By request, I’m going to talk about book promotion. And the disclaimer in the title says it all; this is about what works for me. What works for me may not be the best course of action for another writer, or it might. In other words, these aren’t golden rules by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s what I do.
That being said, since MAGIC LOST, TROUBLE FOUND came out in April 2007, the way I promote my books has changed. I now spend less money.
I’ve discovered what works to get my name and the titles of my books out there, and throwing cash at it doesn’t help. That is unless I had big, gobbing wads of cash — then I could buy billboard space in Times Square. But I don’t, so I didn’t.
There’s an author myth that says after you’re published, you spend your time happily writing books and that’s all. That ain’t all by a long shot. You’re also a business person, you do marketing, you do advertising, and you’re a publicist. Yes, your publisher will assign a publicist to you; and yes, they are wonderful — but you’re only one of many authors that publicist handles. By sheer workload, they can’t be everything you think they should be. They take care of distributing ARCs to reviewers and pre-publication press releases, but unless you’re a “big name” author, that’s pretty much it.
So what can you do for yourself? Everything else. Now don’t freak out; if I can do it while writing books, while holding down a full-time job, you can do it too. It’s a matter of not wasting your valuable time on what doesn’t work.
When you write genre faction (fantasy, science fiction, romance, horror, etc.) your target audience is online. A lot. Like pitching a tent and camping there. So for the price of high-speed Internet, you can get quite a bang for your buck. I have an online presence that I work hard (and spend a lot of time) to maintain. I have my website, this blog, Twitter, a Yahoo Group (Raine’s Rangers), and two Facebook accounts (my personal account and another Raine’s Rangers page).
Author website: This is a must-have; no exceptions. When you start querying agents, you need to have a website already in place. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy to be effective; you just need a place for the people you’re querying to go to find out more about you and your work. (A side note about your website URL — If you want a specific domain name, buy it now. It’s not that expensive.) And once you are published, keep your website up to date. Nothing’s worse than having a potential fan go to your site and see that a book’s “Coming in 2009!” when it’s 2010.
I also have Google Alerts set up for my name and each of my books, so that I get an email whenever my name/book titles appear online. Not only is this great for keeping track of reviews and blogs without having to wade into Google and search, but it makes me aware of pirate sites. I forward the offending web address to my editor who passes it on to Penguin’s legal department, and the corporate lawyers go Medieval on ‘em. Of course, there are so many of the little buggers that it’s like playing whack-a-mole, but I do what I can.
An online presence leads to the best way bar none to get the word out about your books.
Online networking.
I meet and talk to people online. If someone reviews one of my books, or is chatting about it on a Live Journal or blog, I do my best to find time to jump in and thank them for the review, or comment on their blog, even if the review isn’t completely glowing. I like honesty. And if enough people are of the same opinion, then it’s a criticism that I should probably listen to.
Introduce yourself to other authors. If you’ve read one of their books and love it, email them and tell them so. We’re all just people, and we’re all neurotic about whether our work sucks or not, so a little praise from a peer goes a long way. All of the authors I’ve met online — and in person — are some of the nicest, most generous people you’ll ever meet. We’re proponents of pay-it-forward and pay-it-back. When one of us has a book coming out, the others will help by pimping that book to their fans. And your fan base will grow.
Appreciate your fans. I can’t say enough about how important this is. I’m incredibly grateful and thrilled (and amazed) to have fans, people who love my characters as much as I do. And I’m downright stunned that some people are actually excited to meet me. I love it and it does all kinds of great things for my ego, but I’m still amazed when it happens. ; ) The success I have is because of all of you. I treasure each and every one of you, and I do whatever I can to let you know that. I respond to fan email within a few hours, if possible; and definitely within two days.
Contests: Everyone loves contests (and prizes) and I try to have one at least every other month, and publicize it on all of my various online venues when I do. People will re-Tweet the heck out of a contest announcement. I’ve picked up many new fans that way.
Book goodies: Go to my “News” page and you can ask for Book Goodies. I have postcards, bookmarks (both signed), and I personalize bookplates. I get my promo stuff cheap from Vistaprint. And I always respond to requests with an email thanking you for contacting me/reading my books, letting you know I’d be delighted to send you bookplates, etc., and approximately when I’ll get it in the mail to you (usually within a few days). It takes time to fill requests, but you all are more than worth it. : ) This goes back to the “Thou shalt appreciate thy fans” paragraph above.
CafePress store: I also maintain a CafePress store with book-related t-shirts & sweatshirts. I plan to add more t-shirts soon. And at the bottom of each t-shirt is “lisashearin.com” So when you all buy and wear my t-shirts, you’re a walking billboard. Thank you for helping with my advertising efforts. ; )
Online interviews: Unless I am simply swamped, I never turn these down the chance to do an interview or guest blog. My publicist at Ace sets up some interviews for me, but when I comment on a blog (after they’ve reviewed my book or added it to their TBR list, etc.), I’ll often get a request to do an interview. They’re fun and I reach new people.
I also have a bi-monthly column in The Writer magazine called Dueling With Words. Not only is it completely and utterly cool to be writing for them (I’ve been reading The Writer since my college days), but with their subscriber base and circulation, I’m reaching a lot of people who may not be fantasy fans, but can be converted.
That’s it. I think.
Coming up tomorrow: What doesn’t work, at least what doesn’t work for me.
Hope this helps!
Wow – lots of great information. I don’t have to worry about this yet, but it’s nice to see what works for people and what doesnt. Always good when you can learn from others instead of reinventing the wheel! Thanks for posting!
Yup, I’ve seen all that work and be true!
Lisa,
This was very interesting. Good for people to know what it takes to be an author these days (along with writing a book!). Love your books!! I have one pet peeve regarding author promotion (which I don’t believe you do) and that is complicated contests for free books, etc. I don’t mind commenting to enter or even retweeting, but sending copies of receipts and joining this and that for 500 more chances drives me crazy. I’d rather buy the book and support the author. I love that you send out book goodies on request and do such a good job maintaining contact with your readers. I for one appreciate it!!
Thank you, ladies!
I agree, Jann. Complicated contests are just too much trouble — for the author and the fans. I like to do contests that anyone can enter without having to jump through flaming hoops of creativity.
Great information. Thanks. Can’t wait to see what you have listed in the next post.
Hey, how well is CafePress working for you?
I’m at the stage in which I’ve received three offers of publication, so I’m looking at these things more seriously now.
I was thinking a CafePress store is a wonderful thing because I’ve talked to several people about Linnea’s books because of the shirts she sent me.
I was thinking it was more about promotion than profit, so I was thinking of just selling stuff at cost.
KimberAn, I sell things a little over cost to help cover the quarterly CafePress “store rent.” It’s only $18.95 per quarter for a “Premium shop,” and it’s always nice if I can sell enough t-shirts to cover it.
L.
Thanks for answering my question. I’m looking forward to what you have to say tomorrow. I’m going to have to look over what you wrote and give it some thought. Some I’m already doing; some I think I need to have a little more cash to do. Again, thanks!
Thanks Lisa.
One question – do you ever go to conventions? SFF conventions are small but devote where I live and authors come to them. Have you ever gone? What’s the experience like?
I’ve only been to one convention — The Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Pittsburgh two years ago. It was great, I had a fabulous time, but it was expensive. Between the registration fee, hotel, airfare, etc. it ended up costing approx. $2,000.
Lisa, yeah, gotta cover that cost too!
I only go to SF cons within driving distance. Only fly if you have to go, or if someone else is paying.
At many SF cons you can ask to be a guest if you’ve been published. Some cons will even welcome self-published authors. As a guest you can get on panels, do readings, and promote that way. It’s a bit pricier, but you can sometimes buy a table in the vendor room at a con.
One thing you didn’t mention is online excerpts. They often accompany interviews, but I’ve also seen them separately. As a book buyer, those excerpts are the next best thing to finding a copy I can actually look over before deciding. {Smile}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
[...] ago, epic fantasy author Lisa Shearin wrote a couple of good posts about book promotion and what has and hasn’t worked for her. The posts really resonated with me, since I was in the middle of [...]