BY NANCY KAY CLARK
CommuterLit Editor & Publisher
SORRY, NO silver bullet here — no full-proof way of pulling this off — no easy, quick solution. But it’s worth thinking about nonetheless because whether you self-publish or get picked up by a traditional publisher chances are a lot of the book promotion will fall to you.
The self-publishing gurus will tell you that your author newsletter sent on a regular schedule is a good promotional vehicle. But how do you get people to sign up for your newsletter? Everyone’s inboxes are inundated; everyone is short of time. So, what’s in it for them?
Well, you’ve got to give something away for free to entice them, i.e. sign up for my newsletter and get entered in a draw to win a new iPad, or an autographed copy of my previous book, or a one-on-one online discussion about writing; or sign up for my newsletter and I’ll send you a copy of my chapbook, or a new story, or an extra chapter. When an author already has a bit of a following on social media, this can work well.
But what if you are starting from scratch as a complete unknown? Try getting noticed first. Build up your social media profile. Start a blog. Post some of your short work for people to read and get interested in. Put yourself on youtube reading from your work. Make yourself known for reviewing books on GoodReads. Post pictures of your literary life on Instagram. Look around for opportunities to read in public — there are a lot of literary reading series out there — and if there isn’t join forces with other writers and authors and start your own. What do you have to lose?
Contributors News
Nancy Christie’s new novel Reinventing Rita: A Midlife Moxie Novel is out now.
Gail M. Murray‘s short story/memoir piece, Evelyn the Good Mother, has been accepted for publication in Pure Slush’s Home Lifespan Vol. 7. release Home in April 2023.
