

I didn’t know any of that when my first book (Battered: a Whipped and Sipped Mystery) was published in 2019, but I did cater a fabulous launch party with samples of the recipes I invented for the book. And I managed to find a few bloggers and write some guest posts for them. I was so happy to be a published author, I didn’t worry about the mediocre sales.

I learned a bit more by the time my second book launched in 2021, but we were all still under a Covid cloud, so there wasn’t much rejoicing or gathering. I found a blog tour company (Escape into a Good Book with DollyCas) and was grateful for the list of bloggers willing to interview, host a guest blog, or spotlight Smothered: A Whipped and Sipped Mystery.

Now Charred: A Whipped & Sipped Mystery is about to appear in the world, and I’m committed to finding readers who are going to love it! Yes, it’s kind of radical, and not in keeping with what the book promotion specialists are recommending, but it’s making me happy – there’s something to that, isn’t there?

I’m just writing. That’s it – I’m not posting daily pictures with cute sayings, I’m not harping on you to buy my book, I’m not sharing fabulous blurbs about my book (although you can see some on my website). Nope, none of that.

This is the first part of the chart (from 12.30.22 – 2. 17.23) using to keep track of the interviews and essays I’m writing. When the time comes and they go live, I hope people read them and think to themselves, “I’m going to buy a copy of Charred right this minute,” or, “I think I’ll pick up all three books in the Whipped and Sipped mystery series.”

If you’re trying to organize your launch plan, it’s worthwhile color coding so that you can easily see what needs to be done. I include scheduled reviews because many of the bloggers ask for excerpts, and also so I can remember to peek at their reviews (although we’re told not to look!).

At the bottom of the page, I keep a list of essays that I’ve written over the months, and they might need a bit of cleaning up, but they’re almost ready to be submitted on their due dates.
The full chart goes well into March, but maybe this much will be helpful for those of you starting out. It’s REALLY important to keep track of all this!

I didn’t schedule book signings or book talks because I’m not as good at speaking as I am at reading, and these are mostly events I scheduled (with wonderful friends and colleagues whom I’ve met since my first culinary mystery was published) when I thought the launch was going to be Feb 7th (Oops). My Escape into a Dollycas Tour begins on the launch date, February 21st.

I just hope that despite the confusion, I’ll still find readers!

About G.P. Gottlieb

Known for her imaginative baking and fabulous dinners, G.P. Gottlieb was always an avid reader. She enjoyed several careers, but after recovering from cancer, turned to writing in earnest, melding two passions: nourishment for mind and body, and recipe-laced murder mysteries. She is also the host for New Books in Literature, a podcast of the New Books Network.

Author Links

Website – https://gpgottlieb.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/authorgottlieb

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/whippedsipped/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/gottliebgp

GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19306694.G_P_Gottlieb

BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/authors/g-p-gottlieb

Medium – https://medium.com/@gpgottlieb

Amazon – https://amzn.to/3Set7zf

Purchase Link – Amazon –

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

February 21 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW