Author And Book Marketing Tips
Writers want their work to be read by many; it will mean that they can keep on writing for a living and not as a side-line. Starting out is always hard for any first-time writer. You do not know what to do or how best to market your work. You will probably not be able to afford a high-quality, big city P. R. Firm to do your marketing for you. You may not even have an agent. So how do you get your work known?
Some authors have realized there is a great need for information about writing books. They have therefore, cleverly, written books about how to advertise the book you have written. The tips in the books may or may not be useful, but what IS useful is how you have learned about their book in the first place. Make your own web page and fan site. No one needs to know that you do not have dedicated fans doing this for you. Write a blog. Make a funny video and put it on YouTube. Advertise on your social networking sites. Make your technology (especially free technology!) work for you.
You may actually be in a better situation financially if you live in a small town instead of a big city. Someone from a small town getting a book published is big news in that area. Residents will rush out to see what their neighbor was able to create. Local media and papers will focus stories on you, which is always excellent and free advertising. In a big city, no one would care. You must use every single chance you get in order to get your name out there.
You must think about your own image when you promote yourself. Be a professional, above all else. Off-color or non-funny jokes will hurt your image, as well as if you dress like a slob. You also need to know just how much you should tell about your book. If you reveal the whole story, no one is going to bother reading it. Speak intelligently but do not alienate people with intellectual babble. You must be personable and just a tiny bit mysterious while still forcing yourself onto people’s radar.
You must play on everyone’s memories of you. Talk about the town’s influence on your writing, or your high school, or other local celebrities in order to give a place pride. Be humble. Remember that people will know your parents or remember you from school and will be eager to see what you have done.
Promote yourself as much as you can without becoming irritating. Do television commercials and put up posters. Making deals with local businesses can be a great business move. You just want your book to get out there, even if you are not making much money on it yet. It takes a while for books to pass from hand to hand and for viral advertising to happen.