When I started writing, I thought finishing a book would be the hardest thing. And then once I finished a couple, I thought getting a book published would be the hardest thing. And then once I found a publisher I realized what the hardest thing really is.

Marketing that dratted written, published book!

Having written and been deemed worthy of publication, you’d think people would just line up to read the story. Right? I mean, it’s probably pretty good if it made it all this way–right??

Oh right, good is only half the battle. The other half is getting people to 1) know the book exists, and 2) want to spend money on it.

One way my publisher helps me do that is by putting the books on sale. So today, I thought I’d share a bit about how that works (since there’s currently a sale on!).

1. First, there’s my novella, Appalachian Serenade. It’s permanently free via e-book (or maybe not, but for now I think of it as permanent). The idea there is that we give away a taste of the series and hopefully whet readers’ appetites. Like the cheese samples at Costco.
2. Then there’s book #1–Miracle in a Dry Season. It’s periodically offered at a deep discount like right now when it’s available for $1.99 (e-version). Again, the idea is to tempt readers to jump into the series.
3. Then there’s book #2–Until the Harvest. Initially, I thought it would be deeply discounted now and again as well. Nope. When it goes on sale it’s offered for something more like $8.99 (like now).
4. Book #3–A Tapestry of Secrets–is a brand new release, so it won’t go on sale any time soon.

HOWEVER. Some stores offer sales that . . . just . . . happen. Christianbook.com always seems to have my books for a little bit less than anyone else. Print AND digital. Lifeway does periodic $5 sales of print copies. And even though Until the Harvest is meant to be $8.99 right now, Amazon has it at $5.99.

Which is to say . . . although I understand some of the marketing theory behind offering books at a reduced price, it all feels a bit scattered most of the time.

I can tell you that the current planned sales are as follows:
–Miracle in a Dry Season – $1.99 through 7/21, then $3.99 through 8/31
–Until the Harvest – $8.99 through 8/31

And if you buy ANY of my books by August 31, I’ll e-mail you a set of devotions written from the point-of-view of some of my favorite characters. Because that’s MY stab at this marketing game. Just drop me a line at sarahloudinthomas@gmail.com–I’m always happy to chat with readers.