Marketing for Authors

Even if an author is signed with big publisher the author needs to be pre-pared to market their book. Most authors I know seem to rely on the publisher to market the book, but you have to help out as well. You want your book to succeed.

A writer friend of mine who lives in Dallas Victoria Scott did a blog post on a young adult blog about marketing. Victoria is one to go to for questions about marketing she has a masters degree in it. 

Book Bloggers
Well the first thing I believe would be the best marketing tool is for writers to connect with book bloggers. You want to be friends with them. See what books they like to read, or if you have the same taste in reading. Since a lot of book bloggers only review books from big publishers ask them if you can mail them a paper copy of your ARC. I prefer the paperback than e-books. A notehr thing to be weary about is if the author is self published there are some book bloggers that will not review a self published book.

A Social Media Platform
Get connected with social media. Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter are your best bets for being a writer. Even if you aren't published yet start your platform now. Now and days most agents want to sign a writer with a platform of some sort. Twitter is good for writers because you can easily find your favorite authors, and Goodreads is like facebook for book lovers. Another thing she recommended was connected all of your social media platforms together so that all your posts go to all of your social media platforms. For those who don't know Goodreads is the best because it allows you to connect with readers.You become friends with writers and readers, and you can see what books you have in common. I've been on Goodreads for a long time now, and I love it. Of course I now review books on my other blog.

Website
A writer should have a website or a blog of some sort. Your website should be kept clean, and simply, and not to over crowed. She recommend Wordpress. Some writers I know use blogger, and then just buy the domain connecting it to their blog. I've tried the free version of wordpress and it's okay you just can't really customize font like you can do with blogger. 

So far this is some of the things she recommend on the post, and while 

Cover Reveal: Model Position by Kitsy Clare

BLURB:

For Sienna, love and art are perilous games. Is she ready to take that gamble?

Sienna is a beautiful, talented artist poised on the precipice of soaring into the glamorous, yet cutthroat Manhattan art scene.

Dave Hightower is a hooked-up, handsome heir to the hippest gallery in NYC, Gallery Hightower.

Erik is the live drawing model with his sizzling green eyes fixed only on Sienna.

Three’s a crowd, so Sienna must make a choice: date Dave and ride the fast track to landing a show at Gallery Hightower and hobnobbing with the art glitterati, or follow her heart and take a chance with Erik, the stunning male model who’s stealing her heart. But Erik has some worrisome secrets, and who in their right mind would make live modeling their career?

Dare Sienna throw away her chances of hitting it big to follow her heart?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

When Kitsy Clare isn’t creating stories on her favorite Mac Air, she teaches speculative fiction and creative writing workshops. She also loves to draw, travel, read spicy romance, sci-fi and all kinds of thrillers. She divides her time between New York City and her studio in the Catskills, where she enjoys the sounds of birds, bullfrogs and the random coyote. 

Kitsy Clare is the pen name for her new adult romance. She also writes young adult fiction using her real name, Catherine Stine. Her YA futuristic thriller, Fireseed One won finalist spots in both YA and Science Fiction in the 2013 USA Book News International Book Awards. It was also granted an Indie Reader Approved notable stamp. Her YA Refugees, earned a New York Public Library Best Book. Ruby’s Fire, the new companion novel to Fireseed One, is receiving high praise from reviewers. She’s a member of SFWA, SCBWI and CBIG. She can be found on www.catherinestine.com, www.catherinestine.blogspot.com, and https://twitter.com/crossoverwriter

Savoring Book Series as Whole

I was talking to some of my friends and they were telling me about books they have been reading. I told them I haven't read it yet, and they were stunned.

"Why haven't you read it yet?" she asked me.

"Because I like to wait until the whole series is out so I can read it straight through."

Yeah that's me. I like to wait until the whole book series is out so that I can read it straight through. Now it does sound weird, but I have been doing it for a while and it works really well for me.

Part of the reason I do that is because it takes a long time for the next book to be released and I get too anxious with all the waiting. The first time I experience that sort of impatient waiting was growing up and waiting for the next Harry Potter book to come out. Then the next book series I fell in love with was The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot, and I also hated having to wait for the next book in the series to come out.

As I started seeking agents to query, and learn more about the business of publishing I learned why it would take about two years for a book to get published. SO now I do order the books, and pre-order the rest of the books in the series leaving them sitting on my shelves until I have all the books then I start reading the whole series. Sometimes depending on the publisher I will buy the boxed set, or I will buy the first two books in the series in paperback with the final book in hardcover.

So when my friends tell me I am behind in the books that are really good that everyone is reading, I really don't care.

Supporting Authors

A lot of people view supporting authors from a variety of ways. A lot would go to book signings, ordering bulk of their books at once, chatting with the authors on Facebook about how much they really enjoyed their book.

Here are the ways I support an author

1. Pre-Order Books
I like to pre-order books. Now I may buy the book but then I wait until I have the last book in my hands so I can read the series straight through. Some authors even have it as to where if you forward them the receipt of their book you ordered online they'll mail you autographed bookmarks, or some swag buttons.

2. Order the Hardcover or Paperback
I'm a college student so naturally my money is sucked up by the price of textbooks. Hardcover books tend to be expensive. So I end up just waiting for the paperback version to be released. Don't forget sales are everything. There have been times where the publisher has cancelled a book series because there wasn't enough sales, and they thought people weren't interested in the series.

3. Write Reviews
Review the books you've read. Now don't go on a long rampage on why you hated the book and thought it was the worst book you've ever read (believe me I've seen plenty of those) just keep your review simple, and professional as you possibly can. What you liked about the book, what you didn't like, then rate it.

4. Contact the author
Most authors are on Twitter, and really like it when a reader tells them they just bought the book, and really enjoy hearing compliments from their readers.

5. Recommend books to friends
When I read a book I really, really like I recommend it around. I love trading books with my friends which is why I like having paperback books. I swap books with my friends for the weekend.



Also in support of authors they have to do book signings. In order for them to do a book signing the bookstores have to stay open. Help keep bookstores open. For every book you order online through Amazon go buy a book at Barnes and Noble.