Monday, August 13, 2018

Staying Relevant As An Author


For many writers, the day comes when you think, hey, this is more than a hobby. More time goes by and you decide, you know what? This writing thing is serious business.

You put yourself on some kind of schedule and you decide you’re gonna be disciplined if it kills you. You might get close to all out catatonia as you balance work, family and your writing regimen, but you stay the course and begin to release books.

Without a promotion drive, those books will sputter and sales fizzle. Exposure is critical when you’re unknown and trying to build a readership.

The internet provides unlimited research material that helps us to decide what to do and how to find the best deals.

  • Say you need book covers? Fiverr has a host of cover artists that provide service starting at – you guessed it – five dollars. Be warned, that you're hardly likely to get anything for that price, so be prepared to spend more. 
  • Need a blog tour host? Google is your go-to unit and if you want to get close and personal, Facebook is a great place to find people who provide this kind of service. Type in book promotion or cover art and potential sellers will pop up.
  • Looking for someone to run your promotions or host a book release party? Use any search engine or Facebook. Your writing buddies are also a source for checking out service providers. 
  • Want to find book clubs to expand your base of readers? Facebook is a good source as well. 
  • Have people who like reading your books? Start a group on whatever platform you like best and encourage them to share your work and add others to the team.
  • Include a free book as a gift for joining your mailing list.
  • Last, but by no means least, this website is a powerhouse of materials on every aspect of the publishing world, so make use of it.

Gone are the days when we can afford to keep our nose to the grindstone and ignore the reading public until we have a new book for sale. It’s not necessarily the best writers who have repeat readers, but those who find a way to keep themselves relevant and in front of those who are buying books.

Have you made the decision to take your publishing efforts to the next level? Are doing enough marketing? What has worked well for you in selling books?

Don't forget the IWSG Anthology Contest is coming up. Here are the details:
Word count: 3500-6000

Genre: Young Adult Romance

Theme: Masquerade
A Masquerade can be a false show or pretense, someone pretending to be someone they aren't. It can be a ball, a fancy dress party, it can be a mask. Open to interpretation.

Submissions accepted: September 5 - November 4, 2018

How to enter: Send your polished, formatted (Double spaced, no page numbers), previously unpublished story to admin @ insecurewriterssupportgroup.com before the deadline passes. Please include your contact details, your social links, and if you are part of the Blogging, Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter IWSG group.

11 comments:

Pat Hatt said...

Relevance sure is needed. Every little bit can build on it.

nashvillecats2 said...

When I found I could put a poem together (after two berevements) 20 years ago little did I think it would go on to produce 4 books and blogs. One has to have relavance.
Enjoyed the post to the start of this new week.

Yvonne.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

That's why I'm writing again. Trying to stay relevant.

Juneta key said...

Lots of things to think about. That term relevant is a little scary when you think about its importance to long term. Totally agree. Great post.

J.L. Campbell said...

True that, Pat.

Nashvillecats, glad you found your mojo and got moving again!

Wonderful, Alex. Keep going!

Thanks, Juneta. If we want to keep our readers, we have to stay in front of them for sure.

DreamNT said...

Thank you for the very best. Thank you for the very helpful article.









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Christine Rains said...

Marketing is tough, and I never feel like I'm doing enough. The best thing is to keep writing and producing. :)

J.L. Campbell said...

Same here. So true, Christine.

DirectLinda said...

Great post. I enjoyed reading it.

baili said...

yes writing is serious business and require much time to be perfect for being in market and time is something which i have so less as busy house wife and mom of two school going boys

cleemckenzie said...

This is a serious business and like any other it takes serious time and dedication. Glad you put that into this post, J. L.