Getting Noticed

I’ve been looking about the WEB for ways to have my novels noticed and find a plethora of blogs on how to market, advertising from publicists, and outstretched hands to take my $’s for services that will put my name before the reader.  The hard part about any of these is to decide what to take to heart and what to toss in the waste basket (today we hit delete) along with the rest of the crumpled inadequate pages.

My last blog I wrote about just coming off a month’s virtual tour that I believe was $’s well spent with a publicist that came through with all that was promised and perhaps a little more.  Since it was my first virtual tour I was unfamiliar with the written interviews and how they came across was up to me.  I did notice one that would have read better had I flushed out the answers a bit more to reveal more of myself to the reader.  Guest blogging was new to me and the host blog site chose the subject matter to write about.  This was an adventure in writing, but it also widened my scope of subjects to write about – it made me think (and that can be a chore).  And, there were the all too scary reviews by professionals that received a copy of my book and rated its content and wrote reviews.  These were people from all corners of the United States and one in Canada that I never met and most likely never will.

But how do I know where to spend the $’s that will promote my writing and benefit me the most.  I don’t without first doing a little research into the person or company and looking at their work and testimonials.  Ah, testimonials – but only the good ones are posted, right!  Not necessarily, the wording tells the tale and reviewing the writing by a few of the represented clientele helps make the decision.

Of course there is the question of how many $’s do I have to spend.  The budget is limited and the best scenario is to use $’s earned from book sales to reinvest into the work for greater success with future works bringing notice to those works already on the market. 

So is your head spinning yet with the $’s signs? Mine is.  Each step we take into the marketing world is a step closer to seeing our writing viewed by the public.  Some of them are free in social media, some are contacts we can make for speaking engagements, signing events, etc. but many of them cost $’s to enlist professional assistance to reach a wider audience. 

I am fortunate to be on major book sites such as Amazon and B & N and through my publisher: http://tatepublishing.com  - but the challenge is getting the reader to these sites and then to choose the books I wrote.  It’s also about finding a particular niche and having the books noticed using all the resources available within the ability to pay those $’s for the services rendered on my behalf.  But most of all it’s making the work the best it can be to appeal to the reader and make those $’s well spent on an enjoyable read.

Happy Marketing!