You’ve
come to the zenith of your book
tour—which is the culmination or highest point—and you’re pleased with the
results and that the tour is over. You’ve done mop-up operations and you’re
seeing continuing sales on your book.
Your
job is complete, right?
Wrong.
This
is where the work really starts. After you’ve had that tiny vacay you no doubt
deserve, it’s time to get back in the saddle and do double duty. As we say
around here, you have to learn to ride and whistle. In short, while you’re
writing or editing that next book, the job of promoting the current one
continues.
I’ve
always known that as much as I think I’m doing, I should be doing more. I tend
to start with one promotional effort and lose steam when I should be adding
follow-up steps. Of course, that could be because I’m always editing something.
However, this is where balance comes in. Low visibility equals low sales, which
calls for time management and a marketing plan.
Having
hit a high point with your book, you should have already started planning how
you’re going to keep that book in view of potential readers. You already know
the answer to this question—continued promotion. Many writers take this into
account before starting a tour and have a line-up of ideas to work with. Those
are forward planners and you want to be counted in that group of people who
build on their successes. You know, building on that zenith we talked about
earlier.
In
the last week, I’ve come across an excellent read by Jeff Bennington. The book offers
all sorts of useful information to indie writers. His chapter on layering promotional
efforts makes a lot of sense. Do yourself a favour and download
a sample and see if you like the book enough to spend on it.
So
my fellow A-Zers, we’ve come to the end of the Challenge. I hope you’ve learned at
least one new thing from reading these posts on blog tours. I know I’ve learned
a lot on my stops at your blogs.
Many
thanks to Arlee
Bird and his team for conceptualizing and organizing this wonderful
month-long blog fest.
It’s been a ball.
It's been a fun Challenge!
ReplyDeleteI see authors do that all the time - they reach the end of the tour and then they go hide for a month or two while working on the next book. It's difficult to juggle it all, but if you lose steam and don't keep promoting, you crash. Or rather, your book crashes.
Congrats in getting over the finish line!
ReplyDeleteGreat job this month, J.L. You have a nice little publication of tips you've put together.
ReplyDeleteTrue that, Alex. I now have to turn my attention to things that need doing in that direction.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mike. You too. You did a fabulous job with your posts.
Thanks Lee. It's the doing of it that will be challenging.
This was a great series. Congratulations on making it to the end.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.thebusymomsdaily.com/2013/04/blogging-from-to-z-april-challenge_30.html
Thanks, Cheryl. I enjoyed putting it together. Mostly. :)
ReplyDeleteGreat suggestions on promotion, I'll have to check out that book.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on finishing!
Thanks, S.P.
ReplyDeletecongrats on finishing the A-Z. And you're right, joy--a writer's work is never done!
ReplyDeleteNutschell
www.thewritingnut.com
*sigh* Guilty as charged. I rarely ever promote. Well, the A-Z was sort of a promotion since I had my MC hosting, but I could be better.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on finishing the A-Z, Joy! I enjoyed your posts :)
Nutschell, yes, that is so. :)
ReplyDeleteGwen, boy do I know what you mean. The promo side of things demands some consistency and I know I can do better too. Congrats to you too on finishing the A-Z.
Awesome. In a publishing class I just finished, the instructor suggested you do at least one thing a day for promotion. He said if you did that, you were head and shoulders above the competition. Crazy, right?
ReplyDeleteThe Zenith isn't the end but a peak we can bask in for a little while before getting back to work. Great post and congrats on making it through A-Z.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this series, Joy!
ReplyDeleteCongrats on finishing to the Z and well done!
Nas
Book publishing is so different now. Before self-publishing became so popular, the publishing houses took care of the publicity (primarily) for a book. Of course, some authors still got involved in publicizing their book to a degree. But, there was a department for that job. If you self publish, you are all of the departments, and that is daunting. Many writers only feel comfortable writing. Marketing and publicity are foreign territory that they get lost in.
ReplyDeleteCrystal, your teacher is a smart guy. I don't always remember to do stuff everyday. Even the automated tasks slip beyond me.
ReplyDeleteTrue, Sheena. No extended basking while there's work to be done.
Thanks, Nas. Glad I finished too.
Robin, I've had to learn through crash courses. My first three books were with small publishers and it was way late in the game when I realized I was expected to get the word out. My second publisher was very helpful.
I'll check out the link.
ReplyDeleteYay, you finished the challenge.
I had the opportunity to scan the last few posts... great stuff!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on crossing the A to Z finishing line...
One question.
Can I hire you as my blog tour operator? LOL
Writer In Transit
Losing momentum is something I see all the time. Promoting a book isn't a sprint. It's a long term commitment.
ReplyDeleteYes, Medeia, glad I finished.
ReplyDeleteMichelle, I plan to put these together in a book, which I'll give away, so I'll make sure to send you the link. :D
Diane, I've discovered that, so I'm plodding along.
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