Case Study Category: Bestsellers

Creating an International Bestseller

The memoir market is crowded, but Barbara Donsky’s Veronica’s Grave stood out with its gripping true story of her mother’s mysterious disappearance. When Barbara partnered with Books Forward, we saw the potential to amplify her memoir into a major success — and the results exceeded expectations.

Strategic Pitching with a Local Focus

To maximize media interest, we carefully crafted press materials emphasizing the book’s emotional depth, unusual story and compelling narrative. We strategically aligned the campaign with Mother’s Day and targeted key local outlets in the Bronx and Manhattan — Barbara’s hometown and the setting for her memoir. By emphasizing the book’s strong local connections, we captured the attention of prominent New York media.

Media Frenzy and National Coverage

The approach paid off, and her memoir caused something of a media frenzy (with a little help from our team!) Veronica’s Grave was featured in The New York Post, New York Magazine and NY1 News. The story trended on The New York Post, becoming the outlet’s most-viewed article of the day and landing on its homepage. This momentum snowballed as the feature was shared by Bravo TV Online, Yahoo News, Gannett News and the Independent Journal Review.

The Books Forward campaign didn’t stop there. A national radio tour and features in Shelf Pleasure, Women Writers, Women’s Books and Book Pleasures further elevated the book’s visibility. The fusion of a unique story, strategic timing and targeted outreach built widespread buzz.

Achieving International Success

The media campaign’s success opened doors for Veronica’s Grave beyond its initial publication. The book’s international rights were purchased by a traditional publisher, giving this small press memoir a second life as a traditionally published book.

Our targeted, multifaceted campaign turned a deeply personal memoir into an international sensation. With a blend of local connections, national outreach and coordinated timing, Veronica’s Grave found its audience and earned the acclaim it deserved.

Hitting the Southern California Indie Bestseller List

When Kristen Kittscher launched her second middle-grade mystery, The Tiara on the Terrace, our team had terrific fun working on out-of-the-box promotions!

Cracking the Code with Librarians

First, Books Forward organized a special mailing to booksellers and librarians nationwide. Our box included some usual goodies – a copy of the book and swag like bookmarks, stickers, etc. – but we wanted to go bigger.

Kristen’s mystery relies on code-breaking tween sleuths, so we designed and produced an interactive scavenger hunt game, complete with a decoding activity to solve the final puzzle. Needless to say, it was a huge hit with libraries!

Meeting Her Fans

Second, we coordinated her national book tour with over a dozen events at prestigious bookstores, including Warwicks, Chevaliers, RJ Julia and a massive NYC launch party at Mysterious Bookshop. We also organized school visits for Kristen, so she could connect with her favorite audience – middle school readers!

A Royal Win

Last but not least, we organized great media coverage with School Library Journal’s Fuse #8, a Publisher’s Weekly Photo of the Day and a book trailer feature in Shelf Awareness.

Our multi-pronged campaign paid off: The Tiara on the Terrace hit the Southern California Indie Bestseller list! We were proud to bolster Kristen’s reputation as a fan-favorite author, showing that a little creative strategy can lead to big success.