Thursday Thirteen #4 "Thirteen Ways I Hope to Market Myself as an Author"
I have been thinking a lot lately about marketing. I have to say, it’s not my strong suit. I decided that to help me organize my thoughts and in hopes that either I might give others ideas, or ya’ll may have suggestions, that is what I chose to do my TT about this week.
Thirteen Ways I Hope to Market Myself as an Author
1) My blog. The issue is drawing readers. Not just occasional readers, but regular readers. TT helps a lot. It’ll help more if I can find a way to get people to read other things on the site when they come for a TT (hint hint), or to come during the week to read. The challenge to that is, making the content interesting ALL week long so they want to come back. I do have some ideas for that. So beside TT, every week I will do…
a) Author Spotlight (every Saturday and some Tuesdays) Dreamtime will spotlight an author with bios, excerpts, and possibly interviews who will stop by over a few days to answer questions. Should be a lot of fun. Many genre’s will be presented. I thank all the people that made our spotlight on Carole McDonnell and Lara Zielinsky so enjoyable. Any of you that missed it might want to take a peek before you go. :)
b) Friday Flashback will be sometimes movies, sometimes videos, maybe even sometimes an all over view of a particular date in time, but all of it fun. I have lots of ideas for this running around in my mind so we’ll see where it goes.
c) As you can see along with the flashback Fridays, we have started Sunday Magic Chats. People are always asking be questions about what I have been learning, and some ever share just as amazing stories about their own personal work I wanted to give a place to talk about that. I’ll pick a subject that has come up that week in other chats, or perhaps is even suggested to me to focus on each week. If you are interested in some magical info and banter please come join us on Dreamtime on Sunday.
2) The other thing I have been considering is a monthly newsletter. News, events, contact info, even some freebie fiction, who knows. I need to see some good newsletters being done by newer writers. The more experienced authors have plenty to put in their, I want to see what the newer authors with successful newsletters are doing. What might be fun is to do a multi-author newsletter.
3) Working on the website. New content regularly. New info on the races I have created, news updates, contests, and also there free reads for visitors beside the excerpts I already have. Maybe flashfic. I added some this week, and hope to do more in the coming weeks. I even found some pics to give some feel for some of the characters. Man, I wish I could draw. I worry whether using the pics is okay for this, or if I have to go somewhere to get pics to use that are like free use….donno. Maybe I am over-thinking the matter.
4) I could even do a separate character blog, or series of character interviews. This could go with website or with even my main blog, but just before a book is coming out to get the readers wanting to know more about the characters. Also continue it after the books is out so the readers can ask the character their own questions. Now sure how it would work, but seems like a fun thought. Or even a blog when a character from another author’s book and one from mine have a debate or duet interview.
5) I admit this is a future blog thing, but it involves group blogs. I’ve seed what has been done on the Midnight Moon Café and I really like that. Also not sure the logistics of something like that, and some publishers have blogs for their authors already anyway. We’ll see.
6) I am already part of mail groups that are writers groups, or marketing, or readers groups. I can do some promoting on these within reason, and because I have been active in many of them I know people are interested in my work. I’d like to learn the best way to approach that so I get the best reaction. All the groups handle that sort of thing differently. Interviews would be fun on them, all day chats or a group author chat too. Groups like Carl Brandon, GCLS, and Broad Universe also help in promotion for my style of work. Creative promos. One I really like is book trailer videos. Some people are just very visional.
7) There is the well known idea of book signing, though not as effective with ebooks unless you can put them on CD’s or something I guess. It’s too bad the amount of brick and mortar stores are diminishing. Readings and author chats are a good way to deal with drawing people to a signing I hear. With the magic flavor of most of my work there are other places like occult shops and pagan groups I can likely present to as well. Tea houses might be cool too. Multi author book signings I hear do the best. I even have gotten suggestions about multi-author charity events. I mean with my glbt work there are some events of that type that would do well too.
8) Conventions are good, though the amount in my area is lower then I’d like. We do have Wiscon which I go to every year. I just need to get a list of one either I know people in my area are already going to, or that are close enough for me to drive. The cost of travel and hotel and tickets can be crazy (plus food at the cons that do not supply it). There I can do reading, panels, and book signings.
9) Giveaways are a possibility for when I go places like the store, the movies, the zoo, anywhere where I might run into possible readers. Business cards, bookmarks, pencils, I guess those things are okay. I’ll want to think of more creative items that match the tone of the book I am promoting, as well as draw attention. I already plan to have a copy of my book with me at all times, visible. *grin* Also creating free giveaways what tie into your book. Not object like I mentioned before, but written piece you create. Stuff you can use for contests.
10) There are some radio shows lately (online podcasts too I think) that are romance and some genre themed content that were looking to do interviews and such. Those might be fun but I hate the sound of my voice. Ick.
11) Sending out copies of the book for review to be done, also hoping some of that expense is lessoned by readers themselves doing reviews as well. Advertising budget is tight with two kids to support.
12) And thinking about it what might be nice is if we author kinda get together on the promo stuff. Example. People local to one convention take promo stuff there for other authors who live to far from that convention to go. Same thing with pimping promo stuff to the place we life where we know they will do some good for author who live further away.
13) One thing I have wanted to do for a long time is write articles. I even tired taking a class in it once, but the teachers was rather self absorbed and technologically 30 years out of date. It was not helpful. I need a simple book to explain how to format an article in for and tech formatting, or someone willing to give me the basics. I mean its not like bloging, it much harder, but it’d be a great way to get taken more seriously to do some non-fiction piece in pagan magazines, and in glbt publications. I mean, to be honest, I have a ton of opinions, and lots of stuff I have learned I enjoy sharing with people. I just want to make sure I can do so in a publishable form and not sound like an idiot. Also flash fiction is supposed to me hot now. I could also look into markets for that. I’ve written a few pieces for anthologies. We’ll see how that goes.
Wow, I hadn’t expected how hard coming up with 13 things for this would be but here ya go. A quick reminder, this week we will be spotlighting two more wonderful Authors. Xakara will be joining us this Saturday and on Tuesday we have Mindy L Klasky who will be talking about her new novel Sorcery and the Single Girl that is coming out that very day. How exciting is that!
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