Then, slowly, the light dawned. In today's publishing world a writer is expected to help sell their books. That wasn't the case with my first book, published some ten years ago. But with my recent release, Jeanne of Clairmonde, a medieval romance from The Wild Rose Press, I've waded knee-deep into marketing. I've blogged about the war that wrenched Jeanne from her home, the conditions in a medieval prison, and the dog that the French queen (a secondary character in the story) may have owned. But there is much beyond blogging. What I learned may help other writers.
First, get a nice website. Anyone interested in your book wants to know a little about you. And a website can be a "place-holder" for links that connect you to the reader/writer world.
My next piece of advice is to go to conferences. Scour the internet for writers' conferences in your area. I just came from the Historical Novel Society conference, where I met three women who were not writers but readers. Conferences are great networking opportunities. Heck, you can never get enough endorsements for that new release!
Lastly, and probably most important, take advantage of any workshops or classes around. We can never know enough about our craft, and even if you've been writing for years, you can always carry away that little nugget which might be the very thing that makes your next book rise to the top.
You can find Jeanne of Clairmonde at The Wild Rose Press, Amazon, B&N, or your favorite bookstore. For a chance to win a free download of my book, please leave a comment. My daughter will pick a winner at random. Check back in 24 hours to see if you've won.
Visit the blogs below for more chances to win a prize. Remember, winners on all the blogs will be drawn in 24 hours.
http://amberleighwilliams.blogspot.com/
http://www.authorsstudio.blogspot.com/
http://www.bettyhanawa.blogspot.com/
http://www.christineclemetson.blogspot.com/
http://www.findagreatromance.blogspot.com/
http://www.freewebs.com/lesmora/apps/blog/
http://www.freewebs.com/teriwilson/apps/blog/
http://www.grgiall.blogspot.com/
http://www.hywelalyn.blogspot.com/
http://www.jennfrancesca.blogspot.com/
http://www.joycemoore.blogspot.com/
http://www.lianalaverentz.blogspot.com/
http://www.lindahopelee.blogspot.com/
http://www.lje1.wordpress.com/
http://www.noveltrails.blogspot.com/
http://www.plotsandthoughts.blogspot.com/
http://www.tanyahanson.blogspot.com/
http://www.tinagayle.blogspot.com/
http://www.traveltheages.blogspot.com/
http://www.willtravelforromance.blogspot.com/
Posts
13 comments:
Hello! That's great advice for any writer. Since I'm new to the book marketing game (I'm learning as I go), I'm thankful to those authors who give advice to newbies. Thanks!
Thank you so much for participating in our Blog Bouquet. Its a lovely blog.
Rhonda
Great advice! And, I love your cover!
Aren't the workshops and reader/author get together's great? i love them if for nothing more than to meet people.
Great advice.
Love the blog.
Thanks to the internet, promotion of an author and his/her work is so much easier,faster and less expensive than days past. And nothing else will provide the reach to a target audience and find new readers the way blogging and websites do. And, BTW, you are a new-to-me author. Your work sounds pretty good so I will be checking out more of it.
It helps to be able to market in your pajamas via the internet
I know what you mean about the marketing! It's so difficult for me, too, and the whole experience has been like a trial by fire, LOL. I've learned what works and what doesn't, and what works a little. At first, it took unbelievable amounts of time, but I've learned a lot. I guess marketing never really stops, does it? :)
Great post! :)
Some great advice there, Joyce. I've just had my third release from The Wild Rose Press and the marketing doesn't get any easier. One thing I regret is that we don't have the conferences in the UK that you have in the US> Still I network as much as I can and have made some wonderful on-line friends in the process!
Great advice about marketing Joyce. I felt the same way...just when you think writing the book was the hard part!!!
Hi Joyce,
Thanks for the marketing advice.
Also, I too find historical figure's pets fascinating. I made up a (very plausible) dog for King Henry (Irish wolfhound) but wrote a paragraph homage to Anne Boleyn's real lapdog, Porkoy (various spelling.)
Good advice, Joyce. Promotion is so tough, especially on a budget.
I love hearing about people's pets. It gives such insight to the person's character.
Great post Joyce,
Thats one thing I love about the romance author community, everyone is so helpful to each other.
It's like one big family.
~Afshan
Afshan522@aol.com
Love your cover! Skhye
Post a Comment