What I Learned from Lori Rader-Day about Book Marketing
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I am loving all the workshops and classes that are available on Zoom. I had the pleasure of attending Capitol Crimes’ presentation on book marketing for introverts with SinC past-president, Lori Rader-Day. She is such a talented writer with a the best sense of humor. I had the pleasure of being on a panel with her a few years back at Malice Domestic, and we had more fun that should have been allowed on an early Sunday morning. Here are some nuggets that I learned from her Zoom presentation about book marketing.
Work on your craft (the writing part) first.
Build a supportive network of other writers to share information and experiences.
Make a plan for your launch. Don’t think of your launch as a single event. Gather your resources as you plan.
Decide what you’re good at and do those things. You can hire people to do some of the other tasks.
Find role models and examples. Buy/read their books, look at their newsletter and website, and attend their events.
Know where your readers are and who else they read. Where do you have a built-in audience?
Schedule events (in-person or virtual) and guest blog posts ahead of your book launch.
Don’t contact booksellers during the holidays. Plan ahead.
Don’t overload your schedule. You don’t have to do everything.
Leave space in your schedule in case anything amazing pops up.
Good self-promotion is not including “buy my book” in every conversation.
Carry business cards and bookmarks with you.
Make real, authentic connections. Just be yourself.
Protect your personal and writing time.
For those who are shy, try doing an event. The more you practice, the better you’ll get.
Talk about the interesting things in your story/research, your hobbies, or your pets.
Give first before you ask for favors.
Read the books in your genre.
Write another book.
