Marketing isn’t easy, but maybe not as scary as I think. Join me on this short interactive book marketing twine. Let’s go on an adventure through Marketingland!

So, I am not a marketing expert, but that doesn’t mean I can’t get better at it. After all, I want to get my books in front of more eyeballs. I have a guide to self-publishing, too, and this is the part about marketing.

So, I’m going to try some story experiments. This was my first Twine story: about interactive book marketing. I hope you enjoyed it.

So, what is Twine?

What is Twine? A little about Interactive Fiction

Twine is a program that lets you make interactive fiction. (You can find details on their site, Twinery.org.) Have you heard of visual novels? These are text-based games, usually romances with gorgeous pictures and simple animations (or fancy animations, depending on the game).

They are novels where you click on different dialogue options as you “play” and interact with characters. The games allow for multiple endings, different routes, and different love interests. It gives the reader more agency to create the story, rather than reading a novel that can’t be changed. (Unless you do something crazy like I did and have two endings in the final book. Fairy Doctor Rest in Peace is how I solved my love triangle and wrote a novel with multiple endings.)

Twine stories can be heavily gamified, or just a simple click-through (like mine was). I’ve been researching book marketing, and this “story” came from asking questions and diving deep into the subject.

The image above shows how each passage of the Twine story. Have you seen flowcharts? Follow the arrows to get to an ending.

What do you think of my twine story? Was it too long? Too short? Just right?

Have you tried any strange book marketing strategies? Let me know in the comments below!

References:

119 Book Marketing Examples from BookBub. BookBub Resource Library https://insights.bookbub.com/bookbub-resource-library/ ** Requires Signup

“Book Launch Checklist: A Marketing Timeline for Authors” https://insights.bookbub.com/book-launch-checklist-marketing-timeline-traditionally-published-authors/

“How has Marketing Changed in the past 10 years?” https://www.brandetize.com/blog/how-marketing-changed/

“The Rise and Fall of Trends Understanding the trend cycle” https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2023/02/22/the-rise-and-fall-of-trends-understanding-the-trend-cycle-and-when-to-take-action/?sh=51e72b32549e

“Top Marketing Trends of 2024” https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/marketing-trends