Author-driven marketing is a process, and at times it feels like a never-ending process. As I have said before, I keep posting daily to my Facebook page, Twitter (I now have over 7,550 followers) and LinkedIn accounts, and I try to post at least once a month to my website. At times it can be daunting, but as I have also mentioned, and it is worth repeating, we are not alone in this journey, SOOP is with us every bumpy step of the way. And lest we forget why we are on this journey, it is to let people know that we have a book and we want to encourage them to read it.
I have already spoken about the importance of staying visible and active in the different venues of social media. And if you can get others to start writing about and tweeting some of the things you do, including your book, it will over time begin to show results. It does not happen overnight for most of us, and we are not buying lottery tickets here; this is work hard work and it must be maintained to ensure visibility.
As I indicated in my last post, BoomerCafe.com, a leading digital magazine for Boomers, ran a story from my book Life at 12 College Road. Because it had such a great response from their readers, BoomerCafe ran another, Saturday Mornings, and apparently it was the number one story for Boomers over this 2015 Fathers Day weekend (according to Alltop in their list of Most Topular Stories).
I have also mentioned being active in the community in which you live. Get to know the owners and those who work in your local bookstores, especially the independent ones. Ask them to carry your book, let them know you are available to participate in book signings and book clubs that they may offer to local residents.
For example, I have made good contacts with Northshire Bookstore in Saratoga Springs, New York. They have been carrying Life at 12 College Road and have invited me to be one of four authors to participate in a Local Author Spotlight that will be held on July 7, 2015, at the bookstore. The evening will include each author giving a brief presentation, followed by a book signing and reception. I have also been invited to do a book signing on August 29, 2015, at the BookstorePlus located in Lake Placid, New York. You might recall that I did a book reading of Life at 12 College Road there last summer.
Author-driven marketing takes commitment and work. I will not attempt to sugar coat it. If you want people to know that your book even exists, let alone have an interest in reading it, you are going to have to be fully engaged. At this stage of my adventure, I have learned that writing the book was the easy part. But besides time and work, it also takes imagination and creativity. In my next post we will explore and share some ideas that might help us on this continuing journey.
Oh and before I leave you, in my last post I told you I was meeting with a seniors writers group about writing, and of course my book. I must confess I enjoyed myself and they were a delightful group, all real lovers of books and writing. Did I sell any books? Yep, I sold one, as the sweet old lady who happily bought it announced to the group, “Not to worry, we can all share my copy.” I said it could be daunting.
It’s not always the earth-shattering events that are most significant in our hectic lives. More often, it’s the small things, many long forgotten, that touch and shape us most deeply. Our memories of these events might bring smiles, or anger, or even a desire to forget. But every one of them helps to make us who we are today and in some ways, who we will become tomorrow. Join Eric Mondschein at the unhurried pace of a cup of coffee for a surprising and powerful journey in which laughter inevitably mingles with tears, sorrow turns to joy, and loss almost becomes bearable.
Life at 12 College Road is available at Amazon.com!
Slowly but surely my fan base is growing but I spend most of my time writing.
Thank you.