Wednesday, January 5, 2011

New Year, New Books; some thoughts on promotion

Since that mystery book of mine is coming out in May, I'm thinking hard and fast about promotion. So many writers have such novel (pun intended) ideas on getting their work known, and sold! All I can do it follow in the footsteps of those writers.


I commend Stacy Juba, fellow Mainly Murder Press author, for thinking up the idea of having guest author blog, as their characters, on what the character was doing twenty-five years ago--this to promote her book last year called TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO. She has an equally brilliant idea for her new novel, SINK OR SWIM, which contains reality TV elements in the beginning. You'll have to read her blog in February to see!


In fact, it was probably Stacy who got me signed up for a group that just put out a promotional tool that includes me. It's a series of anthologies consisting of first chapters, offered free. For me and at least one other writer, a short story is substituted for the first chapter, since I'm marketing a short story collection right now. Joel Blaine Kirkpatrick put it together. He's working to get these onto Amazon, but publicizing elsewhere meanwhile.


I'd like to hear about creative ways to get word out about books you like, whether or not you've written them. What has made you buy a book? Or check it out from the library? What turns you off from wanting to read a book?

My own efforts to market my short story book so far have consisted mainly of a few guest blogs. (I should have one coming out at http://noveladventurers.blogspot.com/ this month!) My efforts for the novel are more organized and I hope to be ramping them up as May approaches.

(Since I'm talking about marketing, I should give my own links here, just in case someone who wants my short story collection doesn't already have it! A PATCHWORK OF STORIES as ebook or paperback. Also on Amazon as Kindle ebook and paperback.)

4 comments:

  1. Oh, I think that you just need to set up a table down at Louis Mueller's Barbeque with a stack of books and a pen. You might not sell many books, but it sure would make for a tasty signing event. Hardest part would be to keep the sauce off the pages.

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  2. That is NOT a bad idea! I just might ask them about that. We're pretty good customers. There's a new place in Taylor called The Mimosa that might work, too.

    Thanks, Ricky, for the good ideas!!!

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  3. Thanks for the mention, Kaye! You're doing a great job on promotion with your blog. I'll bet you already have a bunch of readers eager for the new book to come out, me included!

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  4. Those are kind comments, Stacy--much appreciated! I hope you're right about the bunch of eager readers. :)

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