The rules to promote a book seem to change daily, especially in Indie publishing. So many books are flooding the marketplace. Reaching those potential readers who will love your book is becoming a greater challenge than ever before.
But don’t despair. With the invention of the Internet, there are many ways (both free and paid) to get your name out there.
Below are several options to spread the word, and my thoughts on each:
- Create an Author Facebook Page. This is free and invaluable to interact with readers, writers, and announce when you have new books coming out. Facebook does offer a “boost post” and “get more likes” option that costs $5/day. I’ve done this for 3 days and had surprisingly great results.
- Facebook Groups. There are groups on Facebook that allow you to post news about your book for free. Anything from “New Book Releases” to “Paranormal Book Lovers” to “We Love Books” groups exist. Do a search and join the ones you want. Keeping regular updates on these sites can bring new likes to your page, new readers.
- This is my favorite. You can host giveaways of your paperback books, which encourages reviews and gains exposure. You can also join genre-based groups, who are interested in what you write. Some groups have programs where, if you provide free e-books to 10 people, those 10 people will review your book within a month’s time. This is a great way for a new author to get reviews.
- Twitter-blast. I have used a few of these, the services where people will tweet about your book to their thousands of followers. The free ones didn’t do much for my sales, but it was free. The paid options, in my opinion, are not worth it. Nobody wants the sales push on Twitter.
- Pinterest. Create boards on Pinterest with photos of your characters, quotes from your book, etc. People who follow you can see what their favorite characters look like, along with scenic views of the city where you set your story. I’ve had a few readers buy my books after looking at my boards. I think anything free helps.
- Book Tours. These differ in services offered and price, so be sure to do your research. I find book tours help exposure and can gain some early reviews for your book, but it won’t ratchet up your sales by the hundreds in one day.
Elaine Calloway writes paranormal/fantasy tales with romantic elements, often set in iconic cities. She grew up in New Orleans with a love of gothic architecture and all things paranormal, which naturally translated into her books. She is currently writing two series: The Elemental Clan Series (a good versus evil set of tales between Elementals and evil Fallen Angels) and the Southern Ghosts Series (some intrigue, humor and mystery with a dash of romance thrown in).
To connect with Elaine and learn more about her books, visit www.elainecalloway.com.
Hello Elaine, thank you for the interesting artilce. I wll use some of these tips. All the best with your writings.
Hi JoAnne,
Thanks! Glad to hear you enjoyed the tips!
Elaine
Elaine,
I would love to know more about the groups you mentioned that give reviews in a month. Can you share the names? I am always looking for reviews.
Thanks,
Caryn
HI Caryn,
You can always search for groups on Goodreads, but the main one I use and am part of is “Lovers of Paranormal” and “Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy.”
If you navigate to the “Groups” link at the top page, there is a search field. You can search for “paranormal” or any other genre and it will list groups. You can request to join, many of them have “R2R” which is “read to review.” You supply a free digital copy to up to 10 people, they review your book in a 2 week timeframe.
Good luck!
Elaine
Thanks, Elaine.