I knew, when we were lucky enough to have our book published by a small indie imprint, that the bulk of promotion would fall to me, and my husband, R.J.
My remarkable spouse is busy daily, posting on social media posts: Facebook, Twitter (he didn't have Twitter until our book came out, but has become an "expert" on it!), and LinkedIn. He contacts friends and business associates by email, sends press releases to publications, and copies of "Together in the Dream" to reviewers. These are obvious ways to increases sales.
Our publisher used his contacts to have our book noticed as well, and, with it selling on themeparkpress.com, Amazon, and Kindle, those avenues get us noticed.
Podcasts were something we'd never thought about, we've done one that resulted in more sales and interest, and three more are scheduled. These are the result of the above mentioned social media.
Disneyphiles (many are large groups, and all are enthusiastic) have not only begun following my husband's posts, but are spreading the word about our book, and have reviewed it on both Amazon and goodreads.com (and the reviews have been positive, and welcome!). In addition, they are somewhat responsible for our publisher requesting a sequel to our book. We certainly didn't know how much their influences would help us.
We continue to seek out other places to sell our books, find locations for a book signing or speaking engagement, and place interviews with media outlets. No possible link is too small or insignificant. Any could lead to something bigger, we've discovered. We are also attending an upcoming reunion with former Disney cast members, which just "happened" to come to our attention a week ago. It will be fun, but might also evoke new contacts for promotion appearances or sales.
Writing is a large and intensely competitive market these days: everyone thinks they are a writer. Unfortunately, many are not, but if your writing is validated with positive reviews and sales, you must constantly explore new avenues for promotion.
Our current focus is to secure an agent for our speaking engagements. At the same time, we have three other soon-to-be-published books in process, including our sequel to "Together in the Dream".
Yes, we spend our days at the computer, on the phone and networking. Yes, it means long hours, but it's the only way to make writing the focus of our lives. We've embraced that goal and want to be successful. The bottom line to reach that goal: we must brainstorm, search and embrace the unexpected. One positive contact could result in rewards we didn't anticipate.
Wednesday, February 3, 2016
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