Cross-promotion between members of the writing community
definitely proves out the catchphrase of an old 80s commercial… “they told two
friends, and they told two friends, and…” Word can spread faster than the
proverbial wildfire.
There are two super reasons to get involved in cross
promotion, one is to be a good guy giving a helping hand, the other is pure
selfishness; every time your name is associated with an author who gets
noticed, you get a nod as well. As for helping others, in my own experience, MOST
of the writing community has always been friendly and supportive to other
writers and why wouldn’t you want to be a part of that?
Every small press, new or indie authors is anxious for
reviews. Aren’t you? Each time your book is reviewed, even if the review is
only a 3or 4, it shows that people want to read you and may help influence a
potential reader. Read to feed your soul with words and then pick up a pen and
write a simple, honest and kind review — a review should be honest but gentle,
say what you liked or didn’t like about a book and if you didn’t like something,
explain why. [A reviewer once gave one of
my novels a 3, she didn’t like the style because it reminded her of bestseller Danielle
Steele’s writing and she wasn’t a fan of Ms. Steele’s — BEST REVIEW EVER!].
Even if Amazon won’t post your review (they have ultra-strict
rules), there are still other sources like GoodReads, FaceBook, your own blog,
the author’s blog and other online retail sites. Be sure to “sign” your review
with your pen name and tag-line.
If you have a Twitter account, and YES you should, regularly
go through and Re-Tweet other authors’ promo, they will probably return the
favor. Visit other writer’s blogs, make (intelligent) comments, always log in
when you can so that interested readers can learn what you are about. And then
don’t forget to SHARE on Twitter, FaceBook, Google-plus and more; include the
other writer’s Twitter name if you know it in the Tweet or at least Hashtag it.
Follow other writers on Twitter, especially if they already follow you. These
re-posting, retweeting and genial interactions can, and should, be applied to
all social networking sites.
Occasionally offer to interview another author on your own
blog. Every time one of the other author’s fans comes to your blog, you MAY
gain a new follower and fan for yourself. Even when the new visitors don’t make
frequent visits back, they have still seen your name and, so long as your
landing page says something about you, you have now introduced yourself to a
wider audience. Find other blogs, preferably catering to readers of your genre,
and ask for a chance to be featured on his/her blog as well; both the featured
guest and the blog-owner should be promoting the spot (with, I think, more responsibility lying on the guest).
Everything about cross-promotion is a lot of give-and-take
but don’t mandate a tit-for-tat relationship. Interact with other writers and
let them get to know you, soon you’ll find yourself caught up in a mutually
beneficial promotion connection.
Writing
Exercise: Write approximately 300 words about yourself and what you
write. Remember this “bio” is about you as a writer so unless you write about
hot-topics (like politics or religion), those should not be a main part about
who you are. Include why you write, who has inspired you, and personal
experiences that go into your writing; do NOT include anything you would not
want the public to know. Edit this and save it in a file for future use.
Writing
Prompt: Write down 3 to 5 words that describe your writing and the
stuff you write about. Choose any 2 to 3 descriptive words and work them into a
brief “tag-line” that will accompany your “signature” on reviews, blog
comments, and descriptions on social media sites (for instance my tag-line is “Combining Passion and Suspense”)
Challenge
Assignment: Read a book, preferably from an Indie or new author, and
write a review. Be honest AND kind, if you truthfully can, give a high
score; if you can’t then explain in NON-caustic terms what you didn’t care for.
Criticism should always be constructive. Check your spelling and references,
and submit it to at least one site for publication.
