I am so happy to present today’s guest blog post from Mike O’Mary on three great ways to promote yourself as a writer. Mike and Kathleen Meyer are Co-Founders of LitNuts, an e-newsletter that brings the “Best of the Indies” to booklovers. Mike is also an author and owner of Dream of Things, an indie press that published 13 books from 2009 to 2016, including two titles that sold more than 20,000 copies, 3 NYT Bestsellers, 3 Hoffer Award winners, and one book that was optioned for a film. I hope you enjoy it. Please share your thoughts in the comments.
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You’ve written a book. Now what?
Ideally, you’ve thought about the “now what” before and during writing the book. That’s because most publishers will want to know about your “platform” when you inquire about publishing your book with them.
Your platform is your following — on your website, blog, social media — maybe even some people you know!
If you’re a “subject matter expert” who decided to write a book, chances are you already have a platform or a following that you can leverage to help promote your new book. If not, you’re going to need to do some work.
I’m not going to talk here about the usual things. You can read elsewhere about creating a website and blog, and social media accounts. I’m going to focus instead on some “surround” efforts you can pursue to help round out and promote your platform.
Writers Groups
If you’re not in a writers group, find one and join it. The Authors Marketing Guild has a good list of writers groups. If you’re already in one, make the most of it.
I joined the Chicago Writers Association many years ago and have reaped the rewards ever since. The benefits include everything from something as simple as being able to network with other writers to publication opportunities, a review service, and more. Here’s a complete list of benefits from the CWA website:
- A personal user-friendly webpage on CWA’s official website to promote your writings and happenings
- Access to CWA’s official e-group where members share publishing, writing, and marketing information
- Opportunity to participate in CWA author reading and book signing events and industry expo booths, including the Chicago Tribune Printers Row Book Fair and our own, Let’s Just Write! An Uncommon Writers Conference.
- Opportunity to participate in our Speakers Bureau.
- Opportunity to participate in our book review service, Windy City Reviews.
- Opportunity to enter your book in our Books of the Year Contest.
- Opportunity to enter our members-only writing contests.
- Opportunity to be published in our Write City e-zine and Windy City Writers blog.
- Interaction with other writers.
Even though it’s a Chicago-based group, you can join CWA from anywhere. But you should also see what’s available in your area. The California Writers Club, for example, has 2,000 members and 22 chapters spread across the state. So if you happen to be in California, you should be able to find a chapter near you.
Offer Something of Value
I love creative writing, but until I retired earlier this year, I also did executive communications (speeches, presentations, annual reports, etc.) to pay the bills.
One of the things I learned in the business world is the concept of providing “something of value” (SOV) as a way to cultivate relationships with clients. It could be as elaborate as organizing a free conference for clients, but it could also be as simple as finding and sending an insightful article to prospects.
As an author, you can do the same. What can you provide that will be of value to your “clients and prospects” (i.e., people who might buy your book now or sometime in the future)? Chances are you’re a “subject matter expert” on something! Or again, maybe you share interesting information with clients. Here’s an example:
Kathleen Meyer and I currently publish LitNuts three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The focus is mainly on indie books, and we don’t want to detract from that. But we always include a brief introduction to:
- announce the winner of that day’s prize drawing
- share a literary quote, and
- offer something of value.
Most recently, I came across an article about 12 ways to cope during stressful times. It didn’t tie directly to books (although reading a good book is a great way to reduce stress!). Still, I felt it might provide some value to our subscribers – and maybe also simultaneously strengthen and deepen our relationships with them.
Use Blog Tours and Guest Blog Posts to Promote Your Platform
A blog tour is a great way to promote your book and yourself as an author. I’ve used several blog tour services, and I believe a WOW! Blog Tour is one of the best values and most effective marketing tools you will find to promote yourself as an author.
You can also reach out directly to book bloggers and offer to write a guest blog post as a one-off. That’s where “something of value” comes into play again. It’s not just about promoting your book; it’s about providing something of value to people who might later decide to do business with you in the form of buying your book. (Full disclosure: That’s exactly what I’m trying to do right now! I’m hoping that by providing you with something of value – in this case, suggestions on how to promote yourself as a writer – then you might later say to yourself, “Hey, that Mike O’Mary guy is all right. Maybe I’ll give his newsletter a try.”)
Tip of the Iceberg
We can all agree on how important it is to pursue your writing dreams. Once you do, the things I’ve talked about today represent just the tip of the iceberg on how to promote yourself as a writer and should be strategies you consider for your overall marketing plan. Good luck!
