Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Promotion - What works for me - Continued

Here I am a back again in the New Year having survived the Mayan apocalypse (as did we all) and the dreaded Fiscal Cliff which was even more to be feared.  I finished all my edits for my 2013 releases, A Trashy Affair, Paradise for a Sinner, and Courir de Mardi Gras. That's the good news.  Now the bad - I am having knee surgery next Monday and will be laid up for six weeks or more.  I do hope to spend that time working on a new Sinners novel and catching up with piles of unread books and unwatched DVD's, hopefully while eating chocolates and being waited on by friends and family, but I don't think it will be that much fun.

Other mentionables: I am participating in a new blog, www.romancingthejock.com aimed at readers of sports romances and will post once a month, my first time being January 5th.  This group of twelve authors, many more talented than I, is starting things off with a bang.  Visitors to the site will be entered to win a Kindle or Nook tablet or one of several gift baskets, so it is worth a look-see on your part.  Now, having done my bit to promote the new site, on to what you really want to read, more promotional ideas.

Last time, I left off the one idea that helped me the most.  A fellow writer of sports romances, Jami Davenport, developed a Listmania on Amazon of books with sports heroes.  She graciously added my first two books, Goals for a Sinner and Wish for a Sinner.  There I was co-mingled with the likes of Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Bella Andre.  Soon, the Listmania (a bibliography of similar titles if I did not make that clear) appeared alongside my books on Amazon. Sales that had slacked off for my first book blossomed again and continue to grow and extend to other titles.  So, if you can devise a list of well-known books similar to your own and post it, this might mean sales for you as well.

The final and most obvious advice is to write your next book.  Do not spend all your time and effort trying to sell your first.  If you are doing a series, this is even more important.  You must have more to offer and quickly or readers will pretty much forget about you.  Quickly in publishing terms means a one year period, even better if you can get two out fast in that time span.  But, I caution, write them with the same care as your first or your series and sales will fizzle.

In parting before I hobble off to the hospital, welcome to my new follower, Suzanne, and have the best of New Years.