Publication is near months away. So what do you do?
- Update your website and check to make sure all links, etc. work;
- Order bookmarks. Now I’m cheap on this one. I only do bookmarks if they can do double duty. I need 2 books or it’s a dead deal for me;
- Make sure you’ve (politely) asked any online reviewers if they would like ARCs;
- Arrange for a blog tour if that’s your thing;
- Arrange for book signings if that’s your thing;
- Make sure you editor knows what you’ve been doing to promote the book
To get
brownie points:
- Create a tie-in trailer and pot it to your website;
- Tweet and Facebook like a loon. They can’t buy it if they don’t know it’s out there;
- Going to a conference or speaking engagement before release date? Consider having excerpt booklets printed up to tease potential readers and to build excitement;
- If you must, do a chachkis – but make it something people will keep and reuse so you get the most name recognition for your buck (like a fly swatter or a ruler);
- Get a QR code and incorporate it into everything you do.
- Create a positive environment on online-bookseller sites – have people who have read the book post reviews to garner interest;
- Cross-promote events, though not via auto-tweets.
What I haven’t
seen work in my 40-book career:
- Expensive ads in fan magazines;
- Anything candy – they eat it and forget it;
- Live action videos (Allison Brennan excluded);
- Spamming tweets with no new information (instead . . . i.e. tweet 1 announces the book, tweet 2 give a link to your website, tweet 3 gives a link to an excerpt, tweet 4 is all about early reviews, tweet 5 is all about thanking readers, etc.). Keep it fresh and don’t set them up as roboposts;
- Stay away from your weaknesses. If you’re a deer in the headlights, avoid TV. If you tend to stammer or don’t think quickly on your feet, then avoid radio. Do what comes naturally to you.
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