I’m such a fan of
’s newsletter, Attention Economy, a comprehensive, nuanced, and thoroughly actionable newsletter for anyone looking to build a sustainable career in publishing. So I was thrilled when Leigh asked me to give her readers the inside scoop on the influencer party I put together for The Last Ferry Out. Quoth she:To me, this is a perfect example of how writers can leverage their skills at making friends on the internet (Andrea is top notch at this) and strategically collaborate with their publishing teams to make their own book buzz-worthy.
I’m sharing an excerpt of our convo below—head to Attention Economy for the rest of the Q&A!
Leigh: What inspired you to organize an influencer event for your new novel?
Me: A freelance book publicist had told me that one of the best things you can do is to make your book feel like a big deal—whether it’s a lead title or not. In my initial marketing & PR meeting for The Last Ferry Out, I floated the idea of a media luncheon or something with my team. They didn’t bite, so initially I’d given up on the idea of any kind of event.
Then I saw on Instagram that my friend
hosted what looked like a lovely influencer party at a French bakery for her (excellent!) new thriller, The French Honeymoon. I was all envious, like: Now there’s a publisher investing in a new title!When I saw her not long after, I asked her about the event, and what she told me blew my mind: She actually planned the event herself. Anne-Sophie used to work in advertising (with much exposure to marketing pros), and she took it upon herself to find a sponsor venue and put the party together. Her publisher loved the idea and handled invitations, in addition to providing all the marketing materials for the event. (She wrote about her influencer event here.) When I told her I wanted to do the same for The Last Ferry Out, she very kindly coached me through the first steps. I owe her a huge debt of gratitude!
How many months in advance of pub date did you approach Ballantine about collaborating with you on the event? How much of the party (who, what, where, when) had you conceptualized when you pitched them the idea?
My publication date was May 20, and at the end of March, I basically informed my marketing team that I wanted to plan an event for shortly before its publication. (I took an ask-forgiveness-not-permission approach to promoting this book.) Luckily, my marketer got on board immediately and volunteered to brainstorm, send out invitations, and more.
With Anne-Sophie’s help, I drafted the following outreach email to send to possible venues.
I shared this with my marketer, who suggested a few tweaks, then researched 30+ venues to target—boutiques, restaurants, hip spas, etc. I looked for places that had multiple locations, because I figured they’d be big enough to have a marketing budget. I also wanted pretty, Instagrammable spots to entice influencers. And I spent days tracking down PR and marketing contacts on LinkedIn and similar so that my emails wouldn’t go into the void.
The vast majority of my emails went unanswered, but I wound up with two boutiques, one spa/nail space, and one Mexican restaurant—La Esquina, which we went with—offering to host and understanding the value of bringing influencers into their space. La Esquina was an especially great fit for a book set in Mexico, so we moved ahead.
I was so flattered to be included on the guest list (look, Ma! I’m a content creator!) and when I got there, I was so impressed with the whole spread: passed margaritas and appetizers, a beautiful table display of your new book, swag bags, a backdrop for photographs, a professional photographer, and best of all—great company. How much of this did you organize and how much did Ballantine help with? How much money did you spend on the party?
I loved everything about this, including advice and generosity of fellow authors, which you then extend to us! Thanks for sharing.
So inspiring to hear how you put this together. I love that you get shit done.