You have landed a publishing deal, and your agent or publisher may send your work to some reviewers or release press releases. This may lead to some kind of publicity. What matters is effective publicity for your writing. It is good to take ownership and try publicizing your book. What PR strategies can you focus on to get more publicity for your book? Read on.
1. Get an audience
Won’t it be nice to have a sizeable audience to listen to your book launch? Ensure that you have a good number of people to listen to you when you make your book announcement. How do you do that? Use Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn groups, Goodreads and other social networking sites to build your profile and make friends. These folks can become your audience when you stand on the dais to talk about your book.
2. Promote your book locally
A smart approach is to promote your book locally, for instance at the local library, the church, a café or the local community club. Talk to your friends, colleagues, family members and your local community. Gradually expand your efforts and your reach. Create visually appealing promotional posters, fliers, and leaflets to capture your audience. It is easier to get more publicity for your book after you managed to generate local attention. Try reaching out to the local radio, television, magazines and newspapers.
3. Design a professional media kit
To gather more publicity and to garner media attention, it is good to create a professional media kit. What should this contain? This kit should contain a pitch letter that introduces you and your book, an author biography and photograph, an excerpt from your book, testimonials or positive feedback that your writing has received and news clippings about your work. Proofread what you have written before you send it to potential reviewers or reporters. This media kit is your chance to create a first impression!
4. Try guest blogging
As a writer if you guest blog on other sites, it helps to extend your reach and boost your reputation. Doing so can give you access to new audiences, some of which will become your followers and turn into buyers of your work. It is a good strategy to get your writing featured in news sites and other publications.
5. Keep the ball rolling
Your promotional activity for your book does not end as soon as you launch your debut book. Marketing is an ongoing process that requires you to be on your toes all the time. Publicizing your book is no longer a one-time event. Earlier, book shops used to hoard books for a while and then make way for the newer ones. This is no longer the case now. Your book will be displayed on online catalogues until your publishing agreement lasts and even longer if you self-publish. Initially, you will promote your book with fervor but you should promote it even later by conducting an occasional refresher campaign.
Engage your readers. Create a brand for yourself. Continue to stay focused and don’t forget to indulge yourself in leisure breaks so that you resume writing with a more creative frame of mind.
Image credit: Playing Futures: Applied Nomadology on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0
I’m Smitha Abraham. I love traveling in my flights of imagination and use these flights to craft short stories and poetry. I am a budding writer from India. My passions are reading, creative writing, listening to music, learning new languages, meeting new people, getting acquainted with different cultures and traveling. Authors like Isabel Allende, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Carlos Ruiz Zafón, genres like magic realism, historical romance, and writing styles that are imaginative and flow effortlessly fascinate me. I love to unwind with a book curled up on a sofa or by gazing at the stars by the sea shore. I am a nature lover and spending time admiring the sunset and sunrise is relaxing for me.