Hello, all! I’m glad to be here today. Katie and I have been talking recently about book promotion. Somehow she’s gotten the mistaken impression that I know what I’m doing. * wink * In all seriousness, I’m winging it, but I am willing to share with you what I have done to apparently look like I know what I’m doing. Like spaghetti noodles tossed at the cupboard, I am hoping some of this sticks.
First though,
authors--published and not--please bookmark Anne Mini’s blog “Author! Author!”
Ms. Mini herself
True story. I found this blog in Summer 2011. I had gotten
quite a few rejections for January Black at that point, mostly form email and
non-response. Anne was posting about standard manuscript format at the time
with a focus on how to present numbers. (Spelled out in most cases for numbers
under 100, if you’re wondering.) She answered a question I had about whether to
use digits or spelling for astronomical coordinates. Anyhow, I completely
reformatted my manuscript after finding her blog. I rewrote my query letter,
synopsis and blurb. The very first
submission I sent after finding her blog got a request for a full manuscript,
and later a contract.
Ms. Mini was recently in a car accident and has not been
posting. Also, her home page has been replaced with a note that says “It
works.” She’s aware of the problem and it might even be fixed by now. Bookmark
her blog either way. When Anne comes back, she may be the single best free resource for writing/editing/submitting
on the whole Internet. She also has a page on Facebook.
Like her!
[Wendy cracks knuckles.]
Okay! Now, onto all the stuff I don’t know. Seriously, I
went about marketing back-assward, playing catch up the whole way. And I’ve
been learning, the hard way, fast.
1. Make
friends before your release.
I didn’t. My pre-launch marketing
involved the Crescent Moon Press author’s group, friends I’ve met on Twitter,
and a few more from Six Sentence Sunday. All writers mind you, whose
acquaintances are writers. This is not a bad thing, necessarily, but reaching readers is important when you’re trying
to sell a book. Since the release of
January Black, I’ve connected with several pages on Facebook.
·
·
Platinum Book Reviews* (https://www.facebook.com/PlatinumBookReviews?fref=ts
·
I’ve starred Platinum Book Reviews because Vicki Rose
Stewart is a woman with whom every indie
author should be familiar. The next best thing to knowing people is knowing
people who know people...and Vicki’s good with people. She’s also a sweet lady
who loves authors. (She’s running promotions in between throwing up cancer
meds, if that telling you anything about her how much she loves authors.)
2. Giveaways.
Some people will say that you
should give away swag opposed to books. It the giveaway is the book, it
encourages people to wait to buy, just in case they win. I don’t subscribe to
that advice. January Black is my
first book and readers don’t know who I am! I’m happy to giveaway my book if it
means that person might talk about my book to other people.
Kristy
Barr, schoolteacher from Bar Nunn, WY, won a print copy of
January Black for
finding and commenting on a hidden excerpt
I didn’t publish January Black to make money. I published because I wanted to share it with more readers than just my close friends and family. I wanted to be able to put “published” on my next query letter. I want to walk through an airport or a doctor’s office and see a complete stranger with my book. If giving away copies builds the kind of audience I need to make that last bit happen, then every giveaway is worth it.
3. Swag.
I love free stuff. Who doesn’t love
free stuff? I’ve tried to come up with cool free stuff. I created a logo for the
tea/book shop in January Black and
put it on coffee cups. I’ve also created cover cards and bookmarks that I can
sign.
I’m also in the process of setting up a CafePress shop where
fans could buy LiberTea and January Black’s logos on T-shirts, coffee mugs,
fridge magnets, and ornaments.
I have given coffee cups as prizes and sent several to Texas
for a book lovers’ weekend at a bed and breakfast. I’m planning to send some of
all of these goodies to Shawna Romkey, who will be attending the RT Conference
in St. Louis. If you’re going, find her!
4. Multi-Author Events.
There’s strength in numbers. Recently, Crescent Moon Press
authors have been teaming up during their book releases, and it’s been very
successful. I figured that if it could generate a lot of attention for a
release, why not a review effort.
Joanne Brothwell, Toni de Palma, Shawna Romkey, and I have joined to
give readers a great deal on our books. All four for the price of one, which
averages out to $1.99 a piece. All the reader needs to do is write a review on
Amazon of 20 words or more to request the next book. It’s a deal that Joanne,
Toni, Shawna and I will think is awesome, and that will generate Amazon reviews
quickly.
That is pretty much what I’ve been doing so far. I’m looking
for more ways to let people know about my book and more cool swag. I just keep
looking for more opportunities and more time to work on my new story ideas.
It’s a day-by-day thing.
About the Author:
Wendy
S. Russo got her start writing in the sixth grade. That story involved a
talisman with crystals that had to be found and assembled before bad things
happened, and dialog that read like classroom roll call. Since then, she’s
majored in journalism (for one semester), published poetry, taken a course on
short novels, and watched most everything ever filmed by Quentin Tarantino. A
Wyoming native transplanted in Baton Rouge, Wendy works for Louisiana State
University as an IT analyst. She’s a wife, a mom, a Tiger, a Who Dat, and she
falls asleep on her couch at 8:30 on weeknights.
About the Book:
Sixteen-year-old genius Matty Ducayn has never fit
in on The Hill, an ordered place seriously lacking a sense of humor.
After his school's headmaster expels him for a small act of mischief,
Matty's future looks grim until King Hadrian comes to his rescue with a
challenge: answer a question for a master's diploma.
More than a second chance, this means freedom. Masters can choose where they work, a rarity among Regents, and the question is simple.
What was January Black?
It's a ship. Everyone knows that. Hadrian rejects that answer, though, and Matty becomes compelled by curiosity and pride to solve the puzzle. When his search for an answer turns up long-buried state secrets, Matty's journey becomes a collision course with a deadly royal decree. He's been set up to fail, which forces him to choose. Run for his life with the challenge lost...or call the king's bluff.
More than a second chance, this means freedom. Masters can choose where they work, a rarity among Regents, and the question is simple.
What was January Black?
It's a ship. Everyone knows that. Hadrian rejects that answer, though, and Matty becomes compelled by curiosity and pride to solve the puzzle. When his search for an answer turns up long-buried state secrets, Matty's journey becomes a collision course with a deadly royal decree. He's been set up to fail, which forces him to choose. Run for his life with the challenge lost...or call the king's bluff.
Read my Review HERE
Great interview! I am tagging some of the sites!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Wendy!
Loni Lynne
Thanks for stopping by, Loni! Wendy has great ideas - I went and joined all those Facebook groups as I was scheduling this post, lol!
DeleteHey Katie, great guest post! I like the multi-author event. I truly believe there is strength in numbers rather than going it alone.
ReplyDelete