Two of my most favourite things to have experienced this year so far are Heated Rivalry and Project Hail Mary. Between the two, I’ve both read and consumed the small and big screen versions and it’s likely I’ll rewatch one or both soon.

I spend a lot of my time inside the genre fiction space, working with writers who are trying to figure out how to market their books while the world is literally on fire. How much do you say? How do you say it without getting the ick? How do you sell a love story or a space opera or a murder mystery when everything feels heavy?

It’s something I think about constantly. It’s literally my job to create words that move people right now.

So back to Heated Rivalry and Project Hail Mary. Here’s my take on why they’ve both taken off into another stratosphere — or if you’ve read the book or watched the film, solar system.

JOY.

They have joy in common. They’re bringing joy to readers and viewers. The actors and writers who bring these characters to life are radiating it. Rachel Reid’s readers have been carrying that book in their hearts for years and now they get to watch the world fall in love with it too. That’s joy on top of joy.

And we are eating it up. Because right now, joy is the thing people are hungriest for.

Look, marketing your books is hard right now. It’s expensive and it’s unpredictable and it can feel impossible to strike the right tone. But what if you borrowed some of that joy?

Not fake cheerfulness. Not toxic positivity. Not “everything is fine!” energy. Actual joy — the kind that shows up when you talk about the scene that made you laugh while writing it, or the trope you will never get tired of, or the reader message that made your whole week.

I’ve been watching some authors who are cutting through the noise right now and they have something in common: their newsletters, their social posts, their reader interactions are lit up with genuine joy about their own stories. They’re not apologizing for promoting. They’re not tiptoeing around the news. They’re showing up and saying I wrote something that I love and I think you’ll love it too — and readers are responding.

You write romance. You write fantasy. You write mysteries. You write books that give people an escape, a thrill, a reason to stay up too late and feel something good. That is an inherently joyful thing to put into the world.

So as we head into April, here’s my challenge: bring some of that joy into your marketing. Your next email, your next post, your next reader interaction — lead with the thing that makes YOU light up about your own work.

Not the algorithm. Not the strategy. The joy.

Your readers will feel it. I promise.

Holly

Looking for a group setting to learn more about email marketing and gain access to courses and live trainings? Come join us inside the HDHQ Membership space now! March is all about marketing emails in the middle of global chaos and how to ditch the ick.