M. K. Theodoratus, Fantasy Writer, blogs about the books she reads--mostly fantasy and mystery authors whose books catch her eye and keep her interest. Nothing so formal as a book review, just chats about what she liked. Theodoratus also mutters about her own writing progress or ... lack of it.

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Saturday, September 24, 2011

Tweet, Tweet about Book Promoting

Tweet, tweet do the writers sing. Sometimes, they even warble useful songs, like Michael Hyatt posting an article on How to Use Twitter to gain the effective publicity for your new book ... or old one. The disgusting thing? I knew a lot of his tips. Doing them consistently and efficiently? Another can of worms. 

Tip I liked the best? Posting quotes from your book. [It's also harder to do for fiction than non-fiction.]

The tip I forget to do the most? -- Using hashtags on my tweets. This is important so more people than my followers seen my comments.

Yeah, I printed this blog off to study. So far, it's sitting on top of the pile of print-offs that need organizing ... a month's worth if you look at the post note about chiropractor info. My challenge: To figure out how to use the quote idea for fiction.

Bonus Marketing Tip: Fear Net has a discussion on why post short stories as ebooks, an interview by Brian James Freeman, the managing editor of Cemetery Dance. Read it. The comments by the authors interviewed should give you some effective ideas for promoting your work ... including just your blog.

Main points: Do you write short stories in your novel's world? You might get some added mileage out of them if you polish them and self-publish.

6 comments:

Mary Mary said...

I think occasionally my chapters can stand alone as short stories, but to be honest, I think writing short stories and novels are two different talents. Some writers are just better at one over the other.

Maria Zannini said...

I started tweeting the lines from my latest book, but only after I paid my daily dues and retweeted and responded to others so I don't look self-serving.

Because of this I regularly get other people to retweet those lines. It's a win-win situation.

I only tweet lines a couple of times a week though because too much of anything looks like spam.

Patricia Stoltey said...

I can imagine your pile of print-offs...I do the same thing, and then mine sit in a tidy stack on the coffee table waiting and waiting...

Unknown said...

Mary: I agree with you. Probably most of my attempts at short stories turn into novels.

Good Points, Mariah. You want people to read your stuff, not ignore because they've seen it a hundred times before. One of my problems is that I forget to put the "RT" in the body of my tweets when I'm promoting.

Pat: At least you have a neat pile that's not out of place on a coffee. My coffee table is piled with the old man's books.

Jenny said...

I really am having a hard time getting the most out of Twitter, which is no one's fault but my own. Thanks for the links!

Unknown said...

Jenny: I'll bet I don't feel as guilty as you do, but I sure don't get the most networking punch out of my twitter efforts.

My plan? To keep plugging away. Eventually, I'll improve, but I know I'll never be a master.