Book Marketing Analysis: The Pearl Thief
The Book
The Pearl Thief is a historical fiction for the commercial selling. The story sets up in Europe during 1960s after WW2. Backed up by mounts of research, Fiona McIntosh brings readers to the scene of the post-war era by offering vivid details and facts of history. The damaged character Severine Kassel drives the story forward with tensions and rotations. Through the adventure, Fiona McIntosh makes readers thinking about one ultimate question: Can love and hope win over the cruelty in a time of war and hate?
The Author
Fiona McIntosh is an internationally well-known author of 32 bestselling novels, known as a skilled writer in historical adventure-romance and heroic-romantic genre. In addition to her brutal, fantasy book series, McIntosh promotes her brand by founding an award-winning magazine, holding fiction writing masterclasses, and running author tours around the world.
The Publisher
Penguin Random House Australia is an Australia branch of the American multinational publishing company, the world’s largest trade book publisher. It particularly specialises in publishing and promoting commercial books. With broad and royal readerships around the world, Penguin is many authors’ first-choice and ideal publisher. Penguin sets up McIntosh’s biography page on their website through which it also promotes the author’s work and updates her latest events.
Genre
The publisher Penguin considers The Pearl Thief as historical fiction. Retailers like Amazon lists it into three sections: fiction, Jewish literature and cultural heritage fiction, whereas Booktopia and Goodreads classify it into historical fiction. Readings categorises it as Australian Fiction. Similarly, Dymocks classifies it into Australian Literature.
Key Selling Points
• Trending now: Historical fiction has become increasingly popular
• Fiona McIntosh is an internationally bestselling author
• The appealing title brings high anticipation
• A modern twist on an old theme: “A predator becomes prey”
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Long pre-promotion and massive marketing campaign: Fiona McIntosh had been teasing the book since her tour in 2016 before the publishing
• Backed up by mounts of historical research; vivid details about Prague, Paris, London and Yorkshire in 1960s
• Well-established and differentiated characters; connections among them
• Consistent storyline with enticing tension and surprising rotations
• Critically acclaimed and recommended by many news agencies and literature reviews
• Generally favourable reviews from readers (from Goodreads and Amazon.au)
• Leading publisher in the industry
Weaknesses
• Limited online promoting campaign
• The author is not active on social media, making it difficult for readers to engage and connect, especially younger generation
• Shrinking print market
• Yet to claim any major literature awards
• Occasionally predictable sections bring boresome.
Opportunities
• Ms McIntosh will be touring again this year, which is an ideal chance for her to promote the book
• Variety and exposure: At least five editions in different forms available in the market: Kindle/Audiobook/Paperback/Mass Market Paperback/Audio CD
• An author-run website bonds the book with other products
• Well-organised series from the author; easier to develop new readerships
• Following the social movement’s pace: a female character leads the story
• Brand image: Australian and international bestseller
Threats
• Fierce competition from other authors in the same genre
• Commercial fictions; fast-moving consumer books age fast
• Self-competition: Audio form’s negative impact on print sales
• Sharing the same title with other author’s work may confuse consumers
• Ignored by mainstream readers due to its complexity of historical knowledge
Customer Segmentation & Target Market
Demography
The Pearl Thief is a gender-neutral novel, while female readers may find it more appealing. Adult and senior citizens are the target audience, especially fiction and Australian literature partisan, given that they have more knowledge about the post-war settings, and more interest in it.
Primary readers
People who like plot, mystery and thrillers will be its primary readers. McIntosh tells the story in the first-person voice. Along with character-driven, fast-pace storytelling techniques and the bestselling author, the novel can develop readerships among people who consider reading as a pure leisure, for example commuters and those who like fast reading.
Secondary readers
On the next level, it has history and conspiracy lovers. Tensions and codeswitches are the selling points. McIntosh’s clean and straightforward writing style make the novel easy to comprehend.
Tertiary readers
The commercial novel also carves out some social issues in the post-war era and bring some value for research, although its main target is not literature or social movement specialists. Feminists may pay close attention to it.
Cover
Mass market paperback version
The front cover gives enough space for both author’s name and the book title, with large size and stylish but old-school and distinctive serif typeface. Introduction of the author is brief while powerfully straight-forward: The beloved Australian Bestseller.
The mist, grey sky, mysterious woman all not only indicate the ongoing tension in the story, but draw people’s attention. By demonstrating contrast (colour of the clothes and the background), clues (the path), rotation (the line presenting at the bottom ‘Her predator has now become her prey’), the cover itself develops a storyline in viewers’ mind.
The woman’s clothes and the style of the buildings imply that the story is set in Europe decades ago. The cover is aesthetically well-designed. Along with the author’s fame, they all increase the book’s perceived value.
Paperback version
The version slightly differs from the previous. “The International Bestseller” shows that it faces a broader market. The woman has taken up more than half of the space on the cover.
Interior Design
The design is as simple as other commercial books. Narrow margins and line spacing, appropriate typeface and light paper can control the printing cost while without too much compromise of reading experience. The small size and light weight make it portable for commuting readers.
Title Specifics
Published: 16 April 2019
ISBN: 978 014 379 6626
Imprint: Penguin
Format: Paperback
• Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 3.1 x 19.7 cm
• Boxed-product Weight: 358 g
Pages: 512
RRP: $19.99
Published: 29 October 2018
ISBN: 978 014 378 5095
Imprint: Michael Joseph
Format: Paperback
Pages: 512
RRP: $32.99
Published: 29 October 2018
ISBN: 978 014 378 5101
Imprint: Penguin eBooks
Format: eBook
Pages: 512
RRP: Unknown
Published: 29 October 2018
ISBN: 978 014 379 2833
Imprint: Penguin Random House Australia Audio
Format: Audio Download
Length: 15 hr 9 min
Narrator: Katy Sobey
RRP: $26.99
Promotion
Online promotion
Amazon gives a free sample of kindle edition and a free trial of audio book.
Booktopia offers Qantas points as bundles. Fiona McIntosh builds an author biography page and interviews to engage with readers and promote books.
Dymocks currently lists The Pearl Thief in the top 101, and gives its own display place on the website.
Readings
In-store promotion
Dymocks (Collins St) displays the book in their top 101 section. The cover is facing customers to grab attention.
Readings (Carlton) puts it at the eye level in Australian fiction genre. Readers can easily notice that.
Analysis
Commercial fictions are more likely to be dated. Promotion especially in a physical store usually last merely for a short time. After ten months from its first publishing, only Dymocks give special place to promote the book.
Branding
Establishing and maintain the relationships with consumers on media, executing her promise by bring novels, and strong storytelling abilities of Ms McIntosh are the formula of her branding.
Her brand is symbolised by female characters showed in novels. It has worked well with feminist social movement trending which enhances its influence in the past decade. By the repetition of launching books with similar themes, it has built royalty among readers.
Price Comparison
The Common recommended retail price (RRP) for the paperback edition is $19.99. Online chain stores, such as Big W, Amazon and Target Online, offer a 39% off discount and set the price at $12. Dymocks is the only exception. No rent, lower cost of storing books and subsidisation from companies are the major reasons for inexpensive books, whereas independent bookshops like Robinsons and Readings maintain the original RRP. See the table below for more details.
Author Events
Fiona McIntosh is currently on the tours across the nation to promote books according to her personal page on Penguin’s website. Although the tours are mainly for her latest book, they also offer McIntosh opportunities to engage with The Pearl Thief’s readers and expand the number of it. The upcoming event in Melbourne will be at Castlemaine Brewing Company on Nov. 15th. Compared with other tours, this one offer cheaper tickets at $10. Exclusive groups can help the author deeply connect with royal fans while with a certain level of openness.
Sales
The sales of its three versions are listed in the table below (Thanks for Prof Davis’ help).
Improvements
• Use social media to engage and connect with readers. Real and authentic voice on social media bring them closer.
• Exclusive reading party before the official release.
• More autograph campaign to increase the sale.
• More inviting interior book design, including large margins and line spacing: more reader-friendly, albeit slightly increasing the cost.
• Raising the price at a reasonable range may be beneficial considering it will add perceived value and make it easier for independent bookstores to give a discount in order to boost the volume of sale.
• Earlier announcement of sequel series: keeping target audience intrigued.
• Increasing the launching time gap between the print edition and the audio form.
• More pages available in free digital sample.
• Establish a higher profile of the author to develop a built-in audience.
• Exposing the author and the book to the national print media.
• The book cover and the first few pages could be more intriguing and enticing.
• Fiona McIntosh does not have a large fan base on Goodreads which is worth more investment.
• Marketing the book to book clubs and developing long-term loyalties from readerships are good for a historical fiction series targeted at niche market.
• Releasing book trailers to grab people’s attention.
• Binding the releasing data with festivals
Chain stores can put the book near the exits to give exposure and increase the impulse purchase when people leave, while it can cooperate with the staff in independent bookshops and train them to actively recommend books and influence customers’ buying decision rather than passively making transactions.
Conclusion
Reference
The Pearl Thief: A sweeping, epic story of love and betrayal. Wordery AU. Retrieved from:
Book Marketing is a Fulltime Challenge that Successful Authors Trust to a Book Marketing Pro. WestWind Communications. Retrieved from:
https://www.westwindcos.com/book-marketing/
Marketing, publicity, and promotion. Writers and Editors. Retrieved from:
http://www.writersandeditors.com/marketing__publicity__promotion_57416.htm#bookmark8
Personal Branding Basics for 2011. Retrieved from:
Some notes on book promotion. Retrieved from:
https://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/2018/12/some-notes-on-book-promotion.html
Fiona McIntosh. Twitter. Retrieved from:
The Pearl Thief: A sweeping, epic story of love and betrayal. Amazon AU. Retrieved from:
The Pearl Thief. Booktopia. Retrieved from:
https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-pearl-thief-fiona-mcintosh/book/9780143796626.html
Fiona McIntosh, author of The Valisar Trilogy, answers Ten Terrifying Questions. Booktopia. Retrieved from:
Fiona McIntosh. Booktopia. Retrieved from:
https://www.booktopia.com.au/fiona-mcintosh/author171.html
The Pearl Thief. Dymocks. Retrieved from:
https://www.dymocks.com.au/book/the-pearl-thief-by-fiona-mcintosh-9780143796626
The Pearl Thief. Readings. Retrieved from:
https://www.readings.com.au/products/26469042/the-pearl-thief
Point of Sale (POS). Investopedia. Retrieved from:
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/point-of-sale.asp
The Pearl Thief. Penguin Books Australia. Retrieved from:
https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-pearl-thief-9780143796626
Inspiring, Gripping, Addictive: Review of The Pearl Thief by Fiona McIntosh. Better Reading. Retrieved from:
New Release Book Review: The Pearl Thief by Fiona McIntosh. Mrs B’s Book Reviews. Retrieved from:
The Pearl Thief. Goodreads. Retrieved from:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/39800738-the-pearl-thief
Fiona McIntosh’s website. Retrieved from:
https://www.fionamcintosh.com/
Fiona McIntosh Homepage. Penguin Books Australia. Retrieved from:
https://www.penguin.com.au/authors/fiona-mcintosh
What makes historical fiction so popular? Settle Stories. Retrieved from:
https://www.settlestories.org.uk/what-makes-historical-fiction-popular
NetGallery. Retrieved from:
https://www.netgalley.co.uk/book/159460/review/529214
What you should know about Historical Fiction. Writer’s Nook. Retrieved from:
https://writersnookblog.wordpress.com/2017/07/24/what-you-should-know-about-historical-fiction/
Amazon gives a free sample of kindle edition and a free trial of audio book. Booktopia offers Qantas points as bundles. Fiona McIntosh builds an author biography page and interviews to engage with readers and promote books. Dymocks currently lists The Pearl Thief in the top 101, and gives its own display place on the website.
Fiona McIntosh is currently on the tours across the nation to promote books according to her personal page on Penguin’s website. Although the tours are mainly for her latest book, they also offer McIntosh opportunities to engage with The Pearl Thief’s readers and expand the number of it. The upcoming event in Melbourne will be at Castlemaine Brewing Company on Nov. 15th. Compared with other tours, this one offer cheaper tickets at $10. Exclusive groups can help the author deeply connect with royal fans while with a certain level of openness.
