Donna’s Comments (group member since May 30, 2011)

Donna’s comments from the Q&A with David M. Brown group.

PS - I apologise for any typos - it's almost 4 a.m. (conveniently switching back to UK time) and those darn birds tweeting outside the window are distracting me!

A little late tonight - shall we say I'm on US time and then I've just about made it? :)

Okay, so your book is ready or nearly ready. Hooray! What now?

1) Blogs you follow - if you're a book lover you are probably following a few book blogs already and know the stuff they like. Great! Get in touch and see if they are interested in your novel and a guest post/interview/review.

2) New blogs - there are so many brilliant blogs out there and researching blogs to promote your book to will probably lead to you finding new blogs that you want to follow.

Top tips:
*http://www.stepbystepselfpublishing.n... - this is an amazing list of book reviewers and well worth looking at. There's also a PDF available for just $2.99 and this shows more detailed submission guidelines. It's an amazing resource to ensure you're contacting people who are likely to have an interest in the book.

*Make it easy for them! If you send a query, structure it so it's easy for the recipient to pick out useful information. Set out your request in a couple of brief sentences and then provide:
Book title & author
Genre
Publisher, ISBN & format
Buy link (e.g. Amazon.com)
Length (words or pages)
Blurb
About the author
That way you make it easy for the recipient to find out more about your book. If it's an ebook and available on Smashwords you could also supply a code for a free copy or specify in the email that you're willing to do this.

Two key things! Check submission guidelines carefully. If there are set specifications about what to send in an email or contact form, stick to them. Most of all, be polite. Many reviewers spend hours keeping their sites updated, working on their reviews and corresponding with people because they have a genuine love of books. Often they also have a 9-5 job as well so value their time.

3) Twitter - I mentioned the importance of Twitter previously and here it is again. If you've connected with reviewers on Twitter previously, why not ask them to review your book? And keep using Twitter to let people know that your title will be available soon and where to buy.

4) Facebook fan page - Set up a page and start trying to generate some interest with sample chapters, links to reviews as they appear, links to interviews etc. If you use a company like Smashwords you'll be able to generate coupon codes. Share them on Facebook (Twitter too for that matter).

More tomorrow!

Prepublication

1) Get on Twitter. Tweet regularly about things that interest you and you should develop a good following of like-minded people. Mr B is a regular tweeter and takes the time to read and respond to other people and has a good following now.

2) Get a blog. It gives you the opportunity to showcase your writing, connect with people and also to keep your writing skills up to scratch. It also means that when your book is published people won't be asked to buy it on blind faith as there's a collection of your writing already available for them to try.

3) Get a website. You may not need it until the book is published but once it's out you'll have so much to do that working on a website will be the least of your worries. Get your site set up well in advance with interesting content and clear contact details so it's there for people as soon as possible.

More tomorrow!