I\u2019ve been silent for a few days. I spent the weekend helping out my daughter who is recuperating from a badly broken leg. All is well. <\/p>\n
And did I do any book promotion while I was gone, you might ask? Of course you would ask that since I constantly teach and preach that authors promote their books wherever they go. I nag that you should find opportunities to promote your book in every situation. So, did I follow my own advice? Yes, to a degree.<\/p>\n
I left my daughter a handful of bookmarks promoting my novel, \u201cCatnapped\u201d and suggested she hand them out to visitors. She\u2019s very social and has many people coming in and out. It\u2019s like Grand Central Station there at times and she\u2019ll have fun giving little gifts of my bookmarks to those who come to visit. If the circumstances had been different, I may have also visited local bookstores, pet stores and libraries, while there this weekend. I would have arranged ahead of time to meet with a book club or writers group in the area or maybe set up a one-day workshop at the library along with a radio interview prior to the workshop date.<\/p>\n
My daughter is into horses (which is how she broke her leg, by the way) and my novels do include horses. The second book in the Klepto Cat Mystery series, \u201cCat-Eye Witness,\u201d has a stronger horse influence, so when it is up and running on Amazon (soon, very soon) I will more actively promote to her horsey friends. I\u2019ll leave bookmarks at feed stores, have my daughter hand them out at horseshows and ropings and maybe arrange to do a little presentation for the horse and cat enthusiasts in her town.<\/p>\n
Now it may sound like this is all about me. But I\u2019m only using me and my mystery novel(s) as an example to give you ideas for promoting your own book. I know that many of you who write and publish fiction are absolutely stuck when it comes to book promotion and I often use my experiences to help you get unstuck\u2014to give you hope and ideas for getting word out about your wonderful book.<\/p>\n
We welcome your promotional experiences and ideas with fiction and also memoirs\u2014another hard sell for most authors.<\/p>\n
While I was helping out my daughter, I checked my emails on my iPhone and found one from a book reviewer who had just written a detailed review of \u201cCatnapped\u201d and posted it at Amazon and other places with 5 beautiful bright stars. Made my weekend.<\/p>\n
And this did not happen by accident. In most cases, reviewers don\u2019t just find my book and decide to review it. Although this does happen on occasion, generally, the author must seek out appropriate reviewers and tell them about their books. <\/p>\n
Sales for your fiction or nonfiction book are hugely your responsibility. This blog and my enewsletter along with my last three nonfiction books focus mainly on helping you to successfully promote and sell your book. <\/p>\n
Learn more about my books here: http:\/\/www.matilijapress.com<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up for my enewsletter, \u201cPublishing\/Marketing News and Views\u201d here: http:\/\/www.patriciafry.com<\/a> <\/p>\n