"What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself." - Abraham Lincoln
So, I've been thinking about publicity and the best way to do it. There are all sorts of things I could do--more, in fact, than I have time to do even if I didn't have to go to work.
Problem is: what would be best?
Next problem the first problem brings up is: how do you determine what "best" means?
I'd have to say that the best answer to the latter question is what lets the most people know about my book in the least expensive manner possible. Good definition, yes? But how do I measure it? How do I know how many people know about my books already?
Thus, I fall back on another definition: what increases my sales by the largest amount for the smallest cost?
So, that definition down, what is the best option?
I'm leaving it up to some of my readers, some of whom I know have successfully done this before. Please give me your ideas.
I'm going to make this a contest, in fact. Here's the deal: if you give me an idea that I use, I'll send you a copy of my soon-to-be-published novel for free.
Even better, I'll send you a copy of the novel for free (unless your name is Leslie and you've already won a copy, in which case you get that novel AND another for free) AND I'll give you credit and discuss the option on the blog at a later date.
All you have to do is leave a comment to this blog post suggesting a GREAT book promotion idea.
-TOSK
A great book promotion idea would be not only to include feedback from others, but work with other writers to do giveaways, participate in forums and interact with people interested in the topic you are writing. Too often I have seen authors tweet or post on Facebook over and over again about their book, only to get few to no sales. Interaction in social media is the best way to really reach your audience. If you build that "following" and use your networking skills with other authors, the people you hope to reach will be interested in your book, which will generate sales.
ReplyDeleteI just came across a couple of options that may be really great for you. First, publish your book free on kindle for 10 days, then put it out there at the regular cost. It's a great hook to get more people familiar with your work. What I have seen them doing on kindle is at the end of the book, they have a great intro to the next book, and people buy that one. Be sure to get lots of customer reviews during the free stage. The other idea is one I'm going to work towards myself. It includes LinkedIn and I just found a sweet little trick there. I'll have to write a whole post on that one. Once I have it on my blog, I'll send you a link. You are gonna love this one.
ReplyDeleteI think you should give more books away to people named Leslie because Leslies like to recommend books they like to other people.
ReplyDeleteReally, though, I know nothing about marketing or publicity. My suggestion would be to see what would be entailed in giving a little talk at a local gaming/comic shop or looking into being a guest at a local con. We have at least three fantasy/sci fi cons in our little neck of the woods, so I am sure there are some near you as well.
Some great ideas here. I'm actually rather tempted to do a "Leslie" giveaway just for the fun of it. One of my favorite cousins is a Leslie on my dad's side, and I haven't connected with her in years. The convention idea is a good one as well, and I'm gonna see if the SheVaCon (speaking of your neck of the woods) idea I've got will work out.
ReplyDeleteCarla, I look forward to seeing your post. The giveaway idea I've heard good things about, but since I don't control the pricing of my novel it's tough for me to pull it off.
Megan, I've been working with the social media thing for a while. I understand what you are saying, but it's tough to find the time and energy to push your social media presence out there while still holding down a 50-60 hour a week job and writing future books, too. Still, I keep at it.