Introduction
At a recent meeting of the Society of Authors Joanne Harris told how, when her first book was published, she asked the publishers if there was a marketing budget.
"We might run to a book of second class stamps," was the reply.
So, she made her own posters and hawked them around local libraries and bookshops. She seems to have succeeded.
Chances are if you're published by the small press your publisher won't have a lot of time and certainly won't have much budget to promote your book. In fact, though, if you're published by one of the Big Five, they'll hardly have any more time or money though they may have a little more influence. So the habits and routines described here are good to get into anyway. It should all become easy and should not detract from the main task in hand: becoming a great writer.
You probably won't want to do all of what is described here. Establish that which you find the easiest and can enjoy and start with that. If it’s not effective enough, look to see what else you might try.
If I'm your publisher I'll flag up your work for about a year on social media and thereafter every so often. I'm also delighted to be invited to a physical or online launch if time and geography permit.
I'm pleased, too, to answer questions or look over things such as press releases.
In the end, though, there are only so many hours in the day so please be patient.
You may also like to look at my blog, A Publisher's Perspective http://apublishersperspective.blogspot.co.uk/ where I also deal with many of these issues.
Do get in touch also with your own ideas.
The Good Blog
You don't have to have a blog. Some writers hate them. Blogging can seem like a writing chore. Others love them – they find them a type of writing exercise – a little like the warm up that sports people practise or the scales that musicians play. It really is up to you.
You also need to decide who you are writing for – other writers, your readers or for people who are interested in the books' settings or themes?
Clearly it should entertain and inform – preferably at the same time. Some writers who are not yet published hesitate about creating a blog or a web site as they don't yet have a book out there. But maybe the blog doesn’t need to be just about books. It can be about the subject of your book, your writing process, you, something else, or a mixture of all of these things. As you can set them up for free, you can get started straight away. More about that later.
All in one place or separate?
I personally like to keep separate blogs for separate purposes. I’ve recently posted on A Publisher's Perspective http://apublishersperspective.blogspot.co.uk/ about marketing routines and now I’m looking in closer detail at some items.
I have other blogs:
Gills Recommended Reads http://gillsrecommendedreads.blogspot.co.uk/ is my reviewing site where I share books that are so good they have taken me out of my editor’s head.
Gill’s Sample Fiction http://gillssamplesundays.blogspot.co.uk/ is exactly what it says it is. Here I publish extracts from my fiction.
The Creative Café Project http://www.creativecafeproject.org/ is all about my project identifying cafés that facilitate creative practitioners meeting each other and their audiences.
The House on Schellberg Street http://www.thehouseonschellbergstreet.com/ discusses my Schellberg Cycle of books and also contains a lot of background material to the books. It is designed to be a useful tool for anyone studying the Holocaust. Unusually it gives quite a lot of the German perspective.
Writing Teacher http://creative-writingteacher.blogspot.co.uk/ touches on my life as a teacher of creative writing and I’m currently adding in some craft workshops.
Gill James Writer http://www.gilljameswriter.eu/ is where I blog about writing and occasionally about my books. This and the Creative Café Project are the two most popular.
Other people blog about a variety of topics in one place. See:
Carol Hedges http://carolhedges.blogspot.co.uk/
Debz Hobbs-Wyatt https://wordznerd.wordpress.com/
Allison Symes https://allisonsymescollectedworks.wordpress.com/tag/blogging/ Allison often takes you to a landing page where you can pick which of her blogs you want to read. In effect, she uses a hybrid method.
So, all in one place or divided by topic?
Here’s a snapshot of the advantages and disadvantages of each.
All in one place
You can probably blog every day. However, you might lose your friends who are not writers or lose writing friends who are less interested in you personally.
Diverse titles
You’re blogging less often but your blogs are more focussed.
I actually think both methods are valid and in the end it is up to you to decide which one is better for you.
What can / should a writer blog about?
Well here are a couple of lists I’ve found useful:
DIY Author http://www.diyauthor.com/16-blog-post-ideas-novelists-will-engage-right-audience/
40 types of content https://writerswrite.co.za/40-types-of-content-that-will-make-your-life-easier/
Look at other blogs for even more ideas.
Where to host your blog
There are two providers that will host your blog for free. I favour Blogger https://www.blogger.com/ as this is what I’m used to. However, Word Press https://wordpress.com/ is just as good.
Look at what you can achieve with Blogger: Words and Pictures http://www.wordsandpics.org/ This is an e-zine that is published daily.
You do have the option of attaching a custom domain name. I have done this with Gill James Writer, The House on Schellberg Street and for The Creative Café Project.
What we find in reviews
When we review our authors' blogs with our marketing hats on we often notice a lack of a call to action. You need to make it irresistible for your reader. Whoever comes to your post shouldn’t fail to follow you or eventually buy your book.
Do have fun with this. Planning your blog can be almost as creative as writing the book itself.
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