Celebrating Independent Authors
AL Kaplan is the readers’ choice in this week’s Indies Unlimited Flash Fiction Challenge.
The winning entry is rewarded with a special feature here today and a place in our collection of winners which will be published as an e-book at year end.
Without further ado, here’s the winning entry:
Even with the introduction of pre-order publishing across the board, I still think a book’s release day is a really big deal. A song and dance needs to be made on the day your book goes live. You really want as many people to buy your book on the day of release as possible. Your rankings have a better chance of soaring in that first week than at any other time. I mean, yes, you can do a sale later on in the book’s life and pay for advertising – that’s actually a really smart move, but release day rankings are a sweet spot that should be taken advantage of.
So – how do we get the world buying, or noticing, your book on its release day? While there are many different techniques out there, here are a few I’ve used: Continue reading “Release Day Mania”
Melissa Pearl’s post about her experiences working with a publicist got me thinking about the publicist experience from my end. I’m contacted by publicists on behalf of authors quite often. Those interactions can be both good and not so good, both in what I experience and, at least from my limited perspective, how well the publicist accomplishes the author’s goal in hiring them.
I’ll start with the proviso that a publicist might not be a publicist. Depending on what kind of publicity you want, there are other terms that might apply. I’ve been approached by publicists for the obvious things such as writing a story about or interviewing the author, to the less obvious like an offer of a guest post or soliciting reviews, sometimes as part of a blog tour. A blog tour operator is an example of a publicist with a very specific focus. The same could be said of someone at a small press who wears multiple hats, including that of publicist. Some authors hire personal assistants who, as part or all of their duties, function as publicists and marketers. Keep this in mind, not only in considering my post, but in evaluating whether a publicist makes sense for you and, if so, how. Continue reading “Publicists: A View from the Other Side”