Shaun Loftus - Marketer

The Rookie

The Rookie by Trina Riggle is a mystery title featuring an ex-sports star turned amateur sleuth. Trina hired me to determine whether or not this title was worth relaunching (it is), to determine in what ways a 2012 title would need to be updated, and to give her a marketing report to define her category and keyword selection, market viability, and closest competitors.

In addition to providing a marketing strategy for a relaunch, I was employed to give brief editorial coverage with an eye to period-specific anachronisms. The Rookie is a terrific book, and Trina is hoping to rewrite and relaunch early this year.

Cybertraps

Author Frederick Lane is a legal expert engaged in privacy issues related to digital technology. His book "Cybertraps for Expecting Moms and Dads" languished in the Amazon basement, garnering little attention. We were able to raise its profile through careful selection of keywords and more tightly finessed category selections.

As a published author and lecturer, Fred had little time to pay attention to his self-published title or his online profile. I provided services including - though not limited to - updating his Amazon profile, rewriting his blurbs and descriptions, setting up Facebook and Twitter profiles, and reviving an unhealthy email list. We test marketed Cybertraps for Expecting Moms & Dads across multiple platforms, assessing it for market viability (low) and creating a plan for 2019 which will involve expanding his readership by paying better attention to market demographics.

Fred is primarily interested in his long-term profile as an expert in his field than in single title success. Our next steps will include a refit of his website and better automated social media interaction across all platforms. He is currently updating Cybertraps for Educators, which will be our main project for spring 2019.

The Mystery of Julia Episcopa

The Mystery of Julia Episcopa will be one year old next month. Over this last year,​ it has sold more than 10,000 copies of the ebook, a thousand copies of the paperback and several hundred audiobooks.

We have been happily sitting in the top of our bestseller lists, including Italian Historical Fiction and Religious Historical Fiction. During our promotional periods, we are frequently the #1 Best Seller in our genre.

For this title and these authors, I assist with developmental editing, historical research, and tasks inclusive of layout and design. I oversee their social profiles, their Amazon pages, built their website platform and have curated a strong and active email list.

We are currently working on Book 2 - The Testament of the Scribe - due out in April 2019.

Acqua Morta

"Si​x people, trapped in a crime they didn’t commit, will have to rediscover the fundamental truth that what is done cannot be undone."

Acqua Morta is an Italian supernatural thriller, set in the Dolomite mountains of Northern Italy. I was the projects first developmental editor and saw it through it's Dec. 2018 launch.

The book hit the paid charts almost immediately, but to promote it worldwide, we opted for a 5 day free period before Christmas. During this promotional period, Acqua Morta hit the Italian best-seller lists for all genres in the Italian Kindle store (topping out at #36), as well as #1 in its main genre of 'supernatural thriller'. In addition, we hit #1 in Italian foreign language fiction in the US.

Currently, at full price, the ebook is in the top #20 in all related genres and in the top 5000 of Amazon.it overall.