Support for Indie Authors discussion

Almost every piece of marketing advice I've read relies first on identifying your audience so that you can reach out to them directly. My problem is that I don't know where my novel, MIRO, fits best.

It's set in an occupied country, but it's not really a "military" novel. The country is left unnamed, so I can't link it to a certain region. It's about escaped prisoners of war triggering a nation-wide event, but I know from my own reading habits that if I enjoyed one POW story, it doesn't mean that's all I'll ever read. The genre headers I've used so far — "literary fiction", "thriller", "action-adventure" — are all quite general.

What I'd like to do is reach out to book clubs and even the groups here on GR that enjoy the kind of story I'm telling. I was hoping I would come across a similar novel and be able to track down the fans of that author, but I've failed there as well — I'm just too subjective to see the bigger picture.

Here's the link:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01G4U2J30

I'd appreciate any guidance. If I'm going about it wrong, please feel free to set me straight.

I think thriller would lead readers down the wrong path but it's hard to know without a longer blurb. Literary fiction sounds perfect to me but I do see why you would want to narrow it down a bit. Check out the categories for Unbroken and Schindler's List and see how that feels.

Dang it, Miss Tara! You beat me to the punch haha!

@Miss Anita: I agree with the lovely lady above. I'd check similar books too.

Hugs,
Ann

Lol great minds! I'm excited to see what Anita ends up choosing.

Shindler's List doesn't help:
Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Biographical
Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical > Biographical
Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical > Jewish
Books > Religion & Spirituality > Judaism > History
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > History > World > Jewish > Holocaust
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Biographical
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > Biographical
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical Fiction > German
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Religion & Spirituality > Judaism > History of Religion

Neither does Unbroken. Need a fiction title:
Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Leaders & Notable People > Military > World War II
Books > History > Military > Aviation
Books > History > Military > United States
Books > History > Military > World War II
Books > Sports & Outdoors > Biographies
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Biographies & Memoirs > Historical > Military & Wars > World War II
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Biographies & Memoirs > Professionals & Academics > Military & Spies
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > History > Military > Aviation
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > History > Military > United States
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > History > Military > World War II
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Sports & Outdoors > Biographies

Maybe dystopian thriller?

Maybe one of these (from The War Planners)

Books > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thriller & Suspense
Books > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > War & Military
Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers & Suspense > Military
Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers & Suspense > Spies & Politics > Political
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thriller
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Sea Adventures
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > War & Military
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers > Espionage
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers > Military
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers > Political

Or these (from Nuclear Threat Thriller)

Books > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thriller & Suspense
Books > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > War & Military
Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers & Suspense > Technothrillers
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thriller
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Action & Adventure > War & Military
Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers > Technothrillers

I've also seen "alternate history", maybe give that one a shot? :) Good luck!

Wow, you guys are fast, I'm still looking up the first two! Schindler's List and Unbroken are definitely the big ones, aren't they? But I imagine their edge is the biographical element.

I like the sound of dystopian--I actually joined one of the dystopia groups today. Would I be accepted by the purists?

What elements from your book fit into the dystopian model? It may just work :-)

Hmmm good question. Well if I went by Wikipedia's very simple definition, "a community or society that is undesirable or frightening", then my occupied, war-torn country would totally fit in. Ideas are forced on people, freedom is restricted, and someone sets out to change it all.

Sounds classic to me. Are there any elements in the story that make it unfamiliar to life as we know it now? Is it futuristic?

@Miss Anita: You could always sneak into multiple subcategories...

I've seen books in quite a few different ones *grins*

Tara, there are no futuristic elements at all. You're right, it is classic.

Annie, I'm going to try and tweak those subcategories to be more helpful to me.

I just don't know whether I should lean harder on the literary angle of my story or push the commercial side. I prefer the former, but those are hard readers to find and market to.

Thanks, everyone, for your help!

The description could fit a number of totalitarian governments in existence today. Dystopian is often found in conjunction with SF.
So for those reasons, it sounds like literary fiction, action adventure/survival.

Thanks ML. I'm adding the "survival" keyword as we speak.

Unfortunately I'm no closer to finding an author I can say I'm similar to. I find I'm constantly being asked that question, and it's recommended in some of these giveaways and promotions we can run.