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| Sep 24, 2008 4:40 pm |
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Tips for new writers 1 |
Meredith Greene
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The realm of self-advertisement is daunting, to say the least. After a year of attempting to 'sell' my books to the wide wide world, I must align with former literature pioneers and applaud the notion of persistence. A long and over-used word, it sits upon its meager pedestal silently reminding those whom walk by that it cannot be ignored forever. As much as the 'easy' route and 'instant' fame may have mass appeal, persistent, hard work is what makes civilization function.
If you have authored a book and are being ignored by publishers and agents alike, then to you I shall dole out some fairly common (though not quite trite) phrases/advice which helped me a great deal:
1. You are not alone. This is a glaringly obvious truth but it helps to remember it anyway. Don't repeat it to yourself, it's annoying. (I'm talking to you, o' authors whom write in coffeehouses...)
2. Write what you know. Certainly, one may on occasion delve into the wispy dream of what is hoped for or places one wishes to go; if doing so, research it until you know it.
3. Do utilize most all of the ad avenues on the Internet, even the silly ones. I got quite a lot of people visiting my sites from message boards that were totally unrelated. However, I did learn to not blanket said discussion forums with advertisements; that is apparently against common 'Netiquette'. Instead, join the discussion groups, say interesting things and comment often. Throw in humor or saturnine remarks (as per the mood of your book), keeping the link back to to your website or advertisement in your posting signature. If people like what you say, they'll want to click the links in your signature, just to find out more about you and see what makes you tick.
4. Open a Facebook page and join groups, add friends and occasionally post a link talking about your progress as an author, your hopes, challenges and accomplishments. It's all part of life, and people want to hear it. Join a network and you can write your ad with a live link on 'the wall' for free a few times a day. I tried a 'my' space page but found the possible clientèle far less literary inclined, not to mention there was less activity. For advertising your books (in my experience) Facebook, Live Journal, Gather, LibraryThing and Prapta all proved themselves worthy in their own ways... and are yet free to join.
5. If you have an Ebook in PDF format already and want to sell it online I suggest pairing PayPal with Payloadz; each have options for taking a percentage of the transaction and it gives neat, nice pages of numbers to look at. This makes the accountant happy and also let's me know who bought what and when.
6. If you have an Ebay account, most people don't know that you can post a daily blog (which actually gets read by other Ebay folks). I have found said folk highly interested in literature and in anything humorous. Post a blog about your writing experiences, successes and failures, etc. with a link back to your website.
7. Keep at it! Every day go online and advertise; each and every day. For books, folks like to read them on the weekends; usually Thursday, Friday and Saturday is when I sell the most.
I certainly hope these pieces of hard-won information aid you in attaining the status of 'great author'. Feel comfort, knowing many other writers endeavor to be so as well. Cheers!
Meredith Greene
Belator Books
http://www.belatorbooks.comPrivate Reply to Meredith Greene (new win) |
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