Welcome to the Author Toolbox Blog Hop, hosted by author Raimey Gallant. On the third Wednesday of each month, we meet to share tips and tricks for writers. Join us here: https://raimeygallant.com/2017/03/22/authortoolboxbloghop/
It’s book launch week for me. Love, Art, and Other Obstacles, Book 3 in the Book Nirvana series, launched on May 18th. Steamy contemporary LGBTQ+ new adult romance! Review copies available May 16-31 on Netgalley. Curious? Please see my previous post.
Book launch is a time to call in favors. I’m so grateful to all the authors hosting me on their blogs and boosting my new book on their social media. Ditto to the authors who pointed me toward promo services that worked for them–and warned me away from promo services not worth the $$.
Relatively noobish writers like me, with a small budget, rely on free or cheap help to spread the word about our books. Where to find this help and information? Networking, darlings. I’ve “met” authors who became helpers here:
- Blog hops: The Insecure Writers Support Group, this one, and others
- Facebook groups for romance authors and romance fans
- Writers’ Organizations: My local RWA chapter and the online chapters I belong to, the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, the Pacific Northwest Writers Association, Marketing for Romance Writers.
- Local writing groups I found through Meetup.com.
- Live multi-author events
- Group promos on social media
- Just hanging out on social media
- Following writing blogs and newsletters
Of course, in order to receive help, you have to offer help. I’ve hosted many authors on this blog, giving them another platform to meet potential new readers. I boost others’ announcements on my social media accounts. I answer questions, give feedback, and recommend resources on various online forums, from Slack groups to marketing loops to online classes. I don’t engage in review swaps, but if I read a book and enjoy it, I post a review. Just your basic literary citizenship.
The trick is to keep track of whom you’ve helped and then reach out to those people when you need help. Most say yes!
So–network, darlings! Share the love, and it will come back to you.
Where have you found valuable help in growing your reach and readership?
Banner image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay.
So many congrats on your launch! Fun title, too. “literary citizenship” I didn’t have a name for it before, and I love this one. Thanks! I’ve done some of the same things as you. I don’t have a book published yet, still a ways out, but I’ll join more author marketing discussions then.
Ugh! I hate networking. Didn’t I become a writer so I could hide in my writing cave?
Good luck with your latest release!
Great post. Networking and working with other authors is important.
I agree. What goes around comes around. 🙂
Anna from elements of emaginette
I loved virtual networking but I’m not too great at the face to face stuff… but thank goodness a lot of book promotion can be achieved online. I don’t know what I’d do without my network of fellow memoir writers to support me through the writing process, and will be there to help me when it’s time to promote.
There’s a pretty active travel writing community on Facebook, and quite a few that focus on female travel bloggers. There’s all sorts of niches and sub niches, so it’s easy to find ones that you can align with and find an affinity too. I also host an author interview series to help author promote their books, and a podcast that also features authors and their books, so when it’s time for me to need help, I have a ready made network to connect with.