Getting Noticed

I have no shortage of stories to tell. That's never been a problem. But, as an independent author, I find it a bit challenging when it comes to marketing my book. I've never been a good sales person. Though I shouldn't be surprised considering most writers are introverts. 

So, how does one go about spreading the word  on their first book when they'd rather be writing their next book? There are any number of resources out there claiming they have a fool proof way to getting your book noticed. Yet, of everything I've read so far, none of them are without a laundry list of things you have to do.

Of course, there is always social media like Twitter and Facebook. While I found Twitter to be a great resource for meeting fellow authors, I've yet to see anything in the way of sales generated from there. As for Facebook, well, I've sold a few copies to friends and family, but, again, nothing that will allow me to quit my job and write full time.

The only compelling piece of advice I've picked up so far is, "The best way to sell your first book is to write the second one." Well, I can do that! It's what I prefer to do anyway. The reason writing your second book is so important is that it tells readers that you are serious about writing. It is a bit of mystery on how this works, but readers seem to gravitate to authors they know they can follow for a while.

I get it. I think I've caught myself doing this too. If an author only has one book and I fall in love with it, I'll be crushed if I have no way of knowing if the affair is over or not. Some readers prefer only to read books that are part of a series. So, if your book is part of a trilogy or saga, they may not start reading until they know the second or even third one is available.

As far as marketing goes, I've never really been into high pressure, in your face sales tactics. I prefer to let people get to know me and decide for themselves if my book is something they'd be interested in reading. Sure, I may never strike it rich that way, but it allows me to write without feeling anxious.

So, how do people get to know me? Again, that requires putting myself out there. But, that is something I'm willing to do in this case. I accomplish it by writing a blog and participating in author interviews. It feels more natural to write posts and talk about my books and what inspires me to write.

I did my very first author interview recently with Mercedes Fox Books. It was a lot of fun and even taught me a few things about myself. Plus, I think it is an excellent way to get the word out about who I am and what I offer the reading community. In fact, I thought it was such a great idea, I decided to do some author interviews of my own!

So, every Friday, I am going to feature a new author. In each interview, I am going to ask questions ranging from how they got inspired to write their stories to how they handle the marketing of their books. Authors and readers alike will find something interesting in each interview. I hope you'll come back often and check them out!