What’s Harder Than Writing The Book?
Promoting it, of course!
As a recently-published debut author, I’ve spent as much, or more, time on my website, building up my Myspace page, blogging, and posting on various loops to get my name out than I did on writing the book in the first place!
I’m published by a small, print publisher who sends all of their titles to various review sites. They have a full-time marketing person who helps with promotion, and other authors who give advice on websites, banners and the like. But other published authors, even those on the NYT list, have said they work hard to keep their readers informed of their upcoming books through author-specific Yahoo groups and updated websites.
Wait! You mean Sherrilyn Kenyon, Suzanne Brockmann, Janet Evanovich and even La Nora spend precious writing time on promotion?
Well, probably not with websites and such (some have fan clubs and paid staff to take care of some things,) but they certainly do spend time pressing the flesh and talking with their reader fans at conventions and book signings. I know, because I’m one of those writer/readers who stand in long lines to get my scant 30-60 seconds of meet and greet with my favorite authors.
Patience, they say. It takes time to build a following. But in the meantime, there are four things authors can take heed of from watching our heroines (NYT bestsellers, of course!) in action:
1. Be gracious and friendly in public, even when your feet are killing you and the migraine that’s been stalking you for days has finally taken over. You never know who’s watching, and that person you just snarled at could be a bookseller assigned to stock books for all the B&Ns in the Southeast.
2. Treat other writers as equals. No one in New York understands what makes one talented writer a bestselling author and an equally-talented writer a one-shot wonder. Just because you’re on top today doesn’t mean you’ll be on top tomorrow (ask Sherrilyn Kenyon.) Guess what? We’re not in competition with one another. As romance writers, our job is to write engaging books that will keep and expand the reader base for romance. It doesn’t matter whether they’re more comfortable reading a print or e-book. What matters is that they read…a lot…and keep coming back for more!