1. PITCHBOOK The Gatekeepers Saga, by Eva Pohler: A Marketing Plan

2. T HE G OALS The Goals IMMEDIATE GOALS: To consistently sell 50+ ebooks a day To break into brick and mortar stores across the country FUTURE GOALS: To get my young adult books on Texas Accelerated Readers Lists and Bluebonnet Books To get my books in schools and libraries across the country To increase foreign sales To make the USA Today and New York Times Bestsellers Lists FAR DISTANT AND PERHAPS FANTASTIC GOAL: To reach out to the film industry and secure a movie deal

3. T HE P RODUCT The Product The Gatekeepers Saga is a six-book contemporary young adult fantasy series based on Greek mythology combining adventure and romance for readers thirteen and older. As readers progress through the series, they are introduced to more and more gods. When fifteen-year-old Therese falls in love with the Greek god of death, she doesnt know what shes in forand neither does he. Some gods give her gifts; others try to kill her. To prove shes worthy to be among the immortals, she must avenge the murder of her parents and complete five challenges issued to her by Hades. She also must discover her purpose and contribution to the pantheon. Becoming a goddess symbolizes the young adults journey into adulthood. Later in the series, Therese must work to reform the pantheon by standing up for the equal treatment of mothers and daughters with the Athena Alliance against Zeus and his supporters.

4. T HE P URGATORIUM Additional Product The Mystery Book Collection consists of three suspense novels for adults: The Mystery Box, The Mystery Tomb, and The Mystery House. Box depicts a forty-something soccer mom whose life is turned upside down when a box is delivered to her by mistake and she is lured into a haunting tale that strangely affects her. Tomb tells of two women, one dead and the other a budding archaeologist, who share a shocking past aching to be discovered. House (forthcoming) is the story of four best friends and empty nesters who, while flipping a house, find eerry signs of torture and captivity, which compel them to solve the mystery. The Purgatorium, the first of a contemporary young adult trilogy, portrays an island where suicidal teens are terrified by Dr. Hortense Gray and her staff into loving life, but as the series progresses, seventeen-year-old Daphne discovers that things are not as they seem.

5. T HE A UTHOR The Author Eva Pohler writes fiction and teaches writing and literature at The University of Texas at San Antonio, where she lives with her husband and three children. She is the author of The Gatekeepers Saga, The Purgatorium, and The Mystery Book Collection. She has taught at the university for over twenty years. She especially enjoys teaching Young Adult Literature, an upper-division English course focused on the literary analysis of books written for teens. In addition to writing and teaching, Eva frequently presents at writers conferences to share what shes learned in her journey and to help her fellow authors.

6. P OSITIONING Positioning Teenage girls who love to read are the primary target market, especially those who fell in love with Rick Riordans middle grade books but aged out of middle grade and are hungry for more fiction based on Greek mythology. Teenage boys and women who love reading young adult fiction are secondary markets. The competition includes books written primarily for teenage girls that combine contemporary romance with the adventures of Greek mythology. The Gatekeepers Saga is different from these books in that it features an ordinary teenager wishing to become a god. The other books on the market feature teens who are either demigods or gods already possessing powers who just dont know it yet.

7. P RICING Pricing The Gatekeepers Saga is priced competitively in several markets. The ebook editions are lower than the average Nook book at $2.99 to $3.99 with the first book free. The paperbacks for online distribution are priced similarly to the competition at $8-$12 per book. The paperbacks for brick and mortar store distribution are also priced competitively at $9-$11 per book. The audiobook editions are priced by Audible.com and are running at $13.99 for members and between $19 to $24 for non-members.

8. P ROMOTION Promotion Develop brand awareness Build a website following Connect website to other social media outlets, specifically Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram, and Pinterest Use an author Facebook page to reach more readers Connect the Facebook page to Twitter to reach additional readers Use Goodreads to interact with fellow readers and offer giveaways Form alliances with other authors and industry professionals to cross promote Speak at writers conferences to share, learn, and find more fans Solicit reviews from bloggers and professional trade reviewers Keep the ebook edition of the first book in the series free as a marketing tool List the free book on every free and cheap site Use BookBub periodically for more downloads Use a street team to reach more readers Buy Facebook Ads, Goodreads Ads, and Google Adwords to target advertising Schedule book signings Create and promote book trailers on Youtube Keep the buzz alive all year long with teasers, cover reveals, giveaways, and frequent book releases

9. B UILD B RAND A WARENESS Build Brand Awareness Muted pastels are combined with sword and shield and iron gate to create the brand of Greek mythology for girls. The pastel colors are meant to appeal to a feminine audience, while the sword, shield, and gate suggest strength and adventure. The brand appears on my website, Facebook page, twitter account, book covers, book marks, business cards, and swag (such as buttons and t-shirts). This serves as both the series brand and my general author brand since all my books focus on women fighting battles, either literally or metaphorically.

10. D EVELOP A WEBSITE FOLLOWING Develop A Website Following HOME ABOUT ME APPEARANCES BOOK CLUB PICKS BOOKS CHAT WITH ME GREEK MYTH JEOPARDY KATASTEEMA! MENTIONS TEEN BOOK REVIEWS TESTIMONIALS TALK SHOW EVA POHLER BOOKS I use my website to notify fans of upcoming releases and appearances, to reveal covers and teasers, to offer giveaways, to show book trailers, and to sell promotional merchandise, such as buttons, jewelry, and t- shirts. My website is connected to multiple social media outlets. http://www.evapohler.com/ http://www.evapohler.com/

11. U SE SOCIAL MEDIA Use Social Media I use my Author Facebook Page to interact with fans. https://www.facebook.com/EvaPohler My Facebook page is connected to my Twitter account. http://www.Twitter.com/EvaPohler I have recently experimented with creating Twitter accounts for two of my characters. My thirteen-year-old daughter is helping me with Instagram accounts for those characters. My son has helped me to create funny videos for Youtube. My Goodreads page is also connected to both Twitter and Facebook. https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4888434.Eva_Pohler

12. F ORM ALLIANCES Form Alliances I exchanged back matter with Alison Pensy, author of the young adult fantasy series, The Custodian Novels. We also cross promote on one anothers websites. I frequently participate in giveaways including multiple authors, to share fan bases. I donate books to book bloggers to make connections with their fans. I regularly attend conferences and participate in author Facebook groups to make new author friends.

13. P RESENT AT CONFERENCES Present at Conferences I have spoken at several writers conferences and am scheduled to appear this year at The Fredericksburg Writers Conference (Fredericksburg, TX 1/09), The Johnson City Writers Guild (Johnson City, TX 2/12), RT Booklovers Convention (New Orleans 5/13), UtopYA Con (Nashville 6/21), and Authors and Readers Convention (Phoenix 10/16). I share with other authors information I have collected about craft, publishing, promotions, and sales.

14. SOLICIT REVIEWS Solicit Reviews I have submitted my books to both book review bloggers and professional trade reviewers, such as Midwest Book Review and Kirkus Reviews. I plan to promote these reviews and solicit more to gain credibility and reach more readers.

15. K EEP THE FRIST BOOK FREE IN EBOOK Keep the First Book Free in Ebook Sales of all books increased significantly after the ebook edition of the first book in the saga was made free on July 1, 2013. You can see a spike on the graph. I will continue to use this as a marketing tool.

16. P ERIODCALLY ADVERTISE ON BOOKBUB Periodically Advertise on BookBub BOOKBUB STATISTICS: Teen and Young Adult 160,000+ subscribers 1,500 to 11,500 Downloads 30 to 820 sales Mysteries880,000+ subscribers 4,300 to 29,000 Downloads 260 to 4,950 sales MY STATISTICS: The Gatekeepers Sons was downloaded as a free offering 10,389 times the day of the ad (September 2, 2013), 4000 times the day after, 2000 times the next two days, 1000 times the next two days, 500 times the next two days, and 250 days for four more days. I averaged 100 downloads a day for the rest of the month of September. My total ebook sales have averaged between 30 and 50 books a day ever since the ad. The Mystery Box was downloaded as a free offering 70,000 times the day of the ad (February 10, 2014), and at the time of this writing, is approaching 109,000 downloads. My total ebook sales have averaged 60 books a day since.

17. U TILIZE STREET TEAM MARKETING Utilize Street Team Marketing I invited a dozen loyal fans to join a street team, which they dubbed Evas Divas. We now have nineteen members and continue to grow. Each month, I issue missions and rewards. A mission might be to spread the word about a new release or to review an advanced readers copy. A reward might be a free signed copy or a promotional t-shirt. My divas also volunteer to beta read and to help with blog tours, social media promotion, and other promotional events.

18. B UY TARGETED ADVERTISING Buy Targeted Advertising Facebook, Goodreads, and Google provide useful advertising services that can be targeted to very specific demographics. I have successfully used Facebook and Goodreads and am currently experimenting with Google Adwords. So far, Ive had the following results in key word searches on Amazon:

19. S CHEDULE BOOK SIGNINGS Schedule Book Signings I have been fortunate enough to sign at three different San Antonio Barnes and Noble locations and at another in Plano. I plan to use my street team to help me to book tours all across the country.

20. P ROMOTE BOOK TRAILERS ON Y OUTUBE Promote Book Trailers on YouTube I continue to promote book trailers on Youtube to reach a different audience.

21. K EEP THE BUZZ GOING Keep the Buzz Going Each month, I stimulate sales with something to talk about on social media sites. One month might be a teaser, the next might be a cover reveal, the next might be a giveaway, and the next might be a new release. I make sure to always have something new to tell my readers, to give them a reason to think about me and to anticipate my next release.