So as I sit here, a safe seven months from my release date, I'm watching various friends and acquaintances as they madly dance through the steps required to promote and advertise a new book. It's important, especially for newer authors, to do something beyond just saying 'I have written a book and my mommy says it's awesome' when they have something hitting the shelves. (Although 'I have written a book and Seanan's mommy says it's awesome' seems to carry a surprising amount of weight for everyone but me. Does anybody else out there have a tattooed, foul-mouthed mother who'd be willing to fill that particular role for me?)
So the question becomes, what works? Book giveaways are obviously good things, but also somewhat self-limiting, as I sort of want people to buy things. (Oddly enough, I don't feel like earning back my advance all by myself.) Competitions are also good, providing the prizes are interesting -- and heck, prizes are just lovely things to offer. So what do you think would be a good idea? What kinds of promotion would you like to see? We have seven months to put even the strangest of plans into motion, so sing out!
Direct people to your blog. Because you're so damned fun, even the people who don't normally read the crazy urban fantasy will at least consider reading yourcrazy urban fantasy.
A working website? A working website with a cover and a decent blurb? (A couple of authors' websites I've seen don't have book blurbs or just have links to Amazon, both of which drive me nuts of the 'I'm here, why won't you tell me what your book is about so I can figure out if I'd like it?' variety) I think posting the first chapter if you're allowed to would be an excellent idea as well, as well as posting links to other peices of your writing that may be floating about on the internet-thingy- it will give people more idea about whether your work is 'I could buy that', 'not my thing' or 'OMG I must buy that the second it comes out!'
thoughtful
February 11 2009, 09:38:29 UTC 8 years ago
the crazyurban fantasy will at least consider reading yourcrazyurban fantasy.A working website? A working website with a cover and a decent blurb? (A couple of authors' websites I've seen don't have book blurbs or just have links to Amazon, both of which drive me nuts of the 'I'm here, why won't you tell me what your book is about so I can figure out if I'd like it?' variety) I think posting the first chapter if you're allowed to would be an excellent idea as well, as well as posting links to other peices of your writing that may be floating about on the internet-thingy- it will give people more idea about whether your work is 'I could buy that', 'not my thing' or 'OMG I must buy that the second it comes out!'
February 14 2009, 02:15:29 UTC 8 years ago