Getting the Word Out

As soon as I signed on the dotted line of my first contract, I got myself a web-site.

I do most of my promotion on-line. When I have a new release coming out, I'll schedule a blog tour so I can pop in and visit a bunch of places. This time around (I have a new book coming out in November), I'm also going to make better use of the open promo days on the groups I belong to. With my first book, I was still a little green around the gills and didn't set up a blog tour. With my second, I visited about ten other sites, and I did see an increase in my sales. So far I have about five visits set up for November. (If anyone knows of - or has a connection to - a good spot to visit, let me know!)

I also have a Facebook account and a fan page, but I will be the first to admit, I don't use those to their fullest potental. To be honest, there just aren't enough hours in the day to keep up with everything.(And hold down a full-time non-writing job.)

As for off-line, I do order bookmarks for each book and send them to conferences which have put out a call for goodies. (Although I must admit, I was dismayed after a conference my local RWA chapter hosted to see all of the goodies - bookmarks, pens, pencils, etc. - that were left over after the conference. It made me wonder what actually happens to all of those bookmarks I've sent out over the years.)

I've never done a book signing at a bookstore, but I have done several craft sales sponsored by churches, schools, libraries, etc. To be honest, I haven't sold a lot of books through this type of venue, but I bit the bullet and signed on for a show at the local high school just before Thanksgiving. Hopefully lots of people will want to buy books for Christmas gifts!

What I would really like to do is find a way to trace which PR methods I've used are actually the most effective. I'm not sure if there's a way to do that in a concrete way. And I wish promo didn't take so much time away from writing. But that's the way it goes, I guess. It's all connected.

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com