The Story Behind the CWG Book Blasts

I realized some months ago that I had been involved with the monthly CWG Book Blast since 2016. I was a new member myself at the time, and I’d just taken over the duties from Karina Fabian. Since that time we have been able to feature some seventy-two books by almost as many different authors.

I think of the Book Blast as something that is as regular as a new moon, but which somehow remains a hidden jewel in spite of that. The goal of the Blast is to provide members of the Guild—and anyone else who is interested—with the tools to help publicize a recently published book by a fellow member. It is meant to help “blast” or promote an author’s work and encourage sales for one day, but in actuality, it remains a compact press kit for that book for a long time to come.

The Book Blast has helped to sustain my own interest as a member of the Catholic Writer’s Guild, because it has permitted me to contact and work with so many of our authors. The Blast is meant to put them and their work in the best light possible. Each month I ask authors for summaries and excerpts from their book, as well as a short biography. I love the biographies. They allow me to become familiar with the hearts and minds behind these books. I also gather authors’ social media links, and in checking each link for accuracy, I’m able to look at their websites or their social media pages, getting to know them just a little better.

The titles featured in the Book Blast have included historical novels, young adult novels, fantasy, mystery, romance, and science fiction. Every so often there have been devotional or non-fiction books too. The sheer variety of the work the Guild’s authors produce is very encouraging to me.

The heart of the Book Blast is the tweet, which teases the plot of the book and which also provides a purchase link. The purchase link usually directs to an Amazon page or a publisher’s site. It is the most easily shared piece of promotion that the Book Blast offers, beautiful in its brevity and punchiness. It is also the easiest way to take the reader of the tweet to a place where the book can actually be bought. Like the rest of the page, the tweet can be used for months, so long as the link remains accurate.

 

null

 

The process for beginning the Book Blast always begins in the same way. On the first Monday of each month, I post a call for title submissions from our authors in the CWG member group on Facebook. The books submitted must have received an Imprimatur, Nihil Obstat, or the CWG Seal of Approval. By the following Friday, there may be as many as three or four titles submitted, so I write the titles on slips of paper and choose one randomly out of a hat or a bowl. It’s an old-fashioned technique, but it works. After that, I notify the selected author and request summaries, excerpts, social media links, a short biography, and an appropriate tweet. It takes a week to gather and edit everything together, and by the next Saturday, a new Book Blast is ready to debut.

My experience in working with our authors—60+ of them so far—has been wonderful, and I look forward to it each month. May the CWG Book Blast continue for many more years to come!

Copyright 2022 Michael Fraley

Avatar photo

Michael Fraley has been editing and posting the CWG Book Blast since 2016. He's adapted the Arthurian portion of Geoffrey of Monmouth's “Histories of the Kings of Britain” to the comic page, has worked in book illustration, graphic design, and has also served as a newspaper columnist. In 2019 the story of his conversion to Catholicism was told in Nancy Ward's book Sharing Your Catholic Faith Story. His primary area of study is in the Jewish roots of the Church, with an emphasis on the Gospel of Matthew and the Epistle of James. He holds a MA in theology from St. Joseph's College of Maine and a BFA in fine art from Indiana University. He can be reached at michael@michaelfraley.com

By Blogging, Catholic book blast, Catholic Fiction, Catholic Theme, Catholic Writers Guild, Catholic Writing and Publishing, Childrens' Books, Conversion Stories, CWG Seal of Approval, Defending the Faith, Devotionals, Encouragement for Writers, Faith, Family Life, Fiction, fiction, Hope, Inspirational, Juvenile fiction, Marketing Your Work, mystery, non-fiction, Novel, Poetry, Prayer, romance, Science Fiction, Short Story, Social Media, Spiritual Life, The Writing Life, Young Adult Novel1 Comment on The Story Behind the CWG Book Blasts

One Reply to “The Story Behind the CWG Book Blasts”

  1. Michael, thank you so much for faithfully coordinating this promotion month after month, year after year! It is a great opportunity not only for our authors to generate sales, but for our Guild members to become familiar with one another’s work.

Comments are closed.