It's funny you should bring this up tonight...I've spent most of today working on blogs, groups, websites, etc. because I have a new book coming out. I have four books coming out this year and I will be spending every weekend at book signings, on-line, or writing (still have one more to complete), but I still work full time. You've got to get your name out there. It's something I think most of us have to do and I don't really think it has anything to do with who you are signed with...my understanding is even the big guys are on the road a lot promoting their books. You still have to fly to NY to appear on Oprah..and that's not working in your PJs. I'm just on the beginning of this journey, but the authors I've met who are successful work their tails off to get there. Can't wait to hear the replies here...maybe I can get some pointers myself. ~LOL~

As a reader of romance for over 40 years, I think the most effective way to reach readers is by word of mouth. I personally as a reader don't go in for all the doodads that authors offer to their readers such as bookmarks ect. Only a few have been effective and that are pads and pens, (something useful). As a reader I much prefer to see authors join a few good online readers groups to get a pulse of what people are reading and then after they are part of the community awhile promote their work. One such group is READ done by author Deb Stover and another is RomanceJunkies. What I don't appreciate though in these types of groups is the drive by author who only posts when she/he has something to sell/promote. I think being part of the online community shows the author cares and is interested in the community of readers. Sadly it seems that romance mass market fiction authors tend to do more to promote their own work in the market than any other mass market fiction. Not sure why, except maybe because they do it so well it reliefs the publisher from doing so.

As a reader I belong subscribe to the blogs of my favorite authors, I also subscribe to their newsletters if available. Since I manage a readers group on MySpace whatever information I get from those I pass on to my group. Word of mouth is great advertising.

As both a reader and a writer of mystery and romance fiction, I'm always open to discovering new writers. When my own novel THE INFERNO COLLECTION was published by Five Star/Gale at the end of June 2007, I began to think seriously about book promotion for the first time. However, that was a bit late in the scheme of things as it turns out. Because Gale is mainly a library publisher, most valued are reviews by the big four: PW, Library Journal, Booklist and Kirkus. I got an excellent review from Booklist but was ignored by the other three. Ironically, during the time that I worked as a librarian and did acquisitions myself, I reviewed for both Library Journal and Publishers Weekly. I promoted personally by contacting librarians with the excellent reviews I did get plus a terrific endorsement from Sara Paretsky. The upshot? The novel has been well-ordered by libraries nationwide. A large print edition is scheduled by Wheeler for September '08. Five Star/Gale contracted for a sequel, THE DROWNING POOL, which will be published in Feb. '09. I can only hope the my writing will not be ignored in the future.

My books don't come out until Fall 2009 but I'm already trying to get my name on the web. Blogs, group blogs, RWA chapters, etc. But the problem is, I have to market to kids too. I'm writing YA and I am at a total loss as how to do that. Libraries, schools, kids...ah! I have no idea. But I'll figure it out, or I'll spend my advance on a publicist and let her do it for me... LOL

I think authors promoting their books (especially online) are walking along the edge of a blade. They want to sell their books and I understand that, but it is also easy to focus too much on the sale and not on the people. Does that make sense? I personally have felt insulted when I could tell an author was looking at me not as a person, but a potential sale. I think that is the danger of all the online stuff. That said I do a lot of stuff online, but I do the stuff I enjoy, because I enjoy it. If someone discovers my books from that, great, and I do interviews and such with that intention but I don't ever want to make someone else feel like they are just $5.25 to me. :) My biggest pet peeve is being added to a mailing list without me signing up for it--that is the surest way to guarantee I won't buy your books. Oh, and 20 line sig lines--not a big fan of those either. Now I do promote on my own blog--but people make the choice to come there. I also post announcements on Myspace and send out a newsletter (that people have to sign up for and always have the option of unsubscribing themselves). Anyway, just my take on things...

I think authors promoting their books (especially online) are walking along the edge of a blade. They want to sell their books and I understand that, but it is also easy to focus too much on the sale and not on the people. Does that make sense? I personally have felt insulted when I could tell an author was looking at me not as a person, but a potential sale. I think that is the danger of all the online stuff. That said I do a lot of stuff online, but I do the stuff I enjoy, because I enjoy it. If someone discovers my books from that, great, and I do interviews and such with that intention but I don't ever want to make someone else feel like they are just $5.25 to me. :) My biggest pet peeve is being added to a mailing list without me signing up for it--that is the surest way to guarantee I won't buy your books. Oh, and 20 line sig lines--not a big fan of those either. Now I do promote on my own blog--but people make the choice to come there. I also post announcements on Myspace and send out a newsletter (that people have to sign up for and always have the option of unsubscribing themselves). Anyway, just my take on things...

How did that happen? Seriously, I do not value my own words enough to post twice!! Barbara, can you delete me???

I don't know how writers find the time to do all that necessary self-promotion (particularly when they also hold down another job to pay those pesky bills) on various blogs, networks, etc. But how do READERS find the time to keep up? Seriously. I read PW and a couple of other mags to get book reviews, occasionally check out what Amazon 'recommends' for me, faithfully peruse your blog, and try to find the time to look at some of my fave authors websites. But it's just amazingly time-consuming and since my job consists of staring at a computer all day, I REALLY want to get away from it rather than spend more time online (although I do).

My first novel is being released in about a month. I'm on a rapid learning curve. I look forward to reading the responses here.

What Lori said, quite wonderfully, twice :). I have several things I usually do to promote a book, and with each book I add one more thing. This year I'll be doing more online -- interviews, blogs, buying ad space on a couple of the larger romance sites. It all takes more time and dollars than I like to think about, and the sad part is that nobody knows if anything an author does to promote her work is effective. So I do what I'm comfortable with, then hope my publisher gets my book out in quantity to every bookstore, Wal-Mart, Target and grocery store possible, and those books are face out on the shelves. www.sharianton.com

A new author HAS to self promote heavily. If your first book doesn't sell well, your second probably won't, either. (That's not always the case, but often.) I have become a fairly big name in YA lit in only the last 3.5 years. My first novel, CRANK, is a huge hit. But if I'd left it up to Simon & Schuster to promote it, who knows where I'd be? Mel, you need to do high school visits and you NEED MySpace. Use your book cover for your photo. Then "friend" every YA author you can find there so your cover goes on his/her page.

Yes, MySpace and Facebook. Followed by JacketFlap and LinkedIn? We've become social networking robots.

It is interesting to me that none of you have talked about hiring a PR professional or firm to help you with your efforts. Certainly this may not work for everyone based on budgets, but there can be tremendous value. I run a firm, but for the purposes of this commentary, I'll leave it nameless as it is not my intent to "sell" here. There are a number of excellent publicists for every genre and for budgets of all types. Many may also let you pick their brains for free over the phone for ideas. It is definitely worth a phone call or an email to see if you can find someone who may be right for you. Just my two cents...

I'm a newbie-my debut novel, LIFELINES, was just released by Berkley earlier this month. But the challenge is overwhelming--where to spend my limited time, energy and money?
I've answered it by working to my strengths. As a pediatric ER doc, teaching comes naturally to me. So I've focused my efforts on promotion that feels most like teaching--guest blogs, giving live workshops, keynotes, and online classes.
Won't know if it worked until the numbers are in next month, but I have been overwhelmed by the wonderfully supportive response from readers! Those fan letters really keep me going when my energy starts to wane!!!
Great reviews help as well--LIFELINES has garnered praise from PW ("a breathtakingly fast-paced medical thriller"), earned a Top Pick from Romantic Times, and a coveted Perfect Ten from Romance Reviews Today.
Not bad for a mega-cross-genre women's fiction meets thriller book shelved in the general fiction/literary section of the bookstore.
I'm following the comments in hopes of learning more from the multi-published pros out there!!!

One could spend all day, every day, going from blog to blog and forum to forum. Or one could write the best book one can produce, do homework and sell that book to a publisher THEN spend a little time per day (set a timer--you'll thank yourself) going to forums and blog communities participating in the discussion--and quietly leaving a trail to your website and book. I agree that "drive by promotion" is annoying. "You've seen my name out here once. I have noting to offer to your discussion. Now BUY MY BOOK."

As a book publicist, I can tell you I wish I had more time to devote to each and every title I work on, but I have four books this month, four next month, and six the following month. And we have to work ahead! So I'm currently working on all of those titles at once--all in different stages. And I work for a university press! The point is, book publicists love books and they love promoting them. But they can only do so much, which is why it's often up to the author to pick up slack. That doesn't mean your publicist hates you! It just means he or she has a very full schedule and appreciates all the help you can give them. So get creative in your promoting and your publicist is almost sure to want to help in any way they can.

As a former book publicist, current editor and always avid reader, I've seen a number of sides of the publicity angle. The #1 priority for writers is to write. The best publicity you can have is a whole shelf of books, preferably *really good* ones, at the bookstore and releases that are 6-8 months apart to help you build an readership. Everything beyond that is gravy - though always very much appreciated.

It's true that book publicists are swamped. I typically had 8-10 books a month to publicize, usually through a combination of advertising, pushing to reviewers, and pitching to media. Keep in mind that the bulk of the promotional money a publisher spends is actually in the bookstore, getting placement in the tower or on front tables or maybe in the bookstore newsletter or through incentives to get the store to order more copies. It's hard to discern, but it all goes back to books on shelves being the best advertising.

I found that the more an author was willing to pitch in on the promo end, the easier it was for me to build on that and help out. That said, it doesn't mean you want to dump on your publicist a list of 50 bookstores and say you want her to arrange signings for you. ;-)

I think a lot of the major stuff has already been said. And goodness knows, I could ramble all day on the topic. Bookmarks are great to have, but at an event where a lot of authors are getting together, such a conference, I think most of them get thrown away. I agree that pens, pads of paper, letter-opener thingies, anything useful has a much better chance of actually going home with the conference attendee.

My first novel came out last summer and I spent much time trying to get online attention, including MySpace and Facebook. I found MySpace not to be helpful because people tend to be shopping their own wares and are not very interested in what others have to offer. It's noisy in that way. And as for Facebook, I'm a complete Facebook loser. I have no idea how to promote over there--my own fault. My second novel, INSIDE OUT GIRL, comes out in August and this time I'm hiring an independent publicist who has a great track record with women's fiction, particularly the warm-hearted family dramas. I'm also trying to give readers a taste of my writing by writing a weekly serial on an equestrian site, of all things. Riders are actually a great demographic - female, well-educated, high disposable income, etc. Whether the time I put into barnmice ever translates into book sales remains to be seen. Even with all this, I feel I'm not doing enough...sigh. I will say this about hiring an independent publicist--your publisher will likely appreciate it and will step up their plans for your book as a result.

I'm pretty new to the whole promoting thing, but the most important thing I've found is to get networked with a group of authors. That way you can pool your ideas and figure out what works and doesn't work. Then you get on all the sites and get your name out there. And I review other books too. If you're wondering what gets out there, try Googling your name, or if you're really brave, try searching for the genre you're targeting. I confess, I don't do as much as I should, but with four kids under 6, I would never get any writing done!

Barbara.....you've hit a nerve with this blog entry by all the comments....I must say every review I ever received was my own doing....and some were very substantial, but other than the support I get maybe with the publisher sending books out, the contacts and the research work were my own. Mike Luongo

I wish I could help every author out there, but I just can't. However, I do have a blog, www.lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com, and my reviews are often picked up by Reuters, usatoday.com, IBS. I review a little of everything, with an emphasis on mysteries. I review women's fiction for Library Journal. I've also done a few interviews on the site. Check it out if you're interested. My contact information is available on my blog. (And, CJ, I do have Lifelines, and just haven't had a chance to get to it yet.)

(I do PR for a series so that the author can find time to write and keep a day job!) One thing that can help is to try to focus your marketing efforts on specific targets. You should note that MySpace and FaceBook are largely unspecific...and reaching a mass market can be daunting unles the masses have already heard of you. So try thinking smaller and more targeted. Identify what we call a "verticle market". What special interests pertain to the storyline? Perhaps travel or sporting activities are enjoyed by the character. Then search on the Internet for forums directed to just those interests. (In our case, divers and travel agencies) Besides posting to these visitors in the forums, I also Google conferences designed for divers and for travel agents. Then I offer the conference organizers a free signed copy of the novel as a doorprize for the event. The audiences at conferences can reach 300 or more people interested in YOUR TOPIC. When your novel is held up at a raffle at the conference banquet, you might have 300 captive visitors tuned in to your gift. (Make sure you send along a short paragraph describing the storyline.) Only one conference attendee can win the doorprize, but others will be piqued. Hopefully you'll spark dinner-table conversations. Good luck to all of you.

For those looking to promote themselves, I have just started a book review blog at inbedwithbooks.blogspot.com. I'm quite willing to work with any author to help publicize their name. (I couldn't resist the opportunity for self-promotion. ^_~)

I'm reading Jacqueline Deval's Publicize Your Book (Perigree, 2003) in advance of my first book coming out in March (How to Keep Your Inner Mess from Trashing Your Outer World). The whole publicity thing goes against the introverted, bookish nature of a lot of authors. Okay, against my innate shyness. I don't think ANYBODY really knows what makes a book hit the best seller lists. It's a convergence of a lot of factors, ultimately, the Providence of God.

I'm tired of amateurish writers screaming "I'm an author! I'm an author!" when their sole claim to fame is that they PAID someone to PRINT their book. This ain't publishing, folks. And as much as those writers continously scream "Niche Market!" or "NY doesn't understand..." we all know the real story is that it got rejected because their work stinks. Pure and simple. It's these writers (sorry, they're not authors) who clog up every available avenue of promotion with their insistent and IMHO inane requests. A real author with a real book has to claw his way through this mass of blubber, constantly explaining that yes, it's a real book and yes it's from a real publisher. If self-pubs put as much work into WRITING as they do PROMOTING, then maybe they'd have a REAL product to show for it, besides their self-pubbed VANITY book.

Barbara, your question about when do we find time to write between all this promoting is dead on. It would be very easy to spend all day, every day trying to get my name and my book titles out there but, as others have pointed out, there are jobs, families, and NEW books clamoring for our attention (not to mention a little time to enjoy what OTHER people have written!) I find the suggestion to use one's book advance for promotion ridiculous (are we not trying to earn a living here?!)and the one time I hired a PR agency, I found that not only did their letters on my behalf contain grammatical errors (!!!!), they didn't even begin to invest the kind of creativity and effort that I do myself. I must say I agree with Angelo B's assertion that self-published writers have made life more difficult for all of us. The immediate assumption these days is that if an author is calling to set up his/her own events, they are probably self-published and can be ignored. Having to validate one's self as a "legitimate" author is just one more barrier in what was already a tough sell. Bottom line: you don't make it in this business if writing is not a true calling, and if you do manage to be successful, you're entitled to feel a bit smug because you've worked VERY hard to get there! www.jaynejaudonferrer.com

Mary makes some good points about targeting interest groups. I know a number of authors who have books set in Scotland have done the Highland games routes thru the summer/fall providing book signings, which already is a target market for your books. I also think that authors should look at different review sites on line in advance of their books release, don't wait until you have a copy of the book, make your own or use your manuscript ( even one that has uncorrected proofs) as long as it is bound in some way and send that. As a reviewer I have read every kind of book from an arc to a "scratched up close to a first copy of a manuscript"copy for review. Most reviewers will read it in any format. But check out the sites and see how they treat books from the subgenre that you write. Ask a lot of questions of their coordinator as to when they need it and if they will put the review out at least a month before the release, reviews that come out after the release are IMHO less effective. Review sites are a good way to get the word of mouth going and a way for you to get quotes for later PR material. And remember even a bad review you can get a quote from by how you use the quote. Creating a Yahoo message only group for subscribers is also a way to promote your news and doesn't take up a lot of your time.

I only wish I could get to the point where I face such problems! Not knowing the stigma of Self-Publishing, I chose that route for my first novel (written under a different name). It did get marvelous reviews, but the best I was able to accomplish was to find a small publisher that wanted to republish it as well as my second book. They brought my new one out at the same time as an ill-fated "expose" of a famous celebrity. The end result was that they were blackballed in the industry, and I was lucky to recover my rights and a handful of copies. Now I am once again faced with the daunting task of finding either an agent or a publisher. It is so frustrating to have a book [that has been acclaimed by all who read it, deals with a meaningful current topic (health insurance), and, despite Angelo B's allusion, is well-written] and still not be able to get it to the point where I CAN worry about how much effort I should put in to publicizing it. Any suggestions? hughellis@comcast.net

I hope this isn't going to turn into a self-published-author-bashing thing. That's not what this blog is about. If all rejected books are rejected because they "stink" then there are a lot of famous authors who started out stinking. Is there anyone who was never rejected? That comment was unnecessary and not valid. Some people self-publish because they just want to hold their story in their hands. They aren't looking to make a list or get on GMA. Writing, like any art form, isn't always about money and fame. Some people write for themselves. Some people write from their heart. To demean them like that is so unfair. If you're a great writer and a publisher picks you up, fantastic! Great for you! Maybe that validates your talent. But it doesn't validate your character. It doesn't give you the right to look down on others. If you're worried about there not being enough readers to go around, then why not promote reading instead of selfishly promoting just yourself? How many author's sites promote a literacy program or library? Some might. Kudos for them!

I hope this isn't going to turn into a self-published-author-bashing thing. That's not what this blog is about. If all rejected books are rejected because they "stink" then there are a lot of famous authors who started out stinking. Is there anyone who was never rejected? That comment was unnecessary and not valid. Some people self-publish because they just want to hold their story in their hands. They aren't looking to make a list or get on GMA. Writing, like any art form, isn't always about money and fame. Some people write for themselves. Some people write from their heart. To demean them like that is so unfair. If you're a great writer and a publisher picks you up, fantastic! Great for you! Maybe that validates your talent. But it doesn't validate your character. It doesn't give you the right to look down on others. If you're worried about there not being enough readers to go around, then why not promote reading instead of selfishly promoting just yourself? How many author's sites promote a literacy program or library? Some might. Kudos for them!

Hi, Barbara, Besides blogging, MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, website, etc., I do video podcasts--everything from promoting my book about Paris while on a layover at the Paris airport to taking viewers on a tour of a popular Italian resturant in LA before signing books at B&N. I also interview other authors, shoot video podcasts at the RWA conferences and talk about issues important to me (e.g. what teens are reading). However, my most popular video podcast is "Romance Novels Are Not P*rn." I've gotten 185,725 page views on Google alone.

We are facing a new world, where it is not only necessary to promote ourselves and our work, but do it in such a way that separates us from the clutter. We live in a world where careers are made or broken with fifteen second sound bites or ten second television blurbs. An earlier mention was made that we want our authors to look at us as people, not simply sales. A lovely idea, and maybe give us books for free because they know we love to read. I've found my grocer more than happy to provide me with food because he knows I love to eat. To Angelo B - the industry itself is also facing a new world. A world where extemporaneous on-line works are analogous to live music performances rather than studio recordings. New media, emerging media, whatever the name it is a reality on the very near horizon. I can envision those who once chided Henry Ford. "You have to understand the carriage industry and work within the rules. If you don't you'll never sell anything." "In order to sell buggy whips, you must manufacture them in a certain way, and they must be vetted against the current norms of the buggy whip industry."

I have worked as an attorney, freelance writer, and local reporter. My first novel, Dear Mom, Dad & Ethel: World War II through the Eyes of a Radio Man, was published several years ago and revised in 2006. I'm fairly cynical about publicity. I publicized my butt off: radio interviews, personal publicist, online and print advertising, website, blogging, guest blogging, endorsements, etc. I'm still promoting to a limited extent due to the efforts of the producer of my video. Unless you are a public figure, print advertising is generally a very big waste of money. Based on my own experience and discussions with known authors, I am convinced that without exposure on nationally syndicated radio or television, the odds of an unknown's ringing up big sales are slim. In today's market, there is little or no relationship between writing quality and author success. A lot of great authors remain obscure, and a lot of junk peddled by celebrities sells in the millions. Boneheads like Paris Hilton and Ashley Dupree get seven-figure online hits while quality work often gets ignored. Therefore I'm not a fan of MySpace and FaceBook. Persistence and realistic expectations are key in this game.

To Faye--Finding validation in holding your newly-minted book in your hands is fine. Clogging the promotional avenues in order to bolster your flagging sense of self-worth is the very definition of selfish. Print and be happy. And stop trying to get the world to agree that you're a wonderful person just because you wrote--something.

To Harris T - I would respectfully suggest that you missed Faye's point. Certainly the emotional high of holding your first book is almost as good as holding your first newborn. But I wrote my first novel for young readers because I was appalled by the diminishing interest in books. Yes, I went "print on demand," but I can assure you the response when I visited a local elementary school for a "meet the author" day was all the validation I needed. I just wish I could have extended that same experience to more budding readers. Now, with my second book, I want to find a conventional publisher so that my message -- the problem with the health insurance industry -- can reach a large audience. I believe I am a wonderful person, but I don't need the world to agree on the basis of the fact I wrote something. Let my content speak for my worth. I am NOT Ozymandius! hughellis@comcast.net

I'm coming late to this discussion only due to Comcast glitches. I agree with the drive-by promo comments. They can get to me, too, and I have my first book coming out next week. I find myself shy about letting people know, even tho I participate on the forums regularly. My first goal is to write the best book I can write at a given time. That's the foremost job of any writer. I will promote my book, will send those reminders that the book is coming out, but partly because I appreciate being reminded. My "to-read" list is long, and I do forget! It's up to me, then, to buy the book or not. Get it from the library or not. Light, Nancy Haddock www.nancyhaddock.com

The best form of promo is still word of mouth. That said, it's hard to find a nice balance between writing that next book and promo'ing the current one. *sigh* I don't do a lot of guest blogs but I'm on two group blogs, plus my own. When I have guest blogged, I've always tried to come up with new material. Luckily there are enough online sites that I can send a book to for review, but still the time to do it is...well...time consuming. I'm with Nancy above me, it's hard to toot my own horn. However, I'm NOT very active on many lists.
Tish...for whatever this is worth (and I do agree) I've picked up authors because of finding them on Myspace--Amanda Stevens comes to mind. Her cover was arresting, to say the least, then I got to meet her last fall--she's super-sweet and also a native Texan.
For this next book I'm planning a few book signings and I always have bookmarks to give away. I'm also doing the Brenda Novak auction (more importantly than the promo value it's a great cause! My aunt had JD so it's near and dear to my heart). Otherwise....just go write another book.
Amie
www.amiestuart.com

Interesting blog Barbara! I'll take 1 or 2 of those calendars from the convention!!

Barbara, I get small PR from the publishers, the rest comes from my pocket or my hard work. Doing PR had cut into my writing time. Like I just spent four hours doing PR this morning. It's very rough. deborahmacgillivray.blogspot.com

Great blog topic! And very timely - I am debuting this year with both an ebook in YA, and a medieval romance in print, so I am trying to learn everything about promo times 2 Thanks to everybody for sharing - I've spent easily five hours each day for the past month doing promo research and its because of other writers willing to share that I know how to create an arc, contact booksellers and get on the right websites. Thank you, thank you! Traci

It takes time and a budget to promote. You need a budget to pay for mailing of the ARC or books for review. You need a budget to pay for bookmarks, postcards and for advertisement. I run an online magazine and I love to promote writers. I don’t mind giving free promotion, but it cost to promote. My time isn’t free. Have a budget and let those who help promote you know you have a budget and see what kind of promotion you can get. The first time might be free, but the next and the next shouldn’t be. Time – make time to promote your books. If you’re doing a blog tour, visit the sites that promote your book. Offer a free book to visitors. Readers like to see author participation. If you don’t have time to visit the sites on your blog tour, don’t do a blog tour. LaShaunda sormag.blogspot.com