Page to Post No. 3
marketing brief for Anna Bright is Hiding Something by Susie Orman Schnall
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Editors always say, "show, don't tell," when it comes to good writing. It's time to apply that same principle to your marketing! In this edition of Page to Post, we're diving into Susie Orman Schnall's novel, Anna Bright is Hiding Something.
Anna Bright Is Hiding Something by Susie Orman Schnall is a thriller set behind the scenes of a Silicon Valley empire where one woman is building a billion-dollar brand and another is determined to bring it down. This is a story about the curated life of a worshipped tech founder, and the investigation that could unravel everything she's built.
This marketing guide was not paid work. It was made specifically for my portfolio! xx
Story-Inspired Content
A peek inside your novel, spotlighting key themes, tropes, and characters through storytelling to intrigue potential readers.
Immersion: Your campaign transforms feeds into a dual-perspective drama of spin versus truth. Make your followers feel like they’re toggling between Anna’s curated empire and Jamie’s behind-the-scenes investigation—caught between the glossy surface and the messy reality underneath.
Share story-inspired content such as: IPO countdown checklists, Anna’s meticulously scheduled day, Jamie’s investigation notes board, manipulated investor pitch decks, redacted internal memos, female founder statistics, “caught on BrightSpot” wellness moments, BrightLife’s glossy aftercare recovery boxes, the gender dynamics of Silicon Valley, journalism ethics debates, and for fun—happy hour at the Bright Space campus bar.
Key Themes
The performance of perfection. How women in tech are held to impossible standards while men are celebrated for “disruption”
Truth versus narrative control. Who gets to tell the story, and what happens when someone refuses the script
The cost of ambition. What we sacrifice to build empires, and who pays the price
Journalism as accountability. The power and peril of investigative reporting in the age of PR spin
Female founder scrutiny. The particular way women leaders are built up and torn down
Reputation as currency. In tech culture, perception is everything—until it isn’t
Popular Tropes
Cat and mouse game. Founder versus journalist in a high-stakes struggle
Corporate thriller mystery. Secrets lurking beneath Silicon Valley glamour
Dual narrative tension. Two women, two perspectives, one story
Ripped from the headlines. Elements of Theranos, the #MeToo movement, and founder worship culture
The perfect façade cracking. What happens when carefully constructed images shatter
Morally complex characters. Complicated, intelligent women making impossible choices
Character Spotlights
Anna Bright – Silicon Valley darling building BrightLife, a biotech empire promising to revolutionize women’s healthcare, whose carefully curated image of innovation and empowerment masks deeper secrets about her company’s technology and culture
Jamie Roman – Investigative journalist determined to uncover the truth behind BrightLife’s glossy PR, navigating the ethics of exposing a female founder in an industry already hostile to women leaders
The BrightLife Insiders – Employees, investors, and believers caught between loyalty to Anna’s vision and the mounting evidence that something is not quite right behind the scenes
The Media Machine – PR teams, Silicon Valley journalists, and the startup ecosystem that decides which founders are visionaries and which are frauds
Interactive Series
A custom series designed to spark engagement and immerse readers in your story’s world.
Perfect. Let me write the full Interactive Series section with “Leaked”:
Interactive Series
A custom series designed to spark engagement and immerse readers in your story’s world.
Series Concept: Start a Leaked series, where you release “documents” from Anna Bright’s world and invite your audience to weigh in on what they believe, what raises red flags, and what they’d investigate next if they were Jamie.
The Pitch Deck. [Share a mock BrightLife investor presentation] “This is what Anna showed investors to raise $500M. What questions would you ask before writing a check?”
The Employee Review. [Share a redacted internal performance review or memo] “An anonymous source sent this to Jamie. What stands out to you as suspicious?”
The Press Release. [Share polished PR language announcing a milestone] “BrightLife’s official statement on their latest breakthrough. What would you dig into if you were investigating this story?”
The Internal Email. [Share a revealing email exchange between executives] “Jamie found this buried in her research. Based on what you see here, what would be your next move?”
The Data. [Share charts, statistics, or timeline with discrepancies] “These numbers from BrightLife’s quarterly report don’t quite add up. What’s the story they’re really telling?”
Partnerships and Collaborations
Strategic outreach ideas to connect with authors, brands and influencers who align with your book’s themes and genre.
True Crime Podcasts. Partner with business-focused true crime shows or investigative journalism podcasts for “Behind the Tech Scandal” deep-dives or reading event collaborations
Business Journalism Platforms. Collaborate with Fortune, Business Insider, The Information, or tech journalists on Twitter/X for “Fiction Meets Reality” discussions about founder culture
Women-Led Media Brands. Partner with The Ringer, The Skimm, or female-focused business platforms for content series on gender dynamics in Silicon Valley
Startup Community Voices. Work with female founders, VCs, or startup advisors for honest conversations about the pressure, scrutiny, and impossible standards women face in tech
Investigative Journalism Organizations. Connect with journalism schools or investigative reporting nonprofits for discussions about ethical reporting, sourcing, and accountability
Corporate Thriller Authors. Cross-promote with Kimberly McCreight, Greer Hendricks, or Jessica Knoll for book bundles or author conversations about women, power, and moral complexity
Interested in a Page to Post strategy for your next book launch or to revive your backlist? I’d love to work with you. Click the link below!
Creative Direction
An overview of the aesthetic direction for your campaign: colors, textures, moods, and design cues that bring your story’s world to life across content.
Visual Aesthetic: Alternate between polished Silicon Valley branding (clean tech aesthetics, BrightLife’s wellness imagery, glossy product shots, minimalist office spaces) and gritty investigative journalism (redacted documents, sticky notes on investigation boards, coffee-stained reporter notebooks, behind-the-scenes chaos). Use a color palette of BrightLife’s signature millennial pink and white contrasted with journalist gray, manila folder beige, and newspaper black-and-white.
Tone & Voice: Sharp, knowing, and just skeptical enough. Your copy should feel like insider knowledge—like you’re pulling back the curtain on the performance while acknowledging the complexity underneath. This isn’t about taking sides; it’s about examining what happens when ambition, gender, and power collide. Think: intelligent, suspenseful, nuanced.
Typography & Design Elements: Mix sleek tech startup fonts (modern sans-serif, all-caps headlines) with old-school journalism typography (typewriter fonts, newspaper layouts, handwritten annotations). Incorporate design elements like investor pitch decks, BrightSpot app interfaces, redacted memo templates, press release mockups, investigation evidence boards, and “leaked” internal documents.
Content Mood: Every post should make followers feel like they’re uncovering something—either falling for Anna’s perfectly crafted narrative or piecing together Jamie’s investigation. Balance aspirational tech culture content (the empire Anna’s building) with investigative intrigue (the truth Jamie’s chasing). Create tension between what looks perfect and what’s actually happening.
Engagement Hooks
Short, strategic prompts designed to spark interaction, deepen reader curiosity, and encourage community engagement.
Get in Position. “Team Anna or Team Jamie? Defend your position.”
Fill in the Blank. “The biggest red flag I ever ignored at a job was ___. Did you eventually speak up?”
Would You Rather. “Would you rather: Build a billion-dollar company with questionable ethics OR expose corruption and destroy someone’s empire?”
Tag Someone Who. “Tag your friend who you could see running a Silicon Valley startup (for better or worse).”
If You Liked... "If you were obsessed with the Theranos scandal, add ‘Anna Bright’ to your reading list."
Scandal Confessional. “What’s something you thought was too good to be true that turned out to be exactly that?”
Character Quiz. “Are you an Anna (vision-driven founder) or a Jamie (truth-seeking journalist)? Take our quiz!”
Caption This. [Share BrightLife wellness content] “Sell us on this BrightLife concept in the captions.”
Bringing it to Life
Main launch goal and the platforms that best support it, plus a quick guide to which content types will perform strongest on each.
Overarching Goal: Position Anna Bright Is Hiding Something as the must-read thriller for anyone fascinated by corporate scandals, Silicon Valley culture, and the complicated reality of women in power—while creating meaningful conversations about founder worship, investigative journalism, and the particular scrutiny female leaders face.
Platform No. 01 // Instagram
Carousel posts designed like BrightLife investor decks that gradually reveal cracks in the narrative—start with glossy promises, end with redacted warnings
Reels featuring “Silicon Valley startup culture explained,” “POV: You’re Anna’s PR team during the scandal,” or “Books that expose the dark side of tech”
Stories with polls about founder culture, question boxes for “What would you do?” ethical dilemmas, and investigative journalism resources
Grid transformation that literally splits the feed between Anna’s curated aesthetic (polished, pink, perfect) and Jamie’s investigation (chaotic, revealing, raw)
Platform No. 02 // TikTok
“POV” videos – “POV: You’re Anna Bright on IPO day,” “POV: You’re the journalist who can change everything,” “POV: You work at BrightLife and found something disturbing”
True crime storytelling about real tech scandals, female founder scrutiny, or “ripped from the headlines” fiction that predicted reality
BookTok trends – “Corporate thrillers that will ruin Silicon Valley for you,” “Books about morally gray women,” “If you liked Bad Blood/The Dropout, read this”
Satire content – Wellness tech buzzwords, founder worship with book tie-ins
Platform No. 03 // Substack
Long-form investigative pieces written from Jamie’s perspective—”The BrightLife Files” serialized expose-style posts that mirror her reporting process
Essay series on journalism ethics, the responsibility of reporting on female founders, or what happens when accountability collides with gender bias
Behind-the-book content exploring real Silicon Valley scandals that inspired the novel, interviews with journalists who have covered tech, or deep-dives into startup culture
Interactive storytelling where subscribers get “leaked documents,” redacted memos, or insider perspectives that unfold across multiple newsletter issues
Discussion threads creating community conversation around complex questions the book raises—when does exposure become a takedown, how do we hold women accountable without feeding misogyny, what’s the cost of innovation?
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Jessica Sorentino specializes in branding and marketing for authors, helping them connect with readers and position their work for agents and publishers. With over a decade in publishing, she transforms stories into lasting brands through strategy, connection, and visibility.
