Many authors see marketing as a bind. What are your thoughts?
By Shannon Mayer
Marketing
for authors is a hard thing, and I think I know why. Authors are of a creative
mind set, one that seems to be designed for imaging the impossible, devising
ways a person might die, solving mysteries, delving into worlds unknown and
building romances that we can all only dream of existing.
Authors
are not (for the most part) business minded individuals. Authors, I believe
have strong right brain dominance. That is the side of your brain that is
creative, can be random and intuitive.
It makes for some seriously sweet stories.
In
order to be a business person though, you need to engage your left brain, the
one that dominates logical thinking. In doing so, you have to back away from
the creative side of yourself for a bit and I think that freaks authors out. We
are comfortable creating. Period.
I’ve
been lucky, I ran a business for the last fifteen years which forced me to
develop my left brained thinking habits. Along with that, I’ve learned to blend
the two. Getting creative with your promotions I think is the key to success,
but most authors won’t embrace this. It’s too scary.
So
what can authors do to overcome these fears? For those who are struggling,
there are a few options.
- Hire
a professional. Expensive, yes, but if you are truly terrified of doing
your own promos, and have money to spare, this is a good option. I’ve been
lucky enough to meet a number of great PR specialists whose brains I’ve
gotten to pick whenever I’ve been stuck on my promotional issues. They are
out there, you just have to look for them.
- Start
small. Do a little contest, or poll on your blog, Facebook, Goodreads or
Twitter. Taking baby steps can help you get into the mode of left brain
thinking. It can be very gratifying to see a promotion turn out well, and
could be all you need to get going in that direction. Don’t be afraid,
just dive in!
- Join
an author group. I joined the Indie Book Collective and it was one of the
best things I did for the promotional side of my career. They host
promotions that for a small fee I can choose to be a part of. They run
everything, and I just show up with my book. This frees up my time to do
what I do best, write.
Whatever
you decide to do as an author, I think you need to still remember the number
one rule. No matter how much time you have to put into promoting your book, you
still need to be writing the next one. You need to promote your book, it is
necessary if you want to make it in the publishing world. You also need to
write, and while I believe that is the crux of the position with authors and
marketing, I also believe that it can be worked around, if you put your right
brain and left brain together.
Reading and writing from a very young age I learned early on that stories built in a fantasy world were where the fun was at. Reading books by Robert Jordan spurred me on and it was the first real epic fantasy that I fell in love with. After that came Piers Anthony, Melanie Rawn and into my older teen years, Anne Rice.
It was in Rice’s novels that the idea of urban fantasy really bloomed for me and it was about that time that my grandmother was letting me read her Harlequin Historical novels. (Okay, actually she was slipping them to me when my mother wasn’t looking, but let’s not get picky.)
The combination of love stories and darker fantasy stuck with me and it’s now not only what I gravitate towards to read on my off time (Kelly Armstrong, Laurell K Hamilton, Kim Harrison), but has become the style I love to write in.
Besides writing, I love to spend time with my family and animals, horseback ride, garden and hike with my husband.
SHANNON'S CREATION
Original Title: Dark Waters
Series: Celtic Legacy #1
Author: Shannon Mayer
Published Date: December 28th 2011
Genre: Fantasy
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Two sisters, one of them kidnapped + Two gorgeous men.
+ A legendary prophecy =
Monsters, magic, deception and sensuality.
Be prepared to dive into Dark Waters!
What the readers have said
"Right from the beginning this story explodes."
Author of the Vicarage Bench Series, Mimi Barbour
" . . don't expect to be lulled to sleep, this story doesn't stop moving. As fast as it is happening for our protagonist, Quinn, is as fast as Mayer takes us along for the ride."
Kriss Morton, Reader
"The premise is an interesting mix of original and classic . . . the familial bonds and an emerging love triangle are really what drive the story and give it more dimension. Highly recommend!"
Author of The Slave Girl Chronicles, JC Andrijeski
"Whoop, Whoop I loved it! Strong characters, Strong plot, great action. I think I may have found Ms. Mayer's M.O. . . this book is a real page turner."
Amber Spedding (Reader)
GIVEAWAY
The author is giving away 3 e-copies of Dark Waters. This giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY! Enter the Rafflecopter below.
Thanks for a great post! As a reader, it was enlightening to read about the more business side of writing. More power to all the authors that they can write and do their own PR. I couldnt ;)
ReplyDeleteI love this guest post. I googled Indie Book Collective a soon as you mentioned it. I'm about to check it out now. Thank you and thank you for the giveaway! :o)
ReplyDeleteGabby @ What's Beyond Forks?