Get ready. Get set. Release!
So your new book
finally has a release date, so what do you do next? Besides the local
Q&A/book signing events don’t forget the power of the Internet. I’m talking
Blog Tours. Get out there, fill out the questions, write a few posts about your
writing experiences, characters, settings, etc., and get out there.
I don’t know about
you, but any time someone asks me what my book is about I can go on for hours.
You have to take that passion for what you’re doing and funnel it through an
assortment of literary blogs. They come in all shapes and sizes, from a few
followers to hundreds—if not thousands—all interested in one thing: your book
genre. Do your research, find a few that fit, sign up, and introduce yourself
and your books. Be selective. Don’t just sign up for the sake of doing it. Make
sure there is a structure to the blog and they have a decent following.
So, you’ve done
all this writing, researched a few good possibilities to sign on with, now
what’s in it for you? It comes down to one thing—Exposure. Nothing more
promised, nothing more to expect. But, exposure is really the name of the game.
Think about how many billboards you drive by in a day. What were the products?
What were the messages? Unless something on that ad captured your attention as
you glanced out the window it was a waste of time on the part of the
advertiser, wasn’t it? Not necessarily. The advertiser got the message out
there, that’s all they were contracted to do. It may not mean anything to you,
but what about the cars behind you? You see where I’m going with this. No
matter what you do only the readers interested in your genre, or protagonist
style, or similar works they’ve enjoyed, are going to be interested in your
book. And of these readers a percentage may purchase the book. Once again it
just comes down to exposure.
The lesson here is
don’t get discouraged. Get out there and fight for those sales. And to keep
your mind off the results, get to work on that next book. Exposure is one thing;
exposure times two increases your presence. Do you have a website? Better get on that right away. A website is an authors best friend.
