Hey out there!
I wanted to share my thoughts about marketing. We've got a great marketing department at The Wild Rose Press, and I strongly urge new authors to follow their advice. You can have the greatest book in the world, but it won't sell if folks don't know about it.
Be forewarned that marketing takes chunks of time away from writing. Once your book comes out, you have to apportion your time to do both, and its best if you get started before that all important release date. Get your website up and running, link it to a lot of other sites, and encourage people to visit your site. While you're cruising through cyberspace, notice what other authors are doing. Are they holding contests? Are they using a unique hook to steer people to their site? Brainstorm ways to drive people to your website.
Write a writing article or two and get them published. RWA chapter newsletters are always looking for articles from their members, as are most writing magazines. You might write an article for your local paper, or interview an established author in your town or online. These are all ways to develop recognition of your name and your book title.
Develop marketing materials. Maybe it will be book marks or fliers. Maybe you'll chose to write a newsletter each month. Whatever you do, develop a mailing list of people who are interested in what you do. Keep that list current and use it to promote your work.
Make personal appearances. Online this translates to author days and chats. For a print book, this means signings and appearances. Appearances aren't bad for e-book authors either. Conferences, writers organizations, yahooloops, whatever - get your name out there. Have a signature tagline of a line or two that tells about your release and how to get it.
Consider doing a book trailer. This effort will take time from writing, but the multi-media approach may very well pull in more sales. And sales is what publishing is all about. Writing is personal, but publishing is about sales.
Get out there, troops! Sell those books!
Maggie Toussant
House of Lies, available now from The Wild Rose Press
Very helpful, Maggie! Thanks!
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