Self-Published Author Finds New Way to Stand Out

Half Moon Bay, CA, November 22, 2011 --(PR.com)-- An innovative approach to marketing propelled a self-published memoir, “Grip: A Memoir of Fierce Attractions,” into the “Best Selling” list on Amazon recently. Thanks to a targeted email campaign, over 50,000 ebook readers learned of the book during a five-day sale, catapulting an unknown book into the number seven slot in the “Biographies and Memoirs of Women” category during the promotion.

According to Nina Hamberg, author of Grip, “With over 300,000 books published this year it’s difficult for any first-time author to gain traction, but it’s exponentially harder when the book is self-published.” Hamberg, who worked as a marketing consultant and helped pioneer the field of legal marketing, believes in taking calculated risks. “I spent a decade writing the best possible book I could. I wanted to try something bold to honor that effort.”

Working within the constraints of a small budget, Hamberg found a reputable email list provider who assembled names of readers who had opted-in to be contacted. She designed her own HTML promotional mailer and through the list provider, sent out two emailings spaced three days apart. The price of the ebook was lowered from $9.99 to ninety-nine cents. The result, according to Hamberg, was a surprise. “I never expected to see my book cover in the same column as ‘The Glass Castle,’ one of the most remarkable memoirs of all time. While I’m hardly in the same league as Jeannette Walls, it was definitely a heady moment,” she said.

Set in San Francisco in the 1970s, Grip tells the story of a young woman who stood up to an armed attacker, embraced feminism, trained up to her black belt, yet still paired up with one wrong man after another. Winner of the Maui Writers Conference Rupert Hughes Award and the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association Award for “Best Memoir,” Grip explores what it means to be a strong, independent woman, and how easy it is to get lost along the way. It was published by Route One Press, an imprint Hamberg established.

Nina Hamberg was the founder of Hamberg Taylor Associates, a marketing firm in San Francisco. In her teens and twenties she was a karate instructor, photographer, group home counselor, synagogue cleaning lady, insurance claims examiner, and receptionist on Park Avenue. Hamberg studied creative writing at programs sponsored by Stanford University, Duke University, and the Squaw Valley Writers Community.

For additional information about Grip and to see a sample copy of the ad, go to www.ninahamberg.com or contact Nina Hamberg, nina@routeonepress.com.

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