Our first guest author for Cozy's August Promotion Month special is Scarlet Rose author Marie Tuhart who is offering a special giveaway for commenters today and tomorrow! See details at the bottom of her post...
Marie Tuhart can't remember a time when she didn't have a book in her hands. A voracious reader since childhood, she has a TBR pile so big that she finally gave up and rented storage space! Though her family doesn’t really understand the stacks of books in her study, or the way Marie will stare off into space when she's thinking of yet another sexy scene between her hero and heroine, they support her completely in her writing endeavors. Marie is published with The Wild Rose Press in the Scarlet line and enjoying every second of writing on the wild side.
Welcome, Marie! Take it away....I was talking to another writer friend of mine about all the things I've been doing to promote my books and she looked at me and said “Why don’t you just write the book and forget the rest.”
I sat there stunned and after a few minutes realized that “just writing the book,” isn’t good enough anymore. Let me explain.
Throughout the late 70’s, 80’s and even in the beginning of the 90’s, writing a good book was enough to get you a publishing contract and make some money. Admittedly the business wasn’t as competitive as it is now, and there wasn’t other media that competed against books. Yet, there was a change in the mid 90’s that by 2006 I realize has made an impact even if people don’t realize it. And that is self-promotion.
In years gone by, the publisher took care of almost all promotion for you books (now remember there wasn’t much promotion needed, books were flying off the shelves), even some publishers sent you promo materials for any talk you were to give, or to give to your local bookstore, or to give out at signings. Some author did their own promotional material, but on a much smaller scale than today. Now, publishers are looking for the authors to do that. Authors are now more responsible for selling their books and themselves.
More and more publishers are looking for authors who are willing to do promotion on their books, be it by a website, a blog, participate in a publisher sponsored website or blog, or other media. I’ve noticed a trend in the past few years where if an author doesn’t “promote” herself, some publishers are more reluctant to renew a contract.
While a part of me understand why a writer doesn’t want to do this, as it takes away from the actually writing of the book, I can also see why it's necessary.
There are a few basics things an author can do that won’t cost you a lot of money, just some time and effort. And I can already hear people saying, “but time is money.” I agree with you, just think about devoting a few hours a week. Even ½ hour a day on the some of the basics listed below.
WebsiteYou don’t have to have an elaborate website or a fancy one. A simple website can go a long way in promoting an author’s books. You could get away with a website that has your bio, back list of books and upcoming books, plus a guestbook so you know who your readers are. Make sure to do updates at a minimum every 3 months (4 times a year) to let people know what you’re up to. There are plenty of sites that have free web hosting, and even software to help you create your own website.
Publisher Blog/WebsiteAlmost every publisher has a website now, make sure you are a link on their website. And they also have blogs that they invite their authors to participate in. Some publishers like eHarlequin have reader boards, on-line reads and such that they ask their authors to participate in.
Now here are some items beyond the basic’s and can cost you more time and money.
Professionally designed web siteNot all professionally designed websites will cost you fortune. Many professionals offer their services for reasonable costs. Plus if you’ve already designed the basic site, it makes the update or redesign easier.
BlogNot everyone wants to and that’s fine. It is another way to get your name out there. But only blog if you want to or if you’re not going to update your blog regularly make sure you say that in your blog, because there’s nothing more annoying to a reader than to go out to a blog that haven’t been updated in months.
Or create a group blog with other writers in your sub-genre, create a schedule for each person to blog. Depending on how many people you have, you may only have to post a few times a month.
NewsletterI didn’t put this under basic, because you have to cultivate readers before you can really use this tool to its fullest potential. This doesn’t have to be something big. A simple newsletter announcement when your new book is being released, to announce a book signing, that you’re giving a workshop, things like that. And you can do this either by using a Yahoo Group or other list server.
Promo ItemsWhile some people do very elaborate promo items, you don’t necessarily need to do that. It’s simple and relatively inexpensive to do things like:
Return address label with the name of your book, your name, the ISBN and release date. You put that on every piece of mail you send out and think about how many people see it. You never know who reads the books you write.
Business Cards and calling cards. It’s the same concept, the name of your book, your name, ISBN, release date and possibly even upcoming books. I’ve know people who use these to give out at book signings, workshops, and conferences. I’ve also seen people who will leave it with the tip at a restaurant. It’s an easy and quick way to promote yourself.
Bookmarks/PostcardsThis is something I've done since my first book. They're easy to hand out and carry with me. And in talking to readers, they like bookmarks. I also find them easy to mail out to conferences for goody bags and to mail to those on my newsletter list.
There are a variety of sources you can use, but remember you have to judge the quality of the product. You want something that looks not only nice, but professional. If you can get a company to send you a sample product that's great, you'll get a feel for their product. Also look at how much you have to provide to the company. Some you have to do all the design work yourself, others you send them the files and they do design for you. The more work you have the company do the more it will cost you. I've noticed for myself, now that I've established a relationship with one company, they are giving me discounts on every order.
PensNow these can be a little more expensive depending on what you want. Again, you can give these out wherever you want. Grocery store clerks, at a book store, conferences, workshops, to your neighbors, at the day job, anywhere someone needs a pen.
There are more expensive promotions items such as: mouse pads, key chains, magnets, notepads, etc. But remember the more expensive you get the less money you have.
ContestsMany writers run contests on their web sites and offer prizes. It's all up to you.
Chat SessionsNow this could come under basic, but I know that some people are not comfortable doing chat sessions. Again, this is a way to get your name out there, talk with readers and other writers. Plus many of the chat session have giveaways to those who attend, usually the participating author’s book. It’s a great way to pick up a new reader.
WorkshopsNow depending on your personality you may want to do talks or workshops at your local RWA chapter, conferences, at your local library, hold reading groups at a bookstore, on-line workshops, it all depends on you.
FacebookMost writers probably already have a Facebook page, I didn't have one until I sold my first book. I did this because I felt it was important to connect with readers and writers. How much you post and what you post is up to you. And remember if you play games on Facebook to set a timer so you don't lose the day playing games and not writing.
TwitterTwitter can be a real time suck, but you can get good information. Again, this is a place to connect with readers and writers. Again, setting a timer can help you keep on track.
TimeTime is a precious commodity to a writer. This is where your own determination and drive come into play. You are in control of your schedule (most of the time anyway). Decide how much time you can take to spend on the basic items. The initial set up of a website, getting on your publishers blog, sending a link to your website out to everyone, and cultivating readers for a newsletter may take more time, but once it's done, the updates won’t take you any time at all.
You may choose in the beginning to spend 5 hours on Saturday a night between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. designing your website, because the house is quiet, and you don’t have to get up on Sunday morning. Or you may spend a half-hour for two weeks straight. Then you go on to the next non-writing project.
Then key is, writing and doing what you need to promote your books and your brand. Being a writer is not easy and as the old cliché goes: “if it was easy everyone would be doing it.”
And I'm going to add one more thing, writing quality books and getting them out to readers is the best promotion. Never forget you are a writer.
Thank you, Marie, for the excellent post! If you would like a bookmark and post card, post your email address in the comments and Marie will contact you directly. Also anyone who comments today or tomorrow will be entered a win a box of romance books from various authors!
The winner will be drawn on Wednesday, August 3rd via the True Random Number Generator at Random.org. (You must be 18 years or older to enter; chances of winning depend on the number of entries.) Stay tuned tomorrow for a glimpse into Marie's latest erotic romance, Quicksilver Ranch: Saddle Up!
Welcome to Day 2 of August Promotion Month here at The Cozy Page - welcome back