The Trajectory of Book Promotion

By Stacey J. Miller, Book Publicist
S. J. Miller Communications
bookpromotion@gmail.com


What does book discovery mean to authors and publishers? Everything, obviously. Book discovery is the whole purpose of book publicity and brand building: when authors and their books receive media attention, build their brand, and expand their online footprints, then they can differentiate themselves from competing authors and books (and videos, blogs, and the like), and they can persuade potential readers to purchase their books. Book discovery, then, is tied into book promotion and brand building which, in turn, directly affects book sales.

So what does Trajectory, a Boston-based firm, have to do with book discovery? According to an article in ThoughtCatalog, Trajectory will change everything about book discovery. Through Trajectory, authors and publishers will be able to match their books' content, setting, mood, and more to books that readers have already bought and enjoyed. Think of Trajectory as -- potentially -- the Pandora of books. "If you love Neil Diamond, you might want to listen to Barry Manilow" (which is Pandora's territory) becomes, "If you loved The Giver, you'd probably enjoy The Hunger Games" -- which Trajectory would base on algorithms about all of the elements that make up a book's content rather than on strictly sales information.

Just as authors and publishers currently consider it critical to get their books into the search engines, and to allow their book discovery to happen both organically and through concerted book promotion efforts, they may -- according to ThoughtCatalog -- soon be focusing on book discovery through Trajectory. Trajectory, it seems, is already forming partnerships with the major players in the world of book publishing.

So what will the trajectory of book publicity look like once the DNA of books can be scanned to see whether or not they're a match for books readers have already bought and loved? Authors and publishers: stay tuned to find out!