Hector DeJean
Minotaur Books
The Writer’s Dossier 12/4/2024 – The Hector DeJean interview
Getting book exposure
DOSSIER: When it comes to promoting books, can you disclose one or two things that authors can do to get the best/right exposure?
DEJEAN: I would say paying attention to what’s happening in world of books and media, and who’s covering books similar to yours, is important; getting relevant information to your publicist is always helpful; and asking your publisher questions–educating yourself about what publishers do–is important, especially since the publishing process can be opaque at times.
Free books here!
DOSSIER: What things should authors avoid when trying to promote their book? Can you think of any particular gimmick that really bombed?
DEJEAN: I remember an author who wanted to give away free books on a streetcorner in the hopes of getting people interested in his series. In general, giving something away indicates that something isn’t worth anything. And you also have to go where the readers are.
Book reviews
DOSSIER: What’s the deal with covering book reviews? How important is that to sales?
DEJEAN: Some books can get a lot of good reviews and not sell particularly well, others can sell wonderfully with just a few reviews. That said, the more reviews the better, generally. Advance reviews like Publishers Weekly and Booklist help publicists who are repeatedly approaching the media with reasons for them to take another look at the galleys they’ve sent. And mainstream reviews, like the New York Times Book Review of People, are certainly great ways to get the word out, though there’s not always a direct correlation between reviews and sales.
Don’t take it personal
DOSSIER: Are there any social media dos or don’ts?
DEJEAN: I would caution against taking anything personal–for example, if someone on Facebook makes disparaging comments about your book, don’t turn it into an online argument. Also, authors (especially people who aren’t all over social media already) don’t need to be everywhere–pick a platform like Instagram or TikTok and stick with that. No need to worry about what’s happening on X or Pinterest. One definite social media ‘do’ is to follow authors you like who seem to be doing the social media thing well. Also, positivity and selflessness are good traits, and talking about books you like by other authors always goes over well with readers and bookbuyers in your audience. And pets. Post pictures of your pets.
What works?
DOSSIER: What about an example of something that worked exceptionally well?
DEJEAN: Jason Pargin is a very online-savvy writer who, in the run-up to his new book’s publication, began posting videos on TikTok on a variety of topics, from Gen-X pop-culture artefacts he likes, to explanations of online trends from 15 years ago. After he had built up an audience, he started mentioning his book in these videos. It definitely seemed to work, though he must have spent a great deal of time on all these videos.
Something a little simpler is just going to author events in your area and posting about them on Instagram. Then when it’s time to arrange a venue for your own book event, you’ve got stores that are likely aware that you’ve been promoting them.
2025 is huge!
DOSSIER: Do you have any news or announcement about what you have going on at St. Martin’s Press / Minotaur that you’d like to disclose in your Dossier?
DEJEAN: We’ve got a LOT of books coming in 2025, including amazing debuts–it seems like we’ve got more debuts than usual. Genre-bending mysteries are clearly becoming a normal part of the crime fiction landscape, as we have more books with sci-fi or supernatural elements.
Reading books we’ll be publishing in the upcoming year has been an absolute pleasure, and just looking at authors new to Minotaur’s list, I would tell readers to keep an eye out for Head Cases by John McMahon, Splinter Effect by Andrew Ludington, Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox, and The Witch’s Orchard by Archer Sullivan–and that’s just a limited sample! I could go on and name plenty more exceptional books heading for shelves everywhere.
Learn more about Minotaur Books at: Minotaur Books | Instagram | Facebook