A tech worker by day and a writer by night, Chris Patchell pens gritty suspense novels set in the Pacific Northwest.
Writing has been a lifelong passion for Chris. She fell in love with storytelling in the third grade when her half-page creative writing assignment turned into a five-page story on vampires. Even back then Chris had a gift for writing intricate plots that were so good her father refused to believe she didn’t steal them from comic books.
Her novels have been praised by Kevin O’Brien and Robert Dugoni, and her rich complex plot lines and well-drawn characters will keep you turning pages well into the night. When she’s not shipping software or writing books, Chris is hanging out with her husband, kids, and two crazy dogs.
You can find her online at ChrisPatchell.com and join her on Facebook at facebook.com/authorchrispatchell/.
In IR’s first new AUTHOR 2 AUTHOR post, Chris shares her publishing strategies and hard-won marketing wisdom.
IR: When did you start writing?
Chris Patchell (CP): I grew up in a creative environment, so I had some great role models when it came to being imaginative and how you can really swing for the fences when it comes to creating something new. I fell in love with writing in the third grade when our teacher gave us a writing assignment. We had to write a few paragraphs about anything we wanted. I wrote a 5-page story about vampires. Writing was the first thing I can remember really losing myself in. I could spend hours scribbling down stories only to look up hours later and wonder where the time had gone.
I wrote on and off through high school, and again in my early twenties, then, like so many people at that age, I determined money was the key to a successful life, so I quit. I got busy with college, career, and my family. Then I reached a point in my late thirties where I felt burned out in my tech career. With two small kids, a heinous Seattle commute, and a career that was taking over my life, I needed a little part of myself back. So, I signed up for a writing class. And I’ve been writing ever since.
IR: When did you decide to publish your first book?
CP: It took me four years to write and rewrite and rewrite my first book. Then I pitched it to agents. Deadly Lies is a tale about a woman who has a secret life. And when her husband finds out… Well… Not all girls are made of sugar and spice and all that – for some girls, their spice of choice happens to be Strychnine. Jill is an anti-hero, and at the time, there weren’t very many female anti-heroes in the mainstream. So, when it got rejected by agents, I tucked the book in a drawer and started working on something else. Three years later, my husband, and a few of my very good friends, FINALLY convinced me to publish the darned thing myself. So, I did. And it was the start of everything.
My publishing strategy started out simple. Publish the book I wrote and see if my stories had an audience. The desire for creative independence led me down the Indie path. I thought readers would like Deadly Lies.
And they did!
The first few reviews I received from readers I did not know who loved my book made the whole experiment feel like a total success.
Then my goals got bigger…
I started out knowing next to nothing about book marketing. I put together some Goodreads giveaways… and yeah… Not much happened. Because I had two kids, a full-time job, and very little free time, I decided to accelerate my learning curve by hiring a book marketing consultant. I found her tucked away in a booth at the Pacific Northwest Writers Conference. Her name is Rebecca Berus from 2MarketBooks, and Rebecca taught me the fundamentals.
Book Reviews – Although everyone wants to believe they make their own decisions in life, the undeniable truth is, reviews help drive book sales. The more reviews you have, the more books you will sell. I had a few dozen reviews when Rebecca and I started working together, and we needed more. Giveaways and book blog tours were a few of the ways I started to build up more reviews. I also posted a few requests on my author Facebook site asking people who had read the book to post honest reviews. It helped. Slowly the number of reviews started to grow. The strategy for getting reviews for my first book focused on individual readers, but with subsequent releases, I have become more strategic about reaching influencers. If you have bloggers and Amazon top reviewers review your books, you automatically extend your reach. I also started using sites like NetGalley. You need a certain number of reviews before some of the bigger promotional sites will feature your work. And this leads us to the second strategic pillar…
Promotions – With all the books available today, it’s hard to get visibility for your work. Running book promotions is a great way to reach new readers. There are a lot of sites out there. I started with Rebecca’s list and it grew from there. I belong to writer forums where writers share tips about what promotional sites are working for them. The goal is to broaden your audience. I try out new sites and measure the results. If sales are good, I’ll use a site again. If not, that promotional site falls off the list, and I’ll look for others to add. BookBub is the gold standard for book promotions, but it is very hard to get. I have also run Facebook and Amazon ads. I ran some promotions for my second book, In the Dark, through IndieReader as well.
Newsletter – It wasn’t until after my second book, In the Dark, had been out a while, that I started to build up a newsletter list. I’ve used AuthorXP and a few other mailing list services to help build my newsletter list, as well as Facebook Ads. Multi-Author giveaways are a great way for doing this, and they’re becoming easier to find. Sending newsletters out to your own list is a great way to build engagement with your readers. They also can inform your readers when you have new work coming down the pipe. Newsletter swaps with other authors in the same genre is another great way to broaden your reach. Because it is all about reach. You need to get your book into the hands of as many readers who love your kind of book as possible!
Book Blog Tours – I mentioned this in the section about reviews, but it bears repeating. Doing a book blog tour is a good way to expose more people to your work. I use a tour company called Partners in Crime for my blog tours. I chose them because they specialize in my genre. If a romance reader gets on of my books, quite likely it’s not going to be their thing. But people who love crime stories often love my books, so it allows me to reach the right audience. Blog tours have allowed me to do fun things like radio blog interviews with Suspense Magazine and bloggers who do book-related podcasts.
Book Contests – When Rebecca suggested I enter Deadly Lies in Indie book contests, I gave an audible groan. I envisioned getting rejection letters similar to the ones I got when I queried my first round of agents. The day I was notified that Deadly Lies was a finalist for an IndieReader Discovery Award, I was over the moon, and when it placed third…! It was thrilling to have my work recognized. Awards speak to the quality of your work and help distinguish your books from others.
I continue to run my writing career like a startup business. In tech, many teams follow a lean model that encourages experimentation. I try to emulate that model. I have a small team of experts to do things I can’t do myself (editors, book cover artists, etc.). I try new things, measure results, and adjust my tack. Strategically, I have focused most of my time selling on the Amazon marketplace, because Amazon’s reach is so big.
As an experiment, it has turned out great. My second book, In the Dark, was featured on IndieReader’s top Indie books for 2016! This was also a big thrill. IndieReader has been instrumental in helping to achieve more organic growth. I’ve had small literary magazines, book bloggers, and other writers find my work. In the Dark was on the Amazon top 20 bestseller list in my genre for 6 solid months. It was featured alongside other top selling authors in the genre, including Stephen King, Lee Child, John Sanford, and Tom Clancy. It hit #1 in its genre several times. I have to say, that’s been really amazing.
The Indie Author landscape continues to change every day. Another tenant of the lean startup model in continuous learning. To that end, I read articles about marketing and craft every week. I follow bloggers who post interesting stuff. I belong to a few author Facebook forums where we trade tricks and tips. I’m downloading podcasts to give myself something to listen to when I walk the dogs. There is always new stuff to learn. I continue to evolve my strategy with the constant goal of reaching more readers.
One of the best things about this journey though, is finding ways to give back. I’ve had some terrific mentors along the way. The first author I met when I was just starting out was bestselling author, Erica Bauermeister. She read Deadly Lies, loved it, and encouraged me to keep going. She also introduced me to New York Times Bestselling author, Kevin O’Brien who has been very supportive. As I continue to grow as an author, I love helping other people who are on this journey.
IR: So, are you working on another book?
CP: I am always working on a story! Dark Harvest, my third book, was released in May 2017. Harvest isn’t so much of a series as it is a standalone with characters you recognize from other stories. I have a new book coming out in January 2018. It’s called Vow of Silence. Vow is the second installment of a three-part story of the redemption of Jill Shannon. It is a continuation of the series that started with my first book, Deadly Lies. Vow of Silence explores the very limits to which a person might go to keep the secrets of their past buried. The trick to writing a good series is finding ways for your characters to grow that will surprise, delight, and in my case, horrify your readers. 😉
While the production work is well underway for Vow of Silence. I’m working on a new psychological thriller packed full of twisted relationships and hair-raising surprises that will keep my readers riveted.