Research first. Then position. Then make it visible.
A method built around one belief: a book cannot be promoted well until it is understood — who it is for, where those readers already look, and what makes it recognizable to them.
Not “marketing a book” — placing it.
Three movements, in order.
Find
Understand the book and its discovery environment.
Reader signals, comparable titles, search language, categories, communities, retailer context, metadata, and the evidence of how similar books are already being found. Nothing is assumed — the research comes first.
Position
Clarify what the book is and who it is for.
The strongest entry points, the most recognizable promises, the language real readers use, and the shelves or conversations the book can legitimately step into. Positioning makes the book legible before a single promotion runs.
Make visible
Build attention where it compounds.
Campaigns, publicity, creative assets, partnerships, content, spotlights, and author visibility — sequenced around the discovery environments the research identified, so each activity reinforces the next.
From broad language to useful reader recognition.
The same book can be invisible or findable depending on the language around it. Broad phrases feel safe but describe everything — and therefore nothing a reader can choose.
“A heartfelt story about healing and second chances.”
Broad emotional language that could describe thousands of books.“A family mystery about the daughter who returns home to uncover why her brother vanished.”
More concrete signals help a likely reader recognize the experience.Illustrative example only. Not a client result.
What the studio optimizes for.
Research before promotion
No campaign is designed before the discovery environment is understood. Assumptions are the most expensive ingredient in book marketing.
Specificity beats volume
“A heartfelt story” describes thousands of books. Concrete signals describe one. The studio works at the level of the specific.
Every title is its own problem
Frameworks help, but the environment around a romance debut and a science backlist title are different worlds. Each book gets its own study.
Attention should compound
One-off activity fades. The aim is visibility that keeps working: metadata, positioning, and content systems that outlast a launch week.
Common questions.
What does BetweenBooks actually do?
The studio researches how a specific book is discovered — positioning, comparable titles, search language, categories, metadata, reader communities — then builds visibility and awareness around what that research shows. The work sits between understanding the book and making it findable.
What is the Reader Discovery Assessment?
The flagship research service. It examines the book as a whole within the environment where readers encounter it: positioning, comparable books, reader entry points, search terms, keyword and category language, metadata, genre expectations, and gaps or opportunities worth investigating.
Does this replace a publicist, marketer, or publisher team?
No. It complements them. The research and positioning work gives every other promotional effort a clearer target — whether that work is done by a publisher, a freelance publicist, or the author.
Do you work with self-published and independently published authors?
Yes. Discovery problems are not exclusive to one publishing route. What changes is the set of environments and tools available, and the assessment accounts for that.
What doesn’t the studio do?
No guaranteed bestseller claims, no paid or fabricated reviews, no activity for activity’s sake. Claims stay close to what public evidence supports.
How does a project start?
Send the title, a link to the book, and the question you are trying answer to [email protected]. The first conversation is about the book and where it can be found — not a sales pitch.
Your book, studied properly.
Send the title and the question you are trying to answer. The assessment begins with the discovery environment — not with a package.