Wednesday, May 2, 2012

What the heck am I supposed to do about promotion?


Yay! New Format!!

Hello everyone, as one of the original Paranormal Romantics people, I am very pleased to welcome all of the amazing new authors to our little blog.  It’s been such a pleasure blogging here all of these years and I am so excited to see what you will be sharing with all of us. 

In fact, can I admit?, that I’m having a fan-girl moment about being on the same blog with some of you.  SQUEE.

But, okay, I’ll control myself. 

For today, I thought I would talk about book promotion.  This has been on my mind lately because I’ve been very involved with several blog tours and I’m almost re-evaluating what works and what does not work in terms of selling books.

The author today does so much more than just write a book and let the readers read it.  Even the top-selling New York Times authors are out there engaged in promotion of their books. 

But how much is too much? How much is too little? What works? What doesn’t?

Here is the short answer: I don’t know and I’ve tried it all.  I can do exactly the same kinds of tours for 3-4 different books and have entirely different experiences each time. 

Is it the blog topics that draw the readers to check out the blog and then, maybe, make a purchase? Is it the blogs themselves? The giveaways? Name recognition? Reviews? The cover? The title? The publisher? Amazon?

I haven’t a clue. 

 I just know that sometimes books sell extraordinarily well and sometimes they don’t sell at all.

My advice on this subject, and I’m asked for it a lot, is do your best.  Do some promotion. It can’t hurt.  Do as much as you can.  And then wait and see.   Write something else.  Its really a mystery.  To all of us. 

10 comments:

Annie Nicholas said...

I think name recognition is one of the most important parts of promo. Not easy to do though. LOL

Like you said, write more.

Tina B said...

Being a reader, for me it is the story itself. If it sounds like a good read, I'll try it out. But, like you said, getting it out there is the tricky part. Good luck in your promoting. :)

Anonymous said...

I love to read and love to find new-to-me authors. I have found several through yahoo groups and from street teams. By that,I mean, I go to my local library and there are bookmarks, magnets, some bookflats and cards(most of them signed), sitting there. I now belong to a few street teams/packs and I take all of these to the library and pass them out to friends and family. Those of us on the teams do book reviews and post them on Amazon, B&N, goodreads, our blogs and other sites. From what I understand....the authors are enjoying more book sales from this.

I really like being on the street teams. The authors usually give us members a few perks for our hard work.... ;-)

Deb
mammy4423(at)yahoo.com

Anonymous said...

Ooops...I meant to tell you too, Rebecca, that I love your books. I have all the Westervelt Wolves, 1 Night Stands, Shifters & Bikers and I am trying to get more!

Deb
mammy4423(at)yahoo.com

Rebecca Royce said...

Deb-Thank you so much for telling me that! You just made my day!!

J Hali Steele said...

*Sigh* Rebecca, you're so right...about everything you said. I do believe one of the best things is to keep writing...just keep writing. *smile*

And a big shout out to all the new bloggers. It's great to have you with us!

Ella Drake said...

Rebecca, I'm clueless on promotion. Well, except I agree with what Annie said about name recognition. But how that's done? Other than luck? No idea!!

Hailey Edwards said...

I agree with Annie. Name recognition is key but--like Ella said--how to achieve it is a mystery. It's a catch 22. The answer is obvious, how you reach the answer is...murky at best.

Write more books, better books, and keep your fingers crossed. That's about the best advice I have to offer.

JoAnne Kenrick said...

*waves hi* newbie paranormal romantic here! And having a fan-girl squeal moment myself WOOT.
Pretty awesome to be blogging with many of my favorite authors. Thanks so much for letting me jump on board!!!

Arghh promotion. It's a dirty word. I just want to write. Books that is. Not blogs. But I know...a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. And that's promote her little booty off.

Keep trying new things and like it's already been said here...keep writing.

JoAnne Kenrick said...

*waves hi* newbie paranormal romantic here! And having a fan-girl squeal moment myself WOOT.
Pretty awesome to be blogging with many of my favorite authors. Thanks so much for letting me jump on board!!!

Arghh promotion. It's a dirty word. I just want to write. Books that is. Not blogs. But I know...a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. And that's promote her little booty off.

Keep trying new things and like it's already been said here...keep writing.