HappeningsGetting a book written and publishing is an amazing achievement and anybody who does it deserves a big pat on the back.
Sadly, that first copy of your book arriving in a Jiffy bag is just one step on your path to fame and fortune as an author and that retirement to a life scribing on a Caribbean island. You have another mountain to climb and that’s to tell potential readers about your book.
It doesn’t matter if you are self-publishing or if you have a publishing contract either – there is only one person who can sell a book and that’s the author.
Fortunately, the rise of social media platforms makes this task easier than ever and it means readers can connect with authors – and the other way around – both inexpensively and instantly.
It is also important that you start this process pretty much at the same time you start writing your book. Especially if you are aiming to get a publishing contract as publishers are looking for authors to take initiatives in this area.
Step 1: Your Foundations
Any edifice needs solid foundations and having your own blog is by far and away the best way to start.
The best news is that they are free to set up and they allow you to edit your own web site without any technical knowledge.
You don’t have to restrict yourself to one blog. You can have one per book or per theme. For example, this Bookwright blog is where I talk about things that might be of interest to authors and publishers.
My new blog www.tomevans.co might look more like a web site but it is built on blogging technology. This is where I talk about things I am writing about. It is also the hub for my professional services and the point from which I broadcast, network and publish which in itself leads to service delivery (i.e. sales).
To get started blogging, I strongly recommend you use WordPress and you can set up a free site at www.wordpress.com – where you will also find loads of tutorials on how to use it.
I have an 80 year old author blogging regularly so there is no excuse not to !!
What is important though is that you blog regularly BUT ONLY when you have something relevant to say.
You can see an example of the sort of things The Bookwright blogs about in the horizontal menu above – it ranges from blogs about iPhone apps to metaphysics which I write about.
Once your blog gets noticed, you may also find yourself as a guest blogger on other platforms. I also re-blog some of my blogs on social business networking sites like 4Networking and Ecademy.
All in all, blogging, guest blogging and reposting is brilliant for generating organic content people looking for what you are writing about on search engines.
As a result, I no longer spend any money on advertising – all my energy goes into content production and the perfect clients just seem to turn up at the perfect time.
Building Your Author Platform Talk at Sutton Writers Group
I’ll be talking about how to go about this and more on the 18th February at Sutton Writers at 8pm. It’s just £3 to attend – all are welcome and if you’d like to come along just email Ros Black at ros243@sky.com
- also see how Ros is using a blog to promote her book and her work at www.talent4humanity.com
More details about Sutton Writers and their other speakers and talks here …
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You are inspirational Tom – there is somethming about the way you put things over that makes me consider doing something I had never even thought of – wrting a book! You make it seem so simple! I had plenty of opportunity to practice breathing techniques whilst writing my first blog – but looking at your pyramid it may eventually lead to…………. a book?!
Blogging a book is a good strategy . Virtually all my blogs are seeds for whole books or potential chapters. I even got a publlishing deal on the back of a blog.