Backlist books are an author’s bread-and-butter. Even the most prolific of us (LA Witt, I’m looking at you with envy) can only write so many new books in a year. What we hope is that a book will attract a new reader, who is then interested enough to go back and check out some earlier stories.
Marketing backlist books, keeping them fresh and in the public eye, is always a challenge. New covers is one option. I’m currently having great fun with putting new covers on my Hidden Wolves books, as I rerelease them. Getting my rights back on the stories is also a chance to bring them forward in a new way. Another option is audio – which I hope to get going for Life Lessons soon.
Sales, discounts, and other promotional pushes are another way to try to breathe new life in an older release. I just got done participating in a Smashwords sale with a couple of my titles. (BTW, Smashwords often, though not always, has all formats including mobi, and they run several sales a year, so they are a site worth keeping an eye on if your budget is tight.)
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Right now, I’m part of another backlist promo event.
53 authors have come together to do “March Madness” – a big giveaway with 4 prize bundles, plus a lot of backlist books, many discounted. 
Check out the Book Funnel with links to many of the books, several for .99 (Including a personal favorite – VL Locey’s Point Shot Trilogy starring Vic, my favorite obnoxious MC with hidden vulnerabilities.) : https://books.bookfunnel.com/marchmadness2021/scsqd3fr66 ** Check the actual prices via the links, as the Book Funnel is showing original prices for some of these, but they are discounted at the point of sale.
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For the March Madness Backlist giveaway, you can enter for each of the author groups – a winner will be selected from each group for a bundle of prizes that includes ebooks, gift cards, paper books and swag.
GROUP 1 – (Click to enter)
RJ Scott, H.L Day, Clare London, Davidson King, Susan Scott Shelley, Liv Rancourt, A.D. Ellis, Elle Keaton, Anne Barwell, Avery Cockburn, Mel Gough, Jay Hogan, and Elizabeth Noble
GROUP 2 – (Click to enter 2)
Meredith Spies , C F White, Rachel Ember, Elizabeth Noble, Lane Hayes, Jacy Braegan, G.R. Lyons, Charlie Cochrane, Talia Carmichael, Selina Kray, L.C. Chase, Tal Bauer, Ruby Moone
GROUP 3 – (Click to enter 3)
V.L. Locey, N.J. Lysk, Jessie G, Barbara Elsborg, Jackie North, Kasia Bacon, Jamie Lynn Miller, JP Sayle, Kaje Harper, Louisa Masters, Nic Starr, K. Evan Coles
GROUP 4 – (Click to enter 4)
Suki Fleet, Marie Sexton, Beth Laycock, David C Dawson, Pat Henshaw, Wendy Rathbone, Zoe Piper, Kindle Alexander, Teodora Kostova, Lillian Francis , Jodi Payne, David C Dawson
Hopefully in addition to being fun for readers, these kinds of promos will breathe new life into older work that is still among my favorite reading. And with everyone’s budget stretched tight, backlist books are often a place to save some dollars and find great stories. I love a new book from a favorite author, but there are so many on my TBR from past years that I don’t want to forget about. We’re fortunate really— that the genre has expanded so far in the 15 years I’ve been reading it, from a few publishers and a limited selection a dedicated M/M reader could almost complete, to the wealth of stories now on offer. May you find some new favorites among the older books too.
– Kaje Harper
March 2021