One day you want to actually sit down and
write a book, you have a terrific idea and you just know it is going to be
great! You might be right, but the only thing to do to find out for sure is to
produce the book AND make sure people know about it.
Don’t wait to start the hard work –
build your “author platform” now, long before the book is complete and seeking
publication. Start an author blog and use it to post interesting snippets that
would attract the audience you are writing the book for. It doesn’t matter if
the book is fiction or non-fiction, choose topics relevant to your story. And don't try to ignore YOUR responsibility, whether your publisher helps or not, and especially if you are self-pubbed, YOU have the responsibility to promote your book — YOU have more at stake in the book's success than anyone else.
For example, let’s say you are
writing a historical novel that takes place during WW1, post subjects that
would attract potential readers might include military life (any era), European
history, politics through the years, the family life of Archduke Franz
Ferdinand of Austria, WW1 era munitions, or medical innovations during WW1 (to
name a few). These topics will create interest in YOU as an author and will
draw in the audience that would be interested in reading (AND buying) your
book.
Participate in social media and develop
a list of followers. A quick list of do’s and don’ts – be friendly; hang out on
sites of interest to your targeted audience (historical novels, romance [?], military
buffs, nationalities involved in WW1, or emergency medicine [since many
innovations came from the battlefield]); LISTEN to others and respond, it is
not all about you; be honest but always polite, be honest means don’t pretend
to be something you are not; if it’s something that won’t support a positive
reputation then do not post it (written or in pictures); and be a constant, don’t
simply lurk but be an active participant.
An easy way to keep your private life
(still do NOT post embarrassing or negative things even on a private page) from
your writing life on sites like FaceBook is to keep your timeline private (seen
ONLY by those you have accepted as friends) and open an Author Page. FaceBook
pages are always open, are terrific ways to promote yourself, and have
analytical capabilities so that you can see which posts have more impact, help
you decide when to make posts, and you can even pre-schedule posts for the most
opportune times. Create a page on FaceBook from your timeline, use the drop
down menu under the triangle on the right of the bar under your cover phonto.
If your book is already published,
don’t be discouraged, you are not too late. Build your blog AND your website
and get involved on social media sites. Posting snippets or teasers from your
books will help grab the attention of readers, occasionally post buy links but
news about your book is more important than selling it. Everything else still
holds, it is still not all about you, and go where your audience hangs out. Build
a dynamic tagline, between five to seven words, that you can use for your book and
use it frequently. Write great blog posts like WHY you wrote the book, tie the
plot into a significant current event, tell your readers about YOU, and invite responses
by asking relevant (to the book) questions, etc.
Writing
Exercise: (1) Write one to three catchy “Tag Lines” to use for your
current WIP, one of your published works, or the last book you’ve read. (2)
Write ten Tweets (140 characters or less) promoting your new book. (3) Choose
an eight to ten sentence snippet that could be used as a teaser for your new
book.
Writing
Prompt: Search for “Trending Topics” (Twitter, Google, etc.), make
a list of five topics that can be tied to your current WIP, one of your published
works, or the last book you’ve read.
Challenge
Assignment: Write a 300 to 350 word post (1) Why you wrote your latest
book; (2) A short author bio, be sure to mention what makes you qualified to
write about this topic; or (3) Why is your book relevant to a current trending
topic?
