Case Study Category: Debuts and Author Brands

Utilizing a Tech CEO’s Career to Promote Her Debut Fiction

Lois Melbourne’s journey from tech CEO to debut author is a testament to how professional experience can enhance an author’s promotional campaign, including in fiction! Lois and her husband Ross’ co-written novel, Moral Code, used her deep understanding of artificial intelligence and ethics to craft a compelling sci-fi narrative, and we leveraged that expertise to connect her with media and audiences passionate about STEM and storytelling.

From Tech Leader to Storyteller

Our campaign focused on emphasizing Lois’s unique perspective as a female tech CEO-turned-author. This approach led to standout guest article placements, such as “Ethics, Equity, and Women in STEM” on Book Club Babble and “Representation Matters” on Girl Talk HQ. These pieces showcased her commitment to encouraging women in STEM while connecting her to readers interested in tech and ethical AI.

Interviews with outlets like Authority Magazine, Women in STEM Podcast,Conversations on Applied AI Podcast, Ordinarily Extraordinary Podcast and My Best Friend is an Engineer Podcast allowed Lois to share her insights on technology, ethics, and her transition into fiction writing. Meanwhile, strong reviews from influencers like She Just Loves Books, Grace the Biochemist, and Frost Galaxy brought her novel to life for readers, building momentum across social media.

Lois’ enthusiasm for STEM advocacy translated into speaking engagements, such as at the iconic Wild Detectives bookstore and an event with “Girls in STEM Dallas.” These appearances highlighted her dual role as an author and STEM mentor, expanding her audience while inspiring young women in tech.

A Dynamic Campaign with Tangible Results

This campaign demonstrates how even fiction authors can leverage professional expertise to create meaningful connections with media and readers. By blending Lois’s passion for storytelling with her STEM background, we helped position Moral Code as a thought-provoking novel that bridges technology and humanity. Together, we proved that an author’s career experience can open new doors, and hook great media in fresh ways!

Helping A Debut Author Build a Lasting Brand

When Lori Rader-Day joined our Books Forward family in 2014, we knew she was one of a kind. Her debut mystery novel The Black Hour garnered starred reviews from Booklist, Publishers Weekly, and Library Journal, signaling her as a fresh new voice in crime fiction. Early in her career, we partnered with Lori to position her as a standout debut author and build long-term visibility for her brand.

Building Buzz Through Regional Events and Recognition

Lori’s first book tour across the Midwest offered the perfect opportunity to secure local media coverage, generate buzz and introduce her to regional readers. We worked to amplify her presence at every stop, while also focusing on industry visibility to build her author reputation. Our team helped manage nominations for prestigious awards and industry honors—including securing an Indie Next Pick selection, which The Black Hour proudly won.

Long-Term Partnership for Continued Growth

Since her debut, Lori has gone on to receive accolades from the Edgar, Macavity, Thriller, Barry and Mary Higgins Clark Awards. Over the course of five subsequent releases, we’ve continued to help her grow her author brand—targeting well-known literary events, facilitating media coverage and reaching new readers.

Lori has made the impressive journey from first-time novelist to established, award-winning author—and we’re proud to be part of her literary team.

Building a New York Times-bestselling author brand

When we were first introduced to J. Elle, we knew we had someone really, really special on our hands. Our communications began when she was beginning to build her author platform, and she eventually sparked a firestorm of interest when she participated in #DVPit, a Twitter book pitching event for historically marginalized voices. Her tweet landed her a six-figure contract with Simon & Schuster for her debut WINGS OF EBONY duology. Six months after her first contract, Elle sold a second fantasy duology at auction to Bloomsbury Publishing. She was beginning her publishing journey with a bang!

But building a lasting brand is a marathon and not a sprint, which is why we were thrilled to partner with Elle to help position her as a powerhouse author who is here to stay.

For her debut novel WINGS OF EBONY, we introduced Elle to TikTok, as we recognized early on that the book community on the app (which was rapidly expanding due to lockdowns in 2020) could be a powerful promotional audience for an up-and-coming YA author like Elle. We helped guide her in how to make the most of the app’s features, and we celebrated with her when she experienced her first viral video! We also made the most of the hyper-targeted, personalized pitching Books Forward is known for, garnering media interest not just from traditional book outlets, but national coverage in Essence, The Root and Ms. Magazine, as well as local features in the Houston Chronicle, Houston Public Radio and Houston Life.

We were elated when WINGS OF EBONY became an instant New York Times bestseller — and when we partnered with Elle for Book 2!

For her next book ASHES OF GOLD, we doubled down on savvy, targeted media pitching that capitalized on the success of Elle’s debut. The media responded with enthusiasm, as we secured coverage in major outlets including The Mary Sue, Belletrist, Yahoo, Tor, Mother, The Young Folks, Bustle, Frolic and more. And booksellers championed her work as well. We helped coordinate a nationwide multi-indie bookstore event where stores from every part of the country – including Oblong Books in New York, King’s English Bookshop in Utah, Jackson Hole Trader in Wyoming, Wonders of the World in Mississippi and more – hosted a poignant discussion with Elle and other powerhouse authors on Black love being a cornerstone in Black history.

We also provided weekly customized TikTok guidance for Elle to grow her brand and connect with a dedicated audience, with advice about the latest trends and recommendations for video ideas she could use.

Once again, we were thrilled to celebrate every success with Elle — including when she was named a 2022 NAACP Image Award Nominee for Outstanding Fiction for Teens!

There’s so much ahead for this incredible author. Her star is only rising, and we can’t wait to see more and more readers fall in love with Elle and her books!

Organizing the World’s Longest Book Tour

A book tour can be a great way to make a splash, and when you’re working with an author as great as Jenny Milchman — it’s an opportunity to create a tsunami! 

Books Forward helped Jenny launch her highly anticipated thriller, Cover of Snow (Ballantine Books), at the venerable Mysterious Bookshop in Manhattan. Next, we arranged for her to speak to hundreds of bookstore owners and booksellers at the Southern Independent Booksellers Association trade show. Jenny and her novel made a lasting impression; more than a dozen bookstores requested her for events! Although Cover of Snow takes place in upstate New York, the SIBA booksellers fell in love and hand-sold the thriller so that it hit the SIBA bestseller list right out of the gate. 

And that was just the beginning; Jenny is an all-star networker, and she ultimately received 300 bookstore event invitations thanks to her extensive list of contacts that she cultivated in the book industry. She partnered with us on what Shelf Awareness dubbed the “World’s Longest Book Tour,” as she and her family hit the road for an epic cross-country tour over nine months. Our team worked tirelessly alongside Jenny to garner local media attention in every city and town she visited.

After her first epic trip, we teamed up again for the launch of her second book and a brand new tour opportunity: “100 Events in 100 Days.” We assisted with event organization, coordinating private book parties and dinners for her in multiple cities. We also secured reviews and media coverage for Jenny’s amazing efforts. Not only did she get to make new connections and meet tons of her reader fans, but it was like a homecoming when she returned to the independent bookstores who supported her from the start. 

Today Jenny is a USA Today-bestselling and Edgar Award-winning author. We’re thrilled to report that her current publisher has recognized the value of her book-touring skills and sponsored an extensive national tour for her latest novel! 

These days, writing an incredible book is only the first step; authors must also be willing to throw as much energy into promoting a book as writing it in order to be successful. When you make the effort to personally connect with readers and booksellers, and grow your network, the results can be amazing!

Building a Brand for a Breakout Children’s Poet

Poetry for children can be a challenging niche — dominated by a handful of iconic authors and requiring a distinct sense of fun and creativity to break through. Brett Fleishman had both, and we wanted to help his funny, charming poems reach the widest young audience possible.

Creating a Buzz-Worthy National Initiative

To give Brett’s work an attention-grabbing boost, we asked him to write an original poem for “Take Your Child to a Bookstore Day.” We paired the poem with a custom poster and shared it with hundreds of indie bookstores nationwide.

The response was enthusiastic: independent bookseller associations shared the poem with thousands through their networks, and the piece was picked up and featured in Shelf Awareness, providing Brett with national visibility among booksellers and book lovers.

We also secured reviews and features in Kirkus, Midwest Book Review, Book Riot and influential children’s book blogs, which helped librarians, educators and parents discover his work. This wave of coverage supported his growing readership and reinforced his identity as a distinctive new voice in children’s poetry.

Connecting Brett With His Core Audience: Kids

Introducing Brett directly to young readers was essential in building his long-term brand. We partnered with ReadBoston to arrange a series of school visits that allowed him to share his poetry in person.

We also coordinated special events for him at the Boston Children’s Museum and the Boston Children’s Festival, placing him in front of families and educators.

To expand his reach even further, we connected Brett with the Lowell Spinners minor league baseball team, where he collaborated with them to write an official promotional poem, creating a memorable way to introduce his work to new fans.

A Strong Brand Built on Creativity and Connection

By combining inventive promotional ideas with strategic partnerships, we helped Brett establish a vibrant author brand rooted in creativity and genuine connection with young readers. The campaign not only elevated his visibility but ensured that his poetry reached the audiences who would cherish it most.

Successfully Pivoting from Traditional to Indie-Publishing

LS Hawker is the USA Today bestselling author of the thriller novels The Drowning Game, Body and Bone and The End of the Road, all published by HarperCollins’ Witness Impulse. The Drowning Game was a finalist in the International Thriller Writers “Best First Novel” Awards category, and her books have been translated into eight languages. 

After releasing three novels with a major publisher, LS made the jump to independent publishing for her fourth book, a prequel to her USA Today bestseller. Despite changing her publishing strategy, LS wanted to maintain high-level promotion.

Books Forward designed a campaign that would target high-profile genre reviewers and influencers. We arranged coverage with Killer Nashville, Criminal Element, The Crime Fiction Lounge Podcast and influential mystery Bookstagrammers. We also secured interviews for LS in multiple local papers and on local radio so she could continue to expand her sizeable homebase of fans in Colorado.

We targeted local events, organizing speaking and teaching opportunities for LS at local literary festivals and workshops. She became an in-demand speaker in no time! We organized her launch party at Tattered Cover in Denver, one of America’s most prestigious independent bookstores, as well as a speaking opportunity with USA Today’s Storytellers Project.

For many authors, indie publishing can be a way to take creative control of their careers, and it does not need to mean sacrificing prestige. In this case, the LS Hawker reputation only continues to grow!

Boosting a Business through Book Promotion

A book can do so much more than launch your literary career; it can boost your business as well! 

The Books Forward team was thrilled to help Dr. Tiffany Breeding grow her platform as a health expert with the launch of her book, The Metabolic Makeover. With a PhD in Health and Human Performance, and a Masters in Kinesiology/Performance Psychology, “Dr. Tiff” combined exercise, dieting and intention into a transformative strategy for healthy living. Her goals were focused on increasing her local private fitness clients through the sale of her book and growing her fitness brand through publicity. 

We set to work creating a brand-building campaign that resulted in both national and local media attention. We coordinated an interview with NBC, arranged an expert Q&A with Sanctuary magazine and organized a SiriusXM radio tour that solidified her as a credible fitness expert in the national eye. 

Since her customers were primarily Nashville-based, we secured solid local coverage with Nashville Fit magazine, Nashville Lifestyles magazine and News Channel 5’s “Talk of the Town,” one of the city’s most popular morning television programs. We even snagged a feature for her in one of the debut issues of Nashville’s newest lifestyle and health magazine, Nashville Edit. And, we partnered her with local online influencers, fitness Instagrammers and lifestyle bloggers for a big online / social media boost. 

We are happy to see Dr. Tiff’s brand and business continue to skyrocket. With a little savvy promotion, she was able to get the visibility her business deserves!

Networking with Indie Booksellers for Long-Lasting Success

Author and renowned work addiction expert Dr. Bryan E. Robinson partnered with Books Forward for the launch of Daily Writing Resilience (January 2018). His book focused on mindfulness and meditation as tools to improve the writing process, and was a hit with both health media and writing/literary outlets. 

Shortly after our first campaign with Bryan ended, HarperCollins’ William Morrow imprint accepted his next book #CHILL for publication, and we had the privilege of working with him again on a second book launch for December 2018. With tenacious, personalized pitching, we were able to arrange a regular column for Bryan with Psychology Today, multiple interviews with Forbes and interviews with NBC. 

We also opened up a new area of success for Bryan outside of traditional media placements by helping him develop impactful relationships with his regional independent booksellers association. We arranged for Bryan to speak at the Southern Independent Bookseller Association’s summer tradeshow, and we strategically positioned him at our booth so he could network with passing booksellers. Bright and personable, we knew he would make an impression, and he did! 

When we began our Fall 2018 publicity campaign for #CHILL, we pitched his books for inclusion at SIBA’s Spring 2019 tradeshow, even though Bryan himself could not attend the event. Our proposal was accepted; booksellers and tradeshow organizers remembered him from his previous SIBA appearance. Better still, #CHILL was picked to be SIBA’s official January 2019 Book Club Selection, meaning thousands of booksellers all over the South were encouraged to read #CHILL (creating more incentive for them to stock and handsell the book in their stores)! Bryan was also featured multiple times in the SIBA email newsletter, which named his book an official New Year’s Reading Pick.

Here’s a great example of how building relationships with influential tastemakers can change an author’s life and boost a book.

Debuting a New Publishing Company

What started as a monthly reading series in Manhattan’s Upper East Side in 2014 had evolved into a fully-fledged publishing press by 2018, and we were thrilled to help them launch their creative debut list! Named in reference to the film Gangs of New York (and a tongue-in-cheek nod to a traumatic childhood experience by one of the reading series’ founders), Dead Rabbits Books specializes in emerging literary voices with a missional focus on “books that matter.” Their launch list deserved equally strong and unique publicity, which we were happy to deliver. 

We designed an innovative campaign for their lead premiere title, Emerald City by Brian Birnbaum, a novel which draws on the author’s real experience of being the hearing son of deaf parents, and which explores themes of deafness and parent-child relationships. We created and pitched a tailor-made media list of industry publications, particularly focusing on thematic media centered on issues pertaining to deafness and hearing impairment, as well as targeting local media for the press’ founders. Dead Rabbits’ books are modern, artistic, and fresh, and we knew they’d generate buzz online, so we also crafted a campaign strategy to target influential online book reviewers, influencers, and popular bookstagrammers. 

We’re pleased to say that thematic media such as Hearing Like Me and Limping Chicken (the “world’s most popular deaf blog” with over 6 million views) praised Emerald City for it’s nuanced and realistic approach to deaf issues and relationships, while literary industry publications like Winning Writers and Digital Pubbing lauded Dead Rabbits Books’ groundbreaking launch list and mission. 

We are incredibly passionate about supporting literary changemakers, and it was our privilege to help launch a press that is just as passionate about “books that matter” as we are!

Using “Out-of-the-Box” Creativity for a Big Debut Win

It’s crucial for debut authors to make personal connections with their target audience to build buzz for a first release. Historical novelist Jeffrey Stayton wanted to make as many connections as possible — and luckily, he had an RV, a taste for adventure and a willingness to hit the road.

We knew a book tour would be the perfect way for Jeff to build a following for his gorgeous and gritty Civil War novel This Side of the River. An epic book deserves an epic tour.

Hitting the Road to Build a Readership

Books Forward designed a 20-stop book tour at venues and festivals across the country. The tour included Southern mega-fests like the Southern Independent Booksellers Association trade show and the venerable Southern Festival of Books, along with a wide range of independent bookstores.

To reach readers deeply invested in the book’s subject matter, we also arranged for Jeff to speak at Civil War reenactment festivals and museums — ideal venues to connect directly with history buffs, who were warmly receptive to both Jeff and his novel.

Celebrating Indie Bookstores Along the Way

As a former indie bookseller himself, Jeff understood the importance of bookstores and wanted to celebrate the people who keep them thriving. We helped create the “Cheer for the Bookstore!” $250 Scholarship Contest, inviting indie bookstores nationwide to enter by sharing how they would use the funds to support their store.

One of the highlights of the tour was Jeff visiting the winning bookstores in person and meeting the booksellers behind them. We were especially grateful to see Shelf Awareness recognize and celebrate this gesture of goodwill.

Creative Collaborations Beyond the Book

Jeff also participated in unique promotions such as SIBA’s TRIO Project, which paired him with a musician and an artist who each created an original song and piece of art inspired by his novel. The resulting TRIO art installation was featured prominently at the trade show before touring throughout the Southern states.