The Year of Living Authorly: Post 7 Conventions-Promoting and Touring
A caveat regarding this post: This is one aspect about conventions that I've not been involved with until now. Some of promoting and touring can come down to doing a lot of what I've been talking about in other convention posts, like being on panels, and presenting a professional image, but the active promoting of a book? Well, this is where I am learning, just like you are.
With that in mind, let me tell you about some of the things that I have learned. Let's start with promotion. It is GREAT if you can have a giveaway for a convention that will remind people that your book exists, and that they might want to look it up to buy it. I've seen bookmarks, pens, pencils, cards, buttons, all manner of items. The most successful freebies I've received from authors go to Mary Robinette Kowal for her fans with card attached to advertise her historical fantasies, Jim C. Hines for his Jig the Goblin tattoos, and Ann Leckie for her spaceship lanyards. Swag should be cost effective (not too expensive), but memorable. So. I am currently looking into Egyptian swag, as The Vessel of Ra has a definite Egyptian vibe. It would perhaps also be good to go with something alchemical, or shadow-y. Here are some ideas that a casual search of the Internet has yielded.
Egyptian pencils
Team Drusus or Team Khun buttons or lanyards
Egyptian stickers
Egyptian tattoos
Egyptian beaded bookmarks
So, I will let you know whatever little thing I decide on. First, I'm waiting on my cover image, and then I will start planning.
***
Touring. Again, I'm in new territory. I think going to a convention can give you an opportunity to be in an area already, and if you're in a city, you might take some time before, during, or after the convention to visit a bookstore nearby. I will be playing with this as soon as the book comes out. For example, I could be in Minneapolis for a convention, and then make arrangements to have a Thursday night or a Sunday night signing with a local bookshop. Another idea I am playing with for summer of 2018 is a tour to several cities on one of the coasts. As I learn what are good tips to set this up, I will share.
***
Next time, I'll talk about touring. What have I heard about what works best? Stay tuned.
Mirrored from Writer Tamago.