By Tina Coleman Bausinger
My book, Cold Coffee and Speed Limits hit #6 on Amazon’s “Hot New Releases”
Parenting and Family Humor category. It was released less than a week ago and I
don’t have any major publishers or big-time book reviewers backing me. For
brief shining moment, my book was in front of Whoopi Goldberg’s
and Jim Gaffigan’s books!
My little geek self is still in awe. I published my first novel through a traditional small
press publisher (so yes, someone bought it and I signed an actual contract),
but when it was time to put out my second book I decided to do it
Indie-style–on my own. I crossed over into Best Sellers (so briefly, so
no, Ma, I’m not “rich yet”), as well as the Top Rated book list. It’s week 3
and I’m still on the Hot New Releases list, in two categories.
Here’s what I’ve done–and it’s WORKED.
1. Social Media: USE IT! My favorites are Facebook,
Twitter, and Pinterest. This includes tiny teasers on my Facebook posts as well
as individual pages just for this book. Because I have Fiction and Books pages
on Pinterest, I put it on there as well. I also put it on my Writer’s Café page
on Facebook where I’ve accumulated over 1000 followers. It’s free advertising.
I chatted it up to my friends, who also chatted it up with their friends. Word
of mouth goes a long way!
2. I’ve been blogging my butt off. This has cost me nothing but my time, although I have
invested in a nice-looking template and a few other goodies. Blogging has
helped establish me as an “expert” in my field as well as given me material for
my book. In addition, it helps my “Google-ability” or my social media presence. I don’t blog only about my book—that’s boring and people
will dump you like last night’s leftovers. I blog about my family, about
writing, about teaching—all of which are organic topics for me. I’ve also
gained readers who are interested in my blog about parenting teens, so
naturally many of these same readers are also interested in buying a book about
the same topic. If you spend time giving people valuable information (or
inspiration, or entertainment), they will come back for more.
3. Don’t try to skip a
professional cover. When I was working on
my draft, I had a really cute picture of my son and his girlfriend for the
temporary cover, then I asked my friend who’s a pro in
graphics and marketing to help me. I paid him in ENCHILADAS, people. I mean,
they’re pretty good enchiladas, but I know he was on the losing end of this
deal. A professionally designed cover sets you apart and gives you an edge.
4. I asked for help. Not
psychological help (but who knows how long that will last), but help editing
and promoting my book. In exchange for
an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC), readers promised to 1) give me HONEST feedback
2) tell me of any spelling/grammar/continuity issues 3) write a short review
and 4) help me promote my book on social media. It’s a cheap price to pay, AND
I placed excerpts of the reviews in the beginning of the book so that people
who were just checking it out might be motivated to KEEP READING. This cost me nothing but my pride. When my book was released, I asked these ladies (as well
as others) to go on Amazon and post a review there. Reviews (even less than 5
stars!) add a legitimacy to your book.
So remember, PLAN AHEAD. You don’t
have big bucks for promotion, but you do have to spend some time. It’s all
worth it to see your book on the list!
_________________________________________________________________
Tina Coleman Bausinger has a Master’s degree in
English and is the author of War Eagle Women, a Southern gothic novel
and Cold Coffee and Speed Limits. She’s a contributing writer in
the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, publishing in two of
their books--Chicken Soup for
the Soul: Thanks Dad: 101 Stories of Gratitude, Love, and Good Times and Chicken Soup for
the Soul: Runners: 101 Inspirational Stories of Energy, Endurance, and
Endorphins. She writes features, travel pieces and book
reviews for IN Magazine, the Tyler Paper, Freelancewriting.com and enjoys
blogging at tinabausinger.com .
She teaches English Composition at a local junior college. She lives in Tyler,
Texas with her husband, three kids, a bully Chihuahua and a German shepherd
with anxiety issues. Contact Tina on any of her pages. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tina.bausinger, Twitter, Instagram or Pinterest.
No comments:
Post a Comment