Posts
1.) HAVE FUN!
Trust me.
If you hate your marketing method, so will everyone else reading it!
Exciting fun is contagious. If you make a party of your marketing, your readers will sense it.
2.) CLIMB OUT OF THE PAST
Puttering on Facebook and Twitter is old hat ...
like trying to grind out your book on an old typewriter.
Be creative.
This April, I spoke at a local Sci Fi Convention on how to write science fiction, fantasy, and go about getting published.
Make a book trailer
and host a contest to see if viewers can see the hidden key to a riddle contained within it.
Brainstorm a new road to get attention.
3.) MAKE YOUR BOOK STEAK AND NOT COTTON CANDY
Your book should add value to the reader's life and thoughts besides providing entertainment --
beyond what is already in print.
Does your book fill a need?
Does it tell a story in a unique way?
Does it spin a tale from a different angle from what is out there?
Does your book pose questions that will add depth to the reader's thinking?
Make her laugh?
Explore a human truth?
If not, you're just adding to the cyber-noise on the internet.
4.) LEARN THE ZEN OF YOUR WRITING
Each of us writes to a specific audience unconsciously.
We can try to adapt, but our worldview slips in when we are not looking.
In a market that is being flooded by millions of books,
we have to try to determine to whom we naturally write.
I'm not talking genre.
I'm talking discovering your natural niche of writing.
Once you discover it, you can fine-tune your prose to make it shine.
5.) MAKE YOUR BLOG YOUR NETFLIX
You know why Netflix series garner such loyalty?
Yes, they are quality ...
but you can gobble them up episode after episode
until you feel as if you know the characters intimately.
A good blog is consistent.
Like a Netflix episode,
it is about one thought or one problem that is handled in a short, concise, entertaining manner.
Do that and you will draw in an audience,
come to be seen as a friend, build trust,
form literary friendships --
all the while selling books.
How cool is that?
Hi Roland - what a great post ... it is being creative, inventful with one's approach and stepping out of the box a great deal of the time ... and having fun - laugh and enjoy making mistakes. Keep your voice and trust in yourself ...
ReplyDeleteThat speaking engagement must have been fun - and perhaps something you could do more of ..
Wonderful cartoons and explanations - clever .. cheers Hilary
Exactly. Trust in our abilities to do better. Calvin & Hobbes brighten most dark days for me. :-) As do friends like you, Hilary.
DeleteHey Roland, you are sparkling with good ideas *smiles*
ReplyDelete"Smiles" back. :-) I try to have something worth the visiting for here at my cyber-home, Shadow.
DeleteShadow, I am happy that you find something here to smile about! :-)
ReplyDeleteBlogger is acting up, guys. I thought that my first reply to Shadow didn't "take." Is Blogger acting up like that for any of you?
ReplyDeleteOr just get mentioned on Oprah.
ReplyDeleteFrom recent studies, even Oprah has lost her magic touch for book sales. :-(
DeleteA little humour doesn't hurt either, and your blog always has something to make one smile. . .(could be music, images or words)
ReplyDeleteYour comment made my weary evening much better. :-)
DeleteThank you, Roland, for saying Facebook and Twitter don't work anymore--if they ever did. Marketing is my weakest point, so I love your idea of just making it fun just like your blog.
ReplyDeleteFB got greedy and Twitter swamped. We have to use what we have -- our blogs, making them fun and informative -- and a welcoming place to visit often.
DeleteThank you and D.G. for saying my blog is fun and happy.