Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Shared Ideas

     To say I've learned alot from my fellow writers/bloggers about the e-publishing process would be an understatement. It's like taking free online career classes, for which I am so thankful. Blogs like JA Konrath and the others I have listed to the side here (Gniz, Scrittore, etc) have helped me stay plugged in, so thanks guys. I'm learning something new every day.

     But the one thing I feel like we should share more of is marketing strategies. I know that one of the major ways to get the word out about my novel is to have an "online presence" as they say. And I have a list of a couple of sites I can go to and ask for a review or just join in discussions and let my name become familiar, but I think it would benefit all to share information on this subject. Because in my opinion, the first time I'm doing this should make all of the rest of the times easier. Therefore, by the time I release my second, third, and fiftieth books, I should have a working list of sites/blogs/book reviewers to contact and get the word out. It seems like it would seriously reduce my online 'homework' time if we all shared ideas on this. So- any ideas anyone?

     I'll share the idea I've already put into motion for me: Karly Kirkpatrick has a BOOKADAY program on her site. If you email her, she'll feature your book including synopsis, price, where to find it, etc on her website where she currently has over 100 followers -not including facebook and twitter. So I emailed her yesterday and she'll be featuring mine in February. She's also a self-pubbed Kindle author and is more than happy to help out the rest of us by doing this, which is much appreciated. I definitely want more ideas like this!

Also, don't want to leave this part out: My numbers are:
Across the Galaxy - 3
DreamKiller -          4
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4 comments:

  1. Angeline KaceJanuary 25, 2011 at 9:55 AM

    Heather,

    I love this idea! Yes, I think we should all share our ideas on how to get the word out. I am not to this point yet, but from what I can see, it is good to have a Facebook fan page, blog, and twitter. You should also be active on all of these things as well.

    Here is a link to a post on the Kindleboards from one author about what to do. I really like the idea about posting reviews and having your review name as "Angeline author of Decended in Blood", so you read books like yours and review them, and then readers will see your name and look for your book.

    http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,37002.msg664330.html#msg664330

    Angeline Kace

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  2. Angeline KaceJanuary 25, 2011 at 10:11 AM

    Oh, one more thing! Check out this book by Kristen Lamb. Susan Bischoff recommended her on a blog somewhere. I bought the book, but haven't read it yet.

    http://www.whodareswinspublishing.com/WANA.html

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  3. Heather HildenbrandJanuary 25, 2011 at 3:31 PM

    Thanks, I'll check it out, and hopefully have some time to peek around the web tomorrow and find some more bloggers/sites where we can market ourselves.

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  4. gnizJanuary 25, 2011 at 4:43 PM

    Well thanks for mentioning me and yes I do try to point stuff out on my blog, but I have as tough a time marketing as anyone. Still, here's a few pointers, things that I think have helped me. Be active on popular writer's blogs that have good communities (JA Konrath, Amanda Hocking etc). If you mix it up in the comments section and sound interesting, then leave your blog as a signature (using html), you can get some people to drop by your own blog. It's advertising. On your own blog, my goal is to be as honest as possible, and also add value to readers by offering information that's hopefully unique and interesting.

    I started featuring other authors on my blog through 20 Honest questions partly as a way to help authors and partly as a way to get more interest from various authors. I posted an offer to interview people on the Amazon DTP community forum and to this day I get traffic to my site from that one post left weeks ago.

    So its about building a kind of network of things I do that all reinforce each other and help draw traffic to my site and my books. I try to feature my books prominently and find interesting ways to discuss my own work without seeming to salesy.

    Things I could do more of but don't have time for:
    Participating in kindleboards discussions
    Participating in Goodreads author discussions
    Tweeting more effectively (I stink at twitter)
    Following and participating in more blogs
    Reading other authors' work more and reviewing them more

    All of this stuff takes time but the hard work does in fact pay off. It's a grind!

    Best

    Aaron
    An E-Publisher's Manifesto

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