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Remember Why You Do “That Writing Thing”

December 10, 2012

My Lovely Bride … Alone in the Surf © R.L. Herron

The Art of Promotion
If you self-publish, it’s really easy to get caught up in the “I gotta get out and promote my book” whirlwind. After all, there’s no one else who’s going to do that for you … but getting caught up to the point of ignoring everything else may be a mistake, particularly if you let it start to rule your life.

I know how easy it is to do. I’ve got the tense shoulders, aching back and throbbing headache to prove it. I’ve been spending so much time trying to figure out social media, and get the word out about my books (especially my award-winning novel REICHOLD STREET), I’ve done little else.

I’ve also got a wife who’s ready to throw things at me to get more of my attention … she’s upset with me and she’s absolutely right. I’m so caught up in all this promotepromotepromote nonsense that I haven’t paid much attention to her at all, and I haven’t written 500 words all week on my next book. I normally write more than that in a day.

I know what I have to do. Relax, and remind myself what’s important in my life. Like my bride of more than 42 years. I don’t have to do every promotional thing right away. Besides, I’m still not sure which things work. I’ve decide to slow down my pace, be myself, and discover the marketing activities I like (and therefore, will actually do).

It might also be time to remind readers (and myself) about promoting themselves and their writing:

Read
I’m the first one to say you can learn a lot from marketing blogs, newsletters, webinars and such … but it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Don’t make yourself crazy trying to do it all.

Remember What Promotion Is
When you come right down to it, promotion is just a conversation between you and other people. It’s speaking with them about something you love: your book. It’s not blasting hype out to everyone in cyberspace. Develop a way to talk with people and … more importantly … listen.

Create a virtual space where this conversation can occur. You don’t need to do everything the experts mention, but you do need a few basic tools:

Website
Your site is “you” online, a place where you are always present, where you meet and greet people (even when you’re asleep). You can include pages “About You” and for your blog.

Email List
This is something I’ve neglected, but it makes sense. Talk about your book(s) and offer an incentive (I’m creating a white paper on building believable characters) to entice folks to sign up for your email list. Maintain the list through services like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or AWeber. It gives you a way to start conversations, and speak directly to those who have demonstrated an interest in your book.

Social Media
Also meet new friends and invite new readers through the outreach of social media, special interest sites and groups, and wherever else your people go (right now, I use Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook). These connections grow as you reach out to more people, and they reach out to their friends on your behalf.

Remember You’re Human
Treat yourself like a human being … not a promotional machine chugging out blog posts and tweets 24/7. Don’t be a slave to the millions of “shouldas” in the world of book promotion. Take time away to refresh yourself and enjoy life.

Write
It’s what got you started on this road in the first place and it’s what you love to do (at least it is for me). So don’t neglect it. I intend to write a lot more on my next novel tomorrow.

Right now, if you’ll be kind enough to excuse me, my wife looks like she needs a hug.

One last bit of shameless promotion … my “Master Storyteller” book trailer …

Tags:award-winning writing, book marketing, using social media
Posted in Awards, Book Promotion, Book Trailer, Market Your Book | 6 Comments »

Why Should Anyone Read This?

September 13, 2012

“The Writer’s Pen”

I usually try to resist tooting my own horn (and I usually fail miserably, but I do try).

As an indie writer it’s important to get the word out about your work, because there’s no large publishing conglomerate pushing information about your latest-and-greatest literary effort to the public.

No sexy ad campaign. No colorful billboards. No radio interviews or speaking engagements.

You have to get the word out all by yourself.

But, when you do that, where do you draw the line between marketing effort and general annoyance?

A Fine Line
I don’t want to slam “buy my books” all over the place (although there are less-than-subtle links to places to buy them all along the margin of the blog, and frequently here in the text). I hope to actually have folks read what I write here because it’s occasionally interesting.

So I will only mention once that my debut novel “Reichold Street” was chosen as the Gold Medal Winner (young adult genre) in the 2012 Readers Favorite Awards, and let it go at that. Although you really should take a look at it. You might like it. Here’s the book trailer.

‘Nuff said.

Here’s the “Reichold Street” trailer:

Tags:amazon kindle, barnes & noble books, book marketing, gold medal winner, indie writers
Posted in Award-Winning Fiction, Book Promotion, Book Trailer, Branding, Market Your Book, Self-Published | 5 Comments »

What Am I Waiting For?

July 16, 2012

I took this picture of a rural mailbox some time ago. I’ve used it before, but it seemed somehow appropriate to use it again today. Why? Because I’ve just been sitting around, waiting, as if there were something coming in the mail I didn’t want to miss.

This morning I couldn’t have told you what it was I might be waiting for. Not even if you held a hot poker to my face and threatened to brand me. I honest-to-God didn’t know what it could be.

I thought perhaps it was that elusive noun called “inspiration” I was trying to find, now that the nine-to-five routine is behind me and I’ve taken to writing full time. But that wasn’t it. My mind is full of stories.

I published my debut novel last March, and completed two different short story collections in May. I tell everyone I’m working on my next novel, but my normal writing routine of a thousand words a day is woefully behind schedule.

For the past two months I’ve been trying to figure out how to get some positive marketing out for those first books. How to drive traffic to this blog or to my web site, Broken Glass. Despite being in advertising and marketing for all those years, it’s hard work.

On the plus side, my novel, “Reichold Street” is one of the finalists for the 2012 Readers Favorite Award and I’ll be heading to the Miami International Book Fair for the ceremony this fall.

I’d much rather be writing, not that it’s easier. It isn’t. It’s damn hard work. It’s just more fulfilling. Not writing feels like giving up. And, as I rediscovered talking to one of my blog followers today, it’s something I promised not to do.

So, I’m headed back to the keyboard for a while to catch up with the number of words I should have cranked out by now. Thanks again for the reminder, Pop.