Sales & Marketing Output

The Summer I Ate The Rich - Sales and Marketing Plan

Strengths 

• Genre Blend Appeal: With an increasing interest in horror as of today, where horror book sales have surged by 54% in 2023, the appeal of The  Summer I Ate The Rich naturally increases drastically due to its blend of horror and social commentary.

• Social commentary: This novel blends horror with social commentary on racism and inequality. It has been suggested by the Uses and Gratifications theory (Blumler & Katz, 1974) that readers actively seek media that aligns with their views and needs, which makes this book appealing to this audience, those that share the same views as the story. 

• Contemporary relevance: The themes within this book are becoming increasingly relevant and central to public discourse as of today, which appeals to the Young Adult audience - the generation that are specifically very active in the political world and open to the conversations that this book starts. According to Common Sense Media (2022), Gen Z readers are highly engaged in politics and social issues, with a profound engagement in literature that reflects their world.

• Author Status: The authors of this book, Maika and Maritza Moulite, are already award-winning authors with a pre-established success from their previous books such as ‘Dear Haiti, Love Alaine’ and ‘One of the Good Ones’, which created anticipation and trust for their new title. The authors also have a large amount of followers across social media, with 33k followers on Tiktok. 

Weaknesses 

• Niche Genre: Niche genre combinations can initially be off-putting to mainstream readers, as according to the Diffusion of Innovations Theory (Rogers, 1962), creating a potential barrier to mass appeal and making the content harder to engage with for the YA audiences who cannot acknowledge the significance of the story.

• Audience Misalignment:  Some particular consumer groups may object to the themes shown in this book, especially anyone that may relate to the ‘villainous’ characters on display - they may object to the feeling of being alienated.

• Heavy Themes: The focus on inequalities in this book could be seen as too ‘heavy’ for some audiences, particularly those looking for a light, optimistic story in order to gain escapism. Narratives that challenge their worldview may be good for some audiences, but for some, it can create a sense of discomfort, as according to the Cognitive Dissonance Theory (Festinger, 1957).

Opportunities 

• Trending Genre-blend: Within Young Adult fiction, genre-blending is becoming increasingly popular - as supported by the Postmodern Marketing Theory (Brown, 1993), which states that readers look for more experimental storytelling that shows a more diverse world and therefore viewpoint. The authors are also US-based, and within the US YA market specifically, fiction print sales have grown by 9.5 million units in 2024, led by genre-bending books such as fantasy thrillers and fantasy romances. 

• Cross-media Popularity: The Zombie/Horror genres are gaining a lot of momentum within multiple mediums as of today, such as in TV, Film and Gaming - one example of which being the increasingly popular series ‘The Last of Us’. This enforces the idea of the novel appealing to a very large array of audiences, using cross-platform engagement to boost visibility. 

• Cultural Representation: This book also meets the market’s current demand for more diverse voices and stories. Bourdieu once suggested that cultural narratives contribute to the legitimacy and therefore value of a literary work in contemporary society in the Cultural Capital Theory (1986), which would imply that this novel holds a strong place in society.

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Threats 

• Highly Saturated Market: The Young Adult fiction market is drastically crowded as of today. With an increasing number of similar books releasing in the industry such as ‘Sunny at the End of the World’ by Steph Bowie and ‘This Delicious Death’ by Kayla Cottingham to name a few, many new releases struggle to stand out. Therefore, this book may seemingly be ‘drowned out’ by its competition in an already competitive Young Adult market - which is projected to grow from the current value of $12.49 billion in 2025 to $13.36 billion by 2029, (The Business Research Company, 2025).

• Digital Competition: It will be extremely important to use strategic positioning when marketing this book in order to keep it visible amongst competition, particularly within the world of digital availability - platforms such as Audible and Kindle where self-published authors can compete with global releases all in the same space. 

• Economic Instability: Alongside the above threats, the general downturn of the economy is a strong factor to take into account. With inflation and financial instability, the use of discretionary funds on items such as books may decline, particularly the intellectual fulfillment that books can bring can be easily overtaken by prioritised basic needs such as food, as according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. In order to combat the depleting sales of physical books, a digital release would be helpful. 

Target audience 

• Primary audience - Teens (12-18 year olds) with an interest in horror and social commentary. Particularly those participating on relevant platforms where communities may be formed to engage with the source material and conversations surrounding it - such as Instagram, followers of pages such as @Readwithcindy, and Tiktok (on ‘BookTok’)

• Secondary audience -  Young Adults (18-24), with a specific interest in hybrid genres. These are people looking for a mix of genres that they may or may not be able to relate to, such as Sci-fi, Rom-coms, Historical Fantasy, or more specifically Horror and social commentary. These can be people that are also interested in quite dark themes, or those that are particularly socially conscious - relevant to the topics of class in this novel. 

• Tertiary audience - Horror fans. Those that will buy products of the horror genre, regardless of the form, such as TV shows like The Last of Us, games such as Resident Evil, Films such as The Exorcist and other books such as IT by Stephen King and The Haunting of Hill house by Shirley Jackson. 

• Overall, readers will be motivated by the need for engaging storytelling about inequality, revenge and horror. 

Objective and measurement 

My primary objective for this marketing campaign is to establish the book as a ‘must-read’ and ‘best-seller’ to critics and all target audiences, to advertise it as a book that sparks meaningful conversations amongst all ages about social injustice and cultural identity. I will create ‘hype’ around the book, therefore leading to it becoming ‘viral’, in order for it to reach a large array of audiences.

I will measure this through an array of methods, such as through social media engagement (comments, hashtag usage, likes and shares, paid ad impressions), critical reviews (such as on platforms like Publishers Weekly and Booklist), book awards (such as the Booker Prize), and the amount of requests Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite receive to make media appearances - whilst the authors are USA-based, they may appear on tv shows and social media virtually, such as @Epicreads - who host regular Instagram lives with Young Adult authors. I will also measure the desire for this Title through tracking the pre-order rates, and wishlist adds on sites such as Goodreads. 

Messaging

My messaging line is:

Indulge in a dish of revenge in this deliciously dark tale of power and sinister culture.

This emotive, sensory-driven tagline draws readers in through rich, evocative language, hinting at the themes in the novel. 

Strategy outline

1. Positioning 

• I will position this book as a genre-bending novel merging horror with cultural critique, offering thrilling entertainment alongside a timely commentary on today’s society.

• I will present the book as both entertainment and substantive reading, which is often a rare mix of genres that can give the authors a unique edge in the over-saturated Young Adult market. This positioning gives the title a strong emphasis on cultural depth, alongside its relevance and engaging storyline.

2. Audience approach 

• I will partner with various mid-tier influencers on Tiktok and Instagram, such as @Booktok.reviews for reviews, read-alongs and an array of discussion videos, which may lead to the book featuring on relevant platforms such as ‘BookTok’.

• I will host Instagram lives with the authors through channels such as @Epicreads, a channel known to host multiple lives for Young Adult fiction.

• I will utilise fan engagement tactics by holding contests and relevant quizzes, such as ‘What character are you’ quizzes on Buzzfeed. 

• I will also feature the book at multiple literature festivals such as ‘Wimbledon BookFest’ to access school-age readers and educators.

3 - Channels to reach

• Digital Advertising - I will utilise platforms such as Tiktok, Youtube and book sites such as Goodreads to advertise the book to the appropriate audiences, through pre-rolls and display advertisements. 

• Prioritising In-store Sales - I will use in-store displays, as pictured below, in windows of an array of bookshops, from large companies like Waterstones to indie bookshops, in order to reach a larger audience. 

• Digital Platforms - I will also target digital platforms such as Kindle and Audible in order to release more versions of the book and therefore increase accessibility. 

4. Experimental marketing

• I will create a series of events in order to increase publicity of the book, such as an in-store themed event, possibly ‘Zombie-apocalypse themed’.

• I would also potentially host an organised ‘Zombie walk’ as a media stunt to go viral on platforms such as Tiktok and Instagram, increasing engagement.

• I would additionally coordinate a book-themed art installation in collaboration with local street artists, such as spray-painting the characters onto available outdoor spaces for the public to walk through. 

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Budget Breakdown

Activity	Cost
Point of Sale (Bookmarks, Standees, Window Kits)	£1,425
Social Media Advertising	£500
Paid Influencer Partnerships	£2,000
Influencer Mailing Kits	£300
Digital Asset Design	£200
Print and Trade Advertising	£1,650
Experiential Bookshop Events	£2,000
Total	£8,075

Marketing Asset: 

Window kit - including message stickers, book standees and posters. 

Bibliography 

Bourdieu, P. (1986) ‘The Forms of Capital’. In: Richardson, J. (ed.) Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education. New York: Greenwood, pp. 241–258.

Blumler, J.G. and Katz, E. (1974) The Uses of Mass Communications: Current Perspectives on Gratifications Research. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.

Common Sense Media (2022) Teens and Political Engagement Report. [Online] Available at: https://www.commonsensemedia.org [Accessed 10 April 2025].

Festinger, L. (1957) A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Rogers, E.M. (1962) Diffusion of Innovations. New York: Free Press.

Schultz, D.E., Tannenbaum, S.I. and Lauterborn, R.F. (1993) Integrated Marketing Communications: Pulling It Together & Making It Work. Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Business Books.

The Business Research Company (2025) 'Children and Young Adult Books Market Report 2025'. Available at: https://blog.tbrc.info/2025/02/children-and-young-adult-books-market-demand/ (Accessed: 13 April 2025).