Promotion

I wrote Heart of Stone; I sold Heart of Stone; now Heart of Stone has been released. Yikes! I've hit the dreaded area (at least in my mind) of PROMOTION! What to do? How to do it? How to talk about my book without sounding prideful or superior. Well, I've discovered that we can find plenty of help out there, if we just look for it.

Promo Paks, Nearly-Free Marketing for Authors by Janet Elaine Smith: This is a must-read book for authors with an e-publishing house. Ms. Smith tells us how to get our books "in demand instead of on demand." She takes us from Chapter 1: My Dream, To Be On The Shelves; through Reviews, Chats, Press Releases, Radio Interviews, Book Signings, Virtual Book Tours, all the way to Chapter 28: Janet Elaine Smith's Top 10 Marketing Tips. I've read Promo Paks, highlighted points that I think I can make work, and read it again. Anyone, who wants to learn more about promoting themselves and their book should read Promo Paks.

Plug Your Book! Online Book Marketing for Authors, by Steve Weber: Another good tool for learning promotion, although not as easy a read as Promo Paks. Mr. Weber goes through some of the same points as Ms Smith, so I tried to concentrate on the different avenues he suggested. A whole chapter is dedicated to Electric Word of Mouth. According to Mr. Weber, "Amazon has demolished the barriers to book sales." He explains that "Amazon is ground zero for your online campaign." Another chapter is on "Amazon Bestseller Campaigns" and how to make the list. Web sites, blogging, social networking, etc. In my humble opinion Plug Your Book! will help the struggling published author to learn the ins and outs of self-promotion.

The Frugal Book Promoter, by Carolyn Howard-Johnson: This book was a USA Book News: Best Book 2004 Award Winner. Third on my list only because I'm going in order of ease of reading, in my opinion. The Fugal Book Promoter is full of information. I found Chapter 2 to be particularly intriguing--Learn To Play the PR Game. Other chapters caught my attention: Build Your Media Kit Before You Need It. Creative Promotion Items gives suggestions on where to find such items and teaches us to Learn Wholesale Buying. (Remember, though, that the copyright date on The Frugal Book Promoter is 2004, so some things may have changed since then.)

Anyway, I think you get the idea. An E-published author has to take on much more of the responsibility of promoting sales of their book. We can't just take for granted that people will find our written work, and buy it. Let's face it, there are so many for readers to choose from. Something has to draw their attention to what our book offers. Good writing is the first step; promotion is the on-going act of garnering interest in our work.

Okay, now I've read the books....I guess it's time to put what I've learned to work. Wish me luck! Look for Heart of Stone at The Wild Rose Press website: http://www.thewildrosepress.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=983&zenid=30776d7a1c9d95ba9c70aef8c40dc671

And, just one more thing! A big thank you to one of my readers for leaving this comment:
Wow that is a great book. I did not want to stop reading.
Patsy

Thank you so much, Patsy, for reading Heart of Stone and letting me know how much you enjoyed it.