Brian Finney — Money Matters Book Publicity Case Study

This book publicity case study details the work Coriolis Company performed for Professor Brian Finney’s new detective fiction novel, Money Matters.

She’s poor and naïve. They’re rich and dangerous.

At once a painful coming-of-age novel, an exciting amateur sleuth tale, and an intriguing narrative involving social issues (immigration and wealth disparity), Money Matters has mystery at its core. This emotionally charged debut novel is firmly embedded in Los Angeles culture over the 2010 mid-term election. Jenny, the 27-year-old inexperienced protagonist, faced with the tragic disappearance of a friend, is forced to take on financial tycoons, corrupt politicians, and the treacherous Baja drug cartel in her search to uncover the truth.

Now it’s available as a paperback, eBook, and audiobook on Amazon.

This step is crucial to any author’s marketing strategy. When finding outlets for your book publicity, it’s important to think beyond reviews and seek opportunities for author interviews, Q&As, talking points, and other features.

All good book marketing plans include submissions for book awards and lists. Of course, winning is not a guarantee, but if you do win, it could pay off and give your book a boost. There are a lot of awards and lists out there for both traditionally- and self-published authors. Make sure to review the guidelines first and determine whether your book meets their criteria, if there are any.

We researched many awards and lists the book could be submitted to. In a previous post, we mentioned how thrilled we were (and still are) that Money Matters made it as a Finalist in the 2019 American Fiction Awards in the Best New Fiction category.

Author interviews are a great way to promote your book and reach more targeted audiences of potential readers. It can help your readers get to know you better and further establish your credibility as an author. Once you have a few interviews, it’ll be easier to get the ball rolling because you can send samples of previous appearances or features when you pitch to other outlets.

We lined up lots of interviews for Brian that we talked about in a previous post.

On August 5, he had an interview with Ali on her Art-Res blog, a consistently updated collection of useful resources, tutorials, and stock for artists:

What was your main source of inspiration for your novel, Money Matters?

Money Matters is set over six days surrounding the mid-term election in 2010. In that election, the nation swung right while California elected Democrats for Governor and Senator. That polarization extended well beyond politics to social and cultural beliefs. I wanted to individualize this divide and found I could do that through my narrator, Jenny, who is liberal and unsure of herself, and her sister Tricia, who is a successful and well-off realtor for whom money is all-important. The two constantly fight, giving concrete expression to the conflicting ideologies tearing the country apart.

The most significant issue fought over between the two contestants for governor in the mid-term concerned immigration. As in my novel the Republican candidate wanted to penalize anyone employing undocumented immigrants and was exposed for employing one in private life. That took my novel into the realms of political corruption and the role of Mexican cartels in the smuggling of Immigrants into the country. Jenny, my protagonist, finds herself threatened by these powerful, dangerous forces that represent the true controllers of our lives.

Brian was also interviewed on the Authors-First program of the ArtistFirst Radio Network, the pioneer of interviewing and archiving independent authors seeking a global internet audience over internet radio and on the web.

Chris Royster of the Books to Read Show of IMTM Worldwide Radio also interviewed him. You can listen to the full interview on iHeart Radio by clicking the button below.

Here’s a sneak peek from the Writer’s Life Magazine interview with Ladonna Smith:

Readers may be surprised to learn that you wrote seven nonfiction books before switching to fiction. What made you switch from academic writing to novel writing?

Most of my nonfiction books focused on British novelists of the later twentieth and twenty-first centuries. During that time, I was working in the academic field, first as a tutor/organizer in the arts and then as a professor of English. So most of the books were studies of writers and their work. But one of my earliest books was a biography of Christopher Isherwood that won the James Tait Black Memorial Award. Another was an innovative study of a literary genre – literary autograph. My most recent nonfiction work went completely outside my academic competence and looked at the effect of the war on terror on American culture and society. That was my first truly American book which I published 24 years after immigrating to California from England. By then, I was thinking of retiring from full-time university teaching. Once I was freed to write what I liked, I chose to write a novel set in 2010 in Venice, California, where I live.

Brian spoke to Seemi of Pro Media Mag about Money Matters:

What experience (if any) did you have when you were younger that made you realize the power of the written word?

During my teens I lived with my stepmother, who was very jealous of me and gave me a hard time. Ironically I took refuge from her by reading through her vast collection of novels. As soon as I opened the first page, all my doubts and anger evaporated as I entered another captivating fictional world.

Brian and fellow author Maddie White talked on her Ask the Author blog, where she “interviews authors on their published pieces and promotes their work to her readers.”

What advice would you give to aspiring authors who want to write a book?

Create your fictional world and then allow it to take charge. Let the characters tell you what is possible for them to do and say. Obey the laws of the fictional scenario you have established. Be prepared to revise and erase. Listen to others’ comments and criticisms and amend anything they convince you doesn’t work. But remain true to your vision and reject any prompts wanting you to write a different book from the one you have chosen to write.

He spoke with Linda Thompson on The Authors Show, a podcast created in 2005 that offers multiple benefits to authors. It broadcasts interviews on multiple “channels”, each featuring one individual author for a full day.

He was featured on Writers Interviews, a website that provides readers an inside look at a book’s content, inspiration, and creation, straight from the author.

Who do you think would most appreciate this book?

There is something for most readers in this novel. Its main protagonist is a young woman turned amateur sleuth, whose late coming of age will interest literary fiction readers, and those looking for family tension will not be disappointed since Jenny and Tricia are sisters; detective mystery novel lovers will, of course, enjoy it, too. The book’s portrayal of American society facing particular social issues should capture the interest of readers who like to be challenged intellectually.

What do you like to do when not writing?

I read a lot, naturally. I travel abroad, mostly in Europe where I originated. For instance I am spending a month later in the fall of 2019 staying in apartments in Venice and Paris and driving round Sicily. I also have a cat and a dog that demand a lot of attention, not to mention a small garden that consumes a disproportionate amount of my time but is good for me.

On September 11, Brian and Rebecca Rodriguez of A Rain of Thought, a had a little chat on the blog’s Author Spotlight series.

Your favorite author & why

My favorite authors have changed over time. First came D, H. Lawrence and his emphasis on emotion over intellect. Next came Samuel Beckett and his cultivation of a style of minimalism. Then I was drawn to Martin Amis for his break with traditional middle-brow English fiction, accompanied by Salman Rushdie who instituted the transnational novel.

Money Matters looks like an intriguing mystery novel. Any plans to turn it into a series?

Initially Money Matters was written as a novel that stood on its own. Since publishing it one or two friends have suggested ways it might be followed up, especially by complicating the lives of Jenny, the young protagonist and her new boyfriend, the director of an immigrant rights organization. Money Matters ends with them reaching an agreement to share their working and personal lives together, something that is fraught with dangers. There is an obvious opening for another novel that describes their fight to defend an immigrant threatened by the system while saving their relationship. But I remain open-minded and will write next whatever most catches my imagination.

He had an exclusive interview with Bia from C&F Mag on Spetember 24.

What are you reading now?

I recently finished reading Salman Rushdie’s latest novel, Quichotte, an updated parody of Cervantes’ Don Quixote and much more. I’ve written a longish review of it that will be appearing any day in the Los Angeles Review of Books.

Rita Lee Chapman, an author who was also born in London, interviewed Brian on her “Guest Authors” blog where she regularly features writers. Here’s an excerpt:

When you write, do you start with an idea and sit down and let it evolve, or do you make notes and collect ideas on paper beforehand?

Whether it’s fiction or nonfiction I always start with an idea of the book’s shape and progression. I then research the book and structure the results of that research in an outline. The outline is likely to change as I write, more so in the case of a novel where the characters take over and reject some of my outline’s intended actions.

 When writing Money Matters did anything stand out as particularly challenging?

I pit Jenny, liberal, egalitarian, socially conscious, against Tricia, her sister, who is a successful realtor with a large income, a staunch Republican, and anti-immigrant to the point of racism. I had some difficulty giving Tricia the same credibility as Jenny whose outlook and political stance I roughly shared. But all good fiction needs genuine conflict. Eventually I gave Tricia the conviction in her opinions that she needed to win many of her arguments with Jenny.

Brian spoke with Kim Smith of the Writer Groupie Podcast:

What book are you reading now?

Currently, I am on vacation and reading travel literature pertinent to places I am visiting. Just before that, I read Salman Rushdie’s Quichotte, an update of Cervantes’ Don Quixote set in contemporary America. It’s a wonderful hodgepodge of buffoonery, literary parody, social satire, and much more. I have written a long review of it for the Los Angeles Review of Books that will be published in late October.

He was featured on Sue Rovens’s blog, Author Meet & Greet. Sue is a suspense author who writes “about ‘real’ people in familiar settings who face the bizarre, the weird, and the unknown.”

How much does personal experience play in your written work?

Obviously my profession as a university teacher of literature determined the kind of nonfiction books I wrote earlier in my life. Having taught students how to read and interpret fiction I was happy to try writing a novel myself once I stopped full-time teaching. Money Matters, my debut novel, made immigration a major issue. Only after finishing it did I realize that of course I was an immigrant and had experienced some of the challenges my immigrant characters faced in the novel.

There are more to come, so keep an eye out on our blog page or Brian’s news page for forthcoming interviews and updates.

Brian wanted to launch his book somewhere local, so we contacted Small World Books in Venice. Once they heard about Brian and Money Matters, they were more than happy to host the event.

We created pre-launch marketing materials for Brian, like the flyer above, so he could share the event with his network and followers. Coriolis designed a few book signing posters, and these are just a few versions of them.

We made four designs for his bookmarks, and these are the two designs he liked, front and back.

We helped Brian prepare for the event, and also in setting up on the day of. Our founder Nanda Dyssou attended the event to make sure everything went smoothly.

She started the event off and called David St. John, a colleague and old friend of Brian’s, to the stage. David then introduced Brian.

Brian read excerpts from Money Matters and discussed it with David, and Brian answered questions from the audience. Afterward, he signed copies that were purchased in-store. Yes, Money Matters is available for purchase in Small World Books.

The venue was packed, book sales were good, and Brian thoroughly enjoyed the evening. In short, the event was a complete success.

Blog tours are a good alternative to traditional in-person book tours if you want to conserve your time, energy, and marketing bucks. Still, in our opinion, you should do both if you can. They work really well when you target blogs that your audience actively reads. Getting featured on “popular” ones don’t necessarily mean that you will gain more readers (or whatever your goal is), and you’ll probably do better with reaching out to blogs that are the right fit for your book.

The following book blogs also featured Money Matters due to our book publicity and marketing efforts.

Listopia is a feature of Goodreads which allows authors and readers to create lists which are, by default, polls. Money Matters was voted to be in Los Angeles Detective Fiction – 10 Mystery Novels Set in LA, which has titles from known authors of the genre such as Walter Mosley, James Ellroy, and Megan Abbott.

We garnered reviews for Brian on different platforms. To date, Money Matters has 19 Amazon reviews, 13 on Audible, and 10 ratings with 7 reviews on Goodreads, and counting. Here are just a few, from readers and authors alike.

Social media should be a crucial part of an author’s platform. It can help you connect with current and potential readers, fellow writers, and other professionals in the community. You can read more about this topic in our Author Website vs. Social Media post.

We created a schedule for Brian to help him advertise Money Matters on Instagram and Twitter. The goal was to keep his content varied and intriguing, so his followers wouldn’t think that he was too self-promotional, but they would still be exposed to the book as much as possible, and would feel enticed to buy it.

Twitter is one of the best social media platforms for writers because it’s free, easy to use, and importantly, home to a big, supportive writing community. It pays to be active here, and in doing so, you can build an invaluable network of authors, readers, literary agents, and more. Our point: it’s a great platform to promote your book on.

If you don’t have a large number of followers yet, you can reach out to influencers who do. That’s what we did for Brian, and you can see a sample below.

You can build excitement around new and upcoming books using Instagram. 1 billion people use Instagram every month, so utilizing this platform can pay off when done effectively. It also houses a big community of writers, readers, other industry professionals, and a sub-community known as bookstagram.

Bookstagrammers take stunning photos of books and share them with their followers. As soon as you have physical copies of your books, you can start reaching out to bookstagrammers that fit your (or your book’s) aesthetics and ask if they would like a copy.

For Money Matters, we got in touch with bookstagrammer Bethany (@manuscript_madness), and she took these gorgeous photos of the paperback and featured it on her Instagram feed.

We created the following images for Brian’s Twitter, to be used at his convenience.

We also made versions for his Instagram.

The Kindle Select program allows authors who self-publish to Kindle to offer their books for free for 5 days every ninety days. When this program first started, it was enough to book your free days and promote it on your own social media accounts but since then, it has become another little industry in itself. A lot of sites promoting these free ebooks have popped up, and with the deluge of books being published every day, it’s getting more and more difficult to get noticed.

To maximize Brian’s free days, we planned weeks ahead and reached out to numerous ‘free Kindle ebook’ sites to get the traffic needed to reach the download goal and to move Money Matters up the rankings. You can see a few of them below.