In this episode we answer questions from listeners like you.

For 24 episodes, we have fielded listener questions on everything from niche genre marketing to internet trolls to writing contests. To mark the milestone, here are five of the best listener questions our answers.

How do you find reviewers for a book that does not fit a genre?

Question from Carey Green at dragonslayerbook.com:

Carey writes Christian fiction that includes dragons, something that does not fit neatly into the fantasy genre. She wants to know how to find bloggers, podcasters, and reviewers who are sympathetic to that specific niche.

Jim: Carey is very aware that this is a specific niche. Christian fiction is a niche. Dragons within that is a niche. And she says it is not even typical fantasy, so that is a niche within a niche within a niche.

Getting people interested in something this specific comes down to what matters in any business, relationships. You need to start going to blogs and websites where this type of fiction is encouraged and supported. The first place to go is Where the Map Ends, a site dedicated to Christian speculative fiction of every kind, not just fantasy or science fiction. It is run by Jeff Gerke, a friend of both Thomas and mine, and it is probably your first stop. From there, Google “Christian fantasy” and “Christian speculative fiction,” find the blogs that come up, and start posting.

Get to know these people and become their friends. It is like going to a party for the first time. Once you have built relationships, you can ask, “I have got my book out. Would you host me on your blog?”

Thomas: Carey, you are not as unique as you might think. A million books get published every year, so there are other Christian books with dragons in them. Find those authors and build relationships with them. Even without a relationship, you can create ads on Goodreads that target their readers.

If I were a self-published author on a budget, the first thing I would do is find books similar to mine, read broadly, and target the readers of those books on Goodreads with ads. It is the lowest-hanging fruit, and an easy way to get people to know you. I would probably advertise a book giveaway.

Are Goodreads giveaways worth the troll risk?

Question from Liss Thomas at Lissthomas.com:

Liss does not do much on Goodreads as an author, but she is considering a giveaway for her next book. After researching it, she found that giveaways can attract trolls, turning an innocent giveaway into an author-bashing session in the forums and comments.

Thomas: Before Jim answers, it is worth explaining what a troll is. It is a mean, obnoxious person online, and anonymity has caused trollish behavior to spread. People who are perfectly normal in real life can turn into trolls once they are behind a screen.

Jim: They are out there, and it is like that old Disney cartoon where Goofy gets in a car and turns into a maniac. He is fine on the street, but something about being anonymous online turns people into jerks, and frankly some people do it just to be jerks.

You simply have to accept that this is part of putting yourself out there as an author. I have experienced trolls myself. We are a sensitive bunch, we get our feelings hurt, but you have to put the thick dragon skin on and accept that it is part of the reality. It is going to come at you, and you cannot let it bother you. My skin is a lot tougher than it used to be, and yours will be too.

Thomas: One trick that helps: read the negative comment in an angry Nazi voice.

Jim: Or a Mickey Mouse voice.

Thomas: An angry movie Nazi saying all these mean things does not hurt nearly as much. But trolling goes with the territory, and letting it stop you from putting yourself out there is a recipe for defeat. Do your best work. Not everyone is going to like it.

Jim: Another trick, share troll comments with somebody instead of keeping them to yourself, where they can build and build. I was at Thriller Fest one year, and they ran a contest for the worst review. Everyone read the reviews out loud and laughed, which took away some of their power. Share it with someone who will say, “Are you kidding me? Who is this person?” That helps too.

Are blog tours and writing contests worth the money?

Question from Lori Bentley Law at Lori Bentley Law:

Lori writes books about motorcycles, motorcycle riders, and cars. She is looking for her next way to expand and wants to know whether paid author blog tours are worth the time and money, or whether she would be better off focusing on her target market instead of other authors. She also asks whether writing contests are worth the entry fees.

Thomas: I am not a fan of blog tours the way most authors do them, going through blog tour companies that post the same content across dozens of blogs that do not get any traffic. It is a lot of effort for very little result.

That said, we have helped put on blog tours that sold out entire print runs of traditionally published books. The key is going after blogs that get tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of visitors. One blog with 100,000 visitors can be worth 10 blogs with 10 visitors each, so a lot of time gets wasted on blogs that do not get much attention.

The best way to land tours with big-time bloggers is to have already met them in real life. Once you have made that connection, an offline ask is a lot easier.

For contests, the rule of thumb is never spend more on the prize than you spend on advertising it. A classic mistake is pulling together $500 for an iPad giveaway and then not spending anything to tell people about it, so you get 50 entries and give away a free iPad for nothing. Look at how McDonald’s runs its Monopoly promotion. It might give away $1 million in prizes, but it will spend tens of millions of dollars telling people about it. The prize is a small carrot. The real work is getting people to know about it.

Jim: Thomas, Lori might have been asking a different question, about contests that are expensive to enter, meaning writing contests for her own writing.

Contests can be marketing, because if you win, you can say you are an award winner. This is our opinion, not necessarily the right one, but I think contests can help get an editor or agent interested in you. I am not convinced winning a contest sells books on its own. It might push someone who is on the fence, but unless it is a major award, it usually does not move the needle.

Look at the Oscars. You would think winning Best Picture would create a huge box office bump, and a lot of times it does not. Kathryn Bigelow won for Zero Dark Thirty, and I think it made about $15 million before the Oscar and $17 million after. I am not sure of the exact numbers, but contests, in general, are not a big marketing win.

Thomas: I would push back a little, for the sake of debate.

It does help to win at least one contest, because once you have, you are an award-winning author for the rest of your career. It is not the same as being a New York Times bestselling author, but it is a step above being a regular author, and it does not matter whether you have won one award or a hundred. You are still, quote, an award-winning author. So do not go chasing every contest thinking it will sell books. No one cares that you won the Podunk, Texas Writers Conference award.

Jim: Fair point. I have won the RT Inspirational Novel of the Year Award, a USA Book Award, and the Christy Award, and those make me legitimate to a lot of people. But those are substantial awards. The minor ones do not have nearly that kind of impact.

Thomas: Even those, most listeners have probably never heard of. They matter within the industry, they give you clout there, but readers do not care. A reader cares far more about what a friend says about your book than what an award panel says.

Should I mention my business website in a query letter?

Question from Cindy Tansin at CindyTansin.com:

Cindy’s website right now is built around a nonfiction business platform that has nothing to do with her novel. She wants to know whether she should mention it in a query letter to literary agents, since she plans to market the novel separately once it is picked up.

Thomas: Publishers are not only looking for authors who already have a platform. They are looking for platform potential too, whether you are the kind of person who can build a following online.

If you have built a following in some other area of your life, radio, TV, a business platform, even if it has nothing to do with your book, it shows you can be a public figure. Being able to handle criticism and deal with trolls, which we talked about earlier, is part of that too. Some personality types really struggle with it, and it sabotages their marketing, while others handle it well.

I would absolutely show this off in a query letter. Say something like, “I have been successful building this platform in the past. Here is what I built. I will put the same work into my new website, and I have learned lessons from the first platform that will make the new one even better.” That tells an agent, “This person is for real. They have been successful before, and people who have been successful in the past tend to be successful in the future.”

Jim: I agree completely. You are marketing in every moment, and everything you are is part of the marketing package. A friend of mine is going to a writing conference next week. He has built a hugely successful international coffee business, worth millions, over the last two years, and he wondered whether to mention that since it has nothing to do with his book. It has everything to do with his book. It shows who he is as a person. Publishers, editors, and agents want to work with people who understand business and who have operated on the global stage.

Which marketing platform should you focus on first?

Question from Ron Compton:

Ron feels overwhelmed by the number of marketing options: Facebook, blogging, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and he does not have time for all of them. If he had to pick just one, which should it be, and how would Thomas and Jim rank them in priority?

Jim: This deserves its own episode, but the short answer is City Slickers. There is a scene where Curly holds up one finger and tells Billy Crystal’s character that life is about “one thing,” and Billy Crystal spends the rest of the movie figuring out what his one thing is.

For marketing, you have to figure out your one thing. If you love blogging, be the best blogger. If you love Facebook, be great at Facebook. If Pinterest is what excites you, be the Pinterest person. Some platforms will work a little better than others, but if you are only doing something because it works better, you will not have the passion to make it work well. Start with your one thing.

Thomas: If you are passionate about more than one platform, look at where your readers actually are. If you love Pinterest and Facebook equally, but you are writing for men, and men are not really on Pinterest, let that be the tiebreaker. You have to fish where the fish are. You can fish in a parking lot puddle, but you will not catch much. Go to the pond where the fish actually are.