So now you have all of the accounts set up—but maintaining 2 to 3 social media platforms isn’t as easy as it seems. Creating original content for each individual site can be tricky. Do you always and only find yourself retweeting on Twitter or sharing other people’s posts on Facebook? There’s another way to engage in social media! Using one or a combination of the tools in the next section:
You’ve finished your book. You’re in your last round of edits. You’re cover design is in the process of being finalized. You’re ready to pass out copies to friends.
And just when you thought writing your book was the hard part, now it’s time to promote your work. But don’t worry. We’re here to help.
The first step after publishing your book is to understand the importance of book promotion and starting early. And I mean really early, as in a year to six months in advance.
Use our handy pre-publication checklist to help you schedule your marketing and promotional tasks for your book. Make sure you get started early––some of the items on the checklist start as early as 12 months before publication!
Click here to download the checklist.
Are you sitting down? I have some news for you: Not everyone is going to like your book. When they don't, you have two choices: 1) Move on or 2) Move into a cabin in the woods.
Nobody likes a bad review. Not you. Not your publisher. Not even the reviewer who most likely feels she wasted her time. But bad reviews do happen.
So what's the best way to handle the inevitable bad review? Do nothing. Seriously. PR experts across the industry agree that the best thing to do is absolutely nothing. Move on and keep working.
If you can't do nothing, then your other option is to take a deep breath, step back, and glean what constructive bits you can from the criticism. Learn from the reviewer and consider if there's anything you can apply to improve your work.
Pinterest is the fastest growing standalone website ever. And while recipes, dream travel destinations, style tips, and adorable photos of cats seem to dominate the site's content, there is plenty of room for authors. If you are a published author or want to become one, you should be on Pinterest.
While Pinterest is a visual way to share online content, there are a surprisingly large number of readers and booklovers on the site. While images drive the pins, Pinterest is about so much more than pictures––it's about sharing your favorite things, finding inspiration, and building knowledge.
As an author, there are countless ways you can use Pinterest to promote your work, and we'll discuss a few options here. But Pinterest can also serve to help your creative process. You can glean inspiration for your writing while you're marketing yourself. Now if that's not win-win, I don't know what is.
Pinterest posts are called "pins" and they're organized around "boards." Essentially, this is just a virtual way of organizing information much like how you could use bulletin boards and magazine clippings in "real life." Effective boards on Pinterest have concise, catchy themes to organize the information.
Virtual Book Tours, also known as blog tours, are an excellent way for authors to promote themselves and their books.
There's no doubt about it. People online are reading less and watching more. The internet has gone visual.
What does that mean for you as an author? To grow attention for your book, full of wonderfully written words, you need a visual way to promote it. Enter the book trailer.
Book trailers are one of the latest ways authors and publishers are using to promote upcoming books. Like their cousin, the movie trailer, book trailers are short commercials for a book.
At Light Messages, we just completed this heart-thumping trailer for the debut novel from one of our newest authors: Five Days of Fear, a crime novel with a touch of faith by David Kovach.
If you're an author these days, it's generally expected that you have a Facebook and Twitter account, among numerous other social media accounts. People rarely ask anymore, "Do you have a Facebook page?" instead asking, "What's your Facebook page?" or "What's your Twitter handle?"
As fabulous as authors are at writing stories, both true and make-believe, they often struggle with what to put on their Facebook page and Twitter feed. In fact, that's one of the most common questions we get from our authors.
Here's a post with some specific ideas to help move you along:
Any seasoned author (and their publisher) will tell you that a strong social media presence is a must for building an audience and, consequently, selling books. While most the conversation understandably revolves around Twitter and Facebook, there is a rising star in the book world: Goodreads.com
According to the folks at Goodreads, "Goodreads is the largest site for readers and book recommendations in the world.... A home for casual readers and bona-fide bookworms alike, Goodreads users recommend books, compare what they are reading, keep track of what they've read and would like to read, find their next favorite book, form book clubs and much more."
Marika Flatt is the founder of PR by the Book, a boutique publicity firm based out of Austin, TX. In this interview she offers insight into the world of publicity and shares some concrete advice for authors seeking promote their books.
Marika, tell us a little about PR by the Book. Why did the company choose to specialize in PR for authors and publishers?
I landed a job straight out of college with a literary publicity firm and quickly realized it was my perfect job, combining my love of media and books. After leading the publicity there for seven years, I launched PR by the Book, so it was a natural transition and it's really fulfilling have a niche in PR that promotes literacy, culture and the shear love of reading!
