This week, in preparation for my upcoming novella, I thought I would ask your opinion on marketing. I have done a little research and found a few ideas that appeal to me.
1. Social media. Of course, we already do this, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading my blog, and I wouldn’t have written it. 2. A contest with a twist. There is a point in my story where my hero tells the heroine to be quiet and yell if she gets into trouble. She’s just about to ask how she can keep quiet and yell at the same time when he takes off. Perhaps a contest for “The best comeback you never said” might be an idea or maybe “The best comeback you ever heard” could be better. 3. Blog interviews with other romance writers. I like the idea of connecting with, and helping to promote, a fellow author. 4. Garnering reviews – I’m a bit fuzzy on how to accomplish this, so if any of you have any advice I would be grateful. 5. Attend conferences and book signings. This is already a problem for me because I’ll be in London in August and can’t attend the When Words Collide Conference in Calgary. (This is a real bummer because many of the wonderful writers from ARWA will be there and I so wanted to connect with them.) And I have no idea about book signings, especially as I will be e-published and am not sure how that would work. I can also imagine sitting there, all on my lonesome, drinking coffee – sigh. Okay, that’s as far as I’ve got. I know it’s pitiful. So, for all you authors out there I have to ask, what do you do? What works for you and what doesn’t? And for the readers, I want to know what promotional ideas have caught you eye? Have there been any? Or do you just pick books based on their covers at the bookstores. If you buy eBooks what prompts you to take a chance on a new author? I would love to know what you think. If you don’t feel comfortable leaving your opinion in the comments section please feel free to go to my contact page and leave me a private message. I want to thank you in advance for taking the time to tell me your opinions. I will share any ideas in a later blog. Here’s the final cover from The Wild Rose Press cover artist, Debbie Taylor. You can see her work on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dca.graphics or go to her website www.DCAGraphics.com 2/8/2014 12:31:32 am
The contest with a twist sounds like fun, but it may also intimidate some people from responding. If you have a contest, think about giving away something other than your book (like a gift card, etc), so then people won't postpone buying your book in case they win it. I haven't started trying to market yet, so I have no advice. However... although we'll miss you at WWC, please send us some promo material. We're going to be having a party one evening - V has all the details - honouring all ARWA members who have had books published this year, so we want to make sure you are represented! Also... if we do some author readings, perhaps someone could read from your book for you? It's months to WWC so we can discuss all this later. Just wanted to give you time to think about it!! Congrats on the book. 2/10/2014 01:28:17 am
Yes, I agree the contest sounds great. My initial reaction was - 'why would anyone let you be in charge?" Linked In groups is a good place to start with doing interviews and reviews with other authors. To keep it simple - join romance groups as I ended up with a whole bunch of different genre interviews and reviews. (Authors there will review each other's books - and put reviews on Amazon).
Marlow
2/13/2014 02:24:27 am
I want to thank those of you who took the time to share your hard earned experience with me. I will revisit this topic when I have some first hand knowledge to share. Then, hopefully I help others as you've helped me. Comments are closed.
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