McAnally's (The Community Pub) > Author Craft
Writer Promotion
BigMama:
The only kind of promo material which I think is really helpful is something which will lead you to other works by a certain author. For example, our fan club is producing bookmarks that have a list of the other series our author has written on the back. Many folks are not aware of these books since they were not as popular as her current bestselling series, but they are really worth a look. Many of the fans who have read her newest books are now enjoying her older ones.
P.S. I really love the Dresden buttons. :)
resurrectedwarrior:
*does first post dance*
This is an interesting topic--one that I've wondered about a lot since I started researching publishing. (No. I'm not published. I am a writer, though.) I've read a lot of stuff that says you've gotta promote, promote, promote to make yourself stand out from the pack. It's nice to know that's not always the case.
--- Quote ---Does any of that stuff really make a difference or is it just swimming up stream?
--- End quote ---
I would check out J. A. Konrath's blog. http://jakonrath.blogspot.com Mr. Konrath is a thriller author and VERY into promotion. In fact, he's currently on a road trip doing "drive-by signings" with a goal of visitting 500 bookstores. In one of his more recent posts, he says something like "this is the single most effective thing I've done for my career." Then he goes into all the booksellers he's met and how helpful that will be in selling his books and yadda yadda.
Of course, what he's doing is a bit different from what you were originally talking about. The only promotional item he has are little autographed coaster thingies. No bookmarks. I don't know about amazon pages and email loops or anything like that. But . . . Mr. Konrath has a different perspective on promotion that's worth investigating. And, if nothing else, it's fun to read about the nasty hotels he stays in! ;D
*waves, does dance again, and trottles off*
blue moon:
The subject of J.A. Konrath came up on another writer's forum today. He was quoted as saying that he spends 80% of his time promoting and 20% writing. While promotion is important, that seems a bit excessive. All that promotion comes to nothing if you don't have a next book to put out. And the only way to publish another book is to write another book.
resurrectedwarrior:
--- Quote ---The subject of J.A. Konrath came up on another writer's forum today. He was quoted as saying that he spends 80% of his time promoting and 20% writing. While promotion is important, that seems a bit excessive.
--- End quote ---
80% promoting? :o I hadn't heard that before. Uh. Yeah. That's a lot.
I think I'd die if I played the part of a salesperson /that/ much!!
--- Quote ---All that promotion comes to nothing if you don't have a next book to put out. And the only way to publish another book is to write another book.
--- End quote ---
True, very true. Unless you get your genius gerbil to write it for you. I tried that with my kitten once. Doesn't work very well. : o )
Cathy Clamp:
--- Quote from: Shannon ---Feel free to ask me about this again when the first book comes out in Feb. I might see things differently then.
--- End quote ---
Yell if you do. I'm the queen of promotion because I write CROSS-GENRE books--paranormal romance. That's a hard thing because while the publisher is pushing in one direction (romance), quite often our readers are in a different section of the store (fantasy--probably buying Jim's books! LOL! :D )
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version