I don’t have an official release date for my book yet, so I know there isn’t a whole lot I can do book wise (like set up blog tours, interviews, post excerpts, ect…) I know my contract manager is going to be in charge of the bigger marketing stuff, but I know I need to take charge of the social media marketing right now. And let me tell you, it isn’t easy. I think I have mentioned before how writing the book is the easy part but marketing the book is the hard part.
So why am I so hellbent on doing pre-release marketing when I don’t even have a date yet? I am aiming to be a bestseller. Perhaps it’s a slightly unrealistic goal, but I figure the higher I set my goals, the harder I’ll work, and in the end, at least I can say I worked hard and I won’t feel like I shorted myself by not doing all that I can. The market is fickle, after all. What’s considered a bestseller one year may not be the next year. Plus, reading is, unfortunately, in decline, and while I don’t understand why people won’t give reading a chance in favor of movies and television shows, all I can do is write the best damn book possible and market the hardest that I can.
What am I doing to get the ball rolling? For one thing I’m updating this blog several times a day to garner more followers and traffic. I also make sure my posts are interesting and that they start a conversation with readers so that way it is easier for them to comment and feel like they are participating. I give out writing tips through my posts, I will talk very personally about my life, and I am really going to get started on doing guest blog posts and interviews. I also want to do more book reviews, but it’s been difficult trying to find the time to read this past week. Next week might be easier.
I am also starting giveaways. Coraline brought in a good following and some decent participation. Because that did well, I think doing a weekly giveaway will be perfect. After all, they’re free books and no one has anything to lose–unlike my marketing job at Southern Siding where we will call the crap out of you if you are a homeowner and sign up to win the car. But that’s a different story. Plus, giveaways allow me to connect with more writers, and meeting new people for me has always been fun. I also love it when people are surprised they won something, especially people who have never won something or think they’ll never win.
Talking some about When Stars Die never hurts either. I’m doing character interviews and will eventually reveal a good summary of what my book is about. Also, I’m beginning to talk more about the current book I’m working on, Stolentime, because I want that to be my next book before When Stars Die’s sequel.
I also occasionally update my Facebook page (I need to do this more), and I participate on Twitter where I do get a good amount of followers each day. I’m also going to do my best to figure out how to use Tumblr to reach out to my intended audience. Last, I participate on writers’ forums because that is where you can meet new writers, engage in topics of interest, and put up topics that allow you to advertise things. I do YALITCHAT, AbsoluteWrite, and Writer’s Carnival. Any more, and I think my head will explode.
As a final closure to this topic, I want to remind you guys that I am giving away two books this week: Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book and Shannon Thompson’s Minutes Before Sunset. You must be following this blog to be considered and must leave a comment to be entered. You can find the post here.
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