Saturday, July 11, 2009

The Price of Promotion

Working on: ...I keep using my write time to look for houses
Waiting on: word on the uber-classic romance I gave my ultra-modern editor (insert nail biting here)
Mood: exhausted and praying the house I want has a clean mold test!
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Writing is a solitary job. When writers do go out into the world, it's usually to mix with other authors who won't call the loony bin when you talk about your hidden werewolf baby (thanks Lynn) or call the cops when you say you need a way to kill someone with a knife and not let it get too bloody (thanks Connie).

But sitting at home with your laptop doesn't sell books. (DARN!) Sometimes you can get by with ads and word of mouth, sometimes you have to be more active and haunt readers on blogs, forums, yahoo groups, myspace, twitter, facebook...

You can promo to the point where writing takes a back seat. No one is happy when that goes down. It's important to find a balance between flashing your book and letting it fade away. If anyone figures it out let me know. In the meantime, here's the top 10 list of free promo I use whenever I have a new release.

1. Yahoo groups
2. Getting your friends to blog your book (thanks, Romance Divas!!)
3. Contest / giveaways
4. Book reviews -- these trickle in slowly but they always make my day
5. Author interviews
6. Free Reads -- nothing is better than the Romance Divas ebook challenge
7. Online chats -- these are so hit or miss, though the CoffeeTime Romance one I did had great people.
8. Reader groups (Manic Readers, The Romance Studio)
9. Forums
10. Guest blogging

2 comments:

Minnette Meador said...

Great list, girl... I'd add some non-Internet promo too:
Book Signings
Book Clubs (if you can get the book store to do it)
Leaving Book Marks at Book stores
Chat up EVERYONE you meet about your book (it gets less painful the more you do it - well, for you anyway)
TV/Radio Interviews
News Releases
Articles in small hometown paper
Etc., Etc., Etc.

Of course, as Jenna said, you can go a little promo crazy...not that I have that problem...

Genene Valleau, writing as Genie Gabriel said...

Thanks for the lists, ladies! I'm saving these ideas for when I start promoting again. (After finishing house and yard projects, selling this house, and getting resettled. I feel your pain, Jenna, and know Minnette just went through this again. :)