Some first time authors (myself included) may feel overwhelmed when they think about publicizing and marketing their book. Some might even shy away from these topics because writing that comes from your heart shouldn’t be all about the money right? Well, yeah if you are writing solely for the money then in my opinion you’re in it for the wrong reasons. But let’s not forget that writing is or at least can be a business. I want to become a career novelist, which means that to support myself I’ll have to sell my books.
That can be an intimidating task (I know it is for me!) especially when you’re supposed to start building a market for your book two to three years before it is published. What do I mean by building a market? I don’t mean that one doesn’t already exist for the genre that you’re writing in or the subject matter, just that one doesn’t exist for your book. So you have to generate some buzz. How do you get people invested and/or interested in a book that you have not finished writing yet?
You’re reading one example! One way to generate interest in you and what you want to sell is to start a blog or website. Share your ideas or thoughts or writing with others. Let them get to know you and your voice. Give them a reason to get invested. Though if you are planning on publishing your book by the traditional route then I would suggest not posting it online. This can make copyrights tricky, so I’d stick to posting works that aren’t from or part of your novel. Depending on the genre of book you’re crafting, though, an excerpt here or there might not be a bad idea. Just make sure you research it properly before you decide anything.
Social media can also be a great tool. I have an Instagram, Facebook page, and Twitter account dedicated to myself, my writing, and/or my website. To be honest I often forget to update them but I’m sure that you are much more savvy then me and can run your social media accounts more efficiently.
Another thing you can do is try to seek out and speak to the right people. You may just get lucky. I told my academic adviser that I wrote a book and he contacted the publicity adviser at my college who then wrote a news release on me. I owe both those men a huge thank you because that’s wonderful publicity for me! Hopefully It’ll generate some buzz and interest in myself and my writing. In case anyone is interested….
Of course, there are other things and different steps that you can take then what I outlined here. I encourage you to do more research and check out places like Writers Digest and The Book Doctors to search for more advice.
Fictionverse 