A Novel, Then Novella

Advertising your newly written novel

TLDR: Writing accompanying novellas alongside your debut novels can be a great way to produce content that domino into each other for advertisement purposes. In this article, I use Mimi Matthews (brilliant historical romance author) as an example, regarding her novella and the first of a 4-book series.

Prologue

I love BookBub because it always ends up getting me to buy at least five books per month. There have been a few free and $0.99 mistakes, I’ll admit. However, there are some successes, and I do add a few authors to my favorites lists.

One of those authors is Mimi Matthews, a historian and historical romance author of clean Regency-era novels. With 15 books, she has over 33,000 ratings on Goodreads with a 4.06-star average. Her books lack that steamy quality that a lot of Regency “bodice-rippers” have, but her readers think she makes up for it in historical accuracy, heartwarming characters, and meticulous research.

I came across Mimi Matthews after getting her book, “A Holiday by Gaslight” through BookBub for $0.99. It was an ebook novella of around 175 pages and took me less than an hour or two to read at Christmas time.

It was a fast read, cute, fun, and charming. I was surprised by her historical accuracy and was delighted to learn new things about the inner workings of Regency social classes, arranged marriages, and the expenses of installing gaslight into private homes during that time in history.

At the end of the ebook was a first-chapter preview of her full-sized novel, “The Matrimonial Advertisement,” the first of 4 novels in a series called “The Parish Orphans of Devon.” I quickly assumed that her book came out after her novella, hence the advertisement.

According to her Goodreads stats, Matthews has 6,577 ratings on “The Matrimonial Advertisement”, 5,478 on “A Holiday by Gaslight.” Those are currently her two most popular books.

Because I liked her novella, I read the excerpt and decided that, for only a couple of dollars, I would buy the first book and decide whether or not the whole series was worth it. Turns out, I really like her style. Her characters are cleverly introduced to set up her next few books and she has built a small world easy to get lost in.

Needless to say, I bought her whole Devon Parish Orphans series for a steal on Kindle.

It was then that I noticed something important:

“A Holiday by Gaslight” was published on November 13th, 2018. “The Matrimonial Advertisement” was published September 4th, 2018, only two months earlier.

I was wrong, you see. The novella came after her first book. Was that by accident, or was she implementing the advice that many writers hear when they publish their first book?

The Method

There are authors and writers who will advise you to release one of your older books for free in order to hype up interest in your upcoming book or catch the eye of new readers. Others will suggest that you write a novella or series of short stories.

Not only does releasing free books or having discounted sales draw in readers, but it can also lead to more purchases by those readers who like your work.

That’s the point, isn’t it? Write something short that showcases your style, your voice, and your techniques — something that will resonate with readers and have them asking for more. At the end of your novella, add excerpts or additions that will lead your readers to their next purchase.

Without asking her, I don’t know that Matthews wrote “A Holiday by Gaslight” in order to advertise her upcoming novel series. Perhaps it was a passion project that she lived and worked on simultaneously.

It is potentially a trick she implemented, but I can’t say for sure. Her novella was clearly written with love, well-researched, and, because it was a quick read, it wasn’t enough for me. I wanted more! That alone enticed me to keep reading her other books.

At this point, it isn’t even about making more sales, but rather finding loyal and dedicated readers. I’m now a loyal reader to Mimi Matthews, whether she knows it or not, and I can’t wait to keep reading her work.

Where Is She Now?

Mimi Matthews is happily promoting her exciting new book, “The Siren of Sussex,” book one in her new Belles of London series.

Can you guess that I’ve already bought it? Well, I have.

Matthews started with her own publishing house, Perfectly Proper Press, in order to self-publish her work. Now, her new Belles of London novels are being published through Berkley books, which is part of Penguin books.

It seems to me she is living the dream. A lot of professionals will warn you that if you self-publish before trying to go traditional, big houses won’t look twice at you, but that didn’t seem to be the case for Matthews.

Her next book in the Belles of London series, “The Belle of Belgrave Square,” comes out in October of 2022.

I wish her all the luck!

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