When I started writing I had no idea how hard it would be to get people to read my books. I also had no idea how hard it would be to get help to promote them, so far that is. But that is the nature of the biz, and I am not alone in this.
All I really want is for people to read my work. Bottom line. I’m a writer in search of readers. I just had designed and printed postcards (250 of them) and am now creating a database of addresses to mail them to. I bought author copies to send out to get reviewed not knowing if the places I send them to will bother even opening the envelope. It’s all unknown.
No worries. I can live in the unknown and willing to do that work regardless because I must try to reach readers. Kim Barnes once told us that writers must be able to live in the unknown because we don’t know which way a novel will take us. She could’ve been talking about book promotion too.
So I took all the advice. Got a blog, a Facebook page for the book, a twitter account, I’m LinkedIn, I StumbleUpon and Tumblr like I’m drunk, and I tell everyone I know.
I figure with only the people I went to college with amounts to a sizable chunk of folks helping spread the word, especially as it doesn’t cost anything to share links and pages and that whole social media reach across the globe. We all extend each other’s reach that way. But, still the question remains. How to reach more readers. To get them to buy my book, which I promise, is excellent.
On my FB Page I posted this: “Hey, educator friends, get an examination copy of FEVER AND GUTS. If you use my collection, I will make myself available through skype, email or, if we can swing it, I’d be happy to visit in person for conversations with your classes. Now that’s a deal. A book with a service tech!”
I would add that with bookstores and reading groups, I’d give you the same great service.
Buy a book, get an author to chat with you about it. Seems like a good deal to me. Share the news with your friends.
