How (And Why) I’m Promoting My New Book

This is going to be a quick post, so I’m going to skip straight to the why. I have a new book out, Sage Cookson’s Sweet Escape, and I’ve been busy promoting it online and in person. I am doing this because although my publisher is doing their best to promote it too – particularly through setting up a website dedicated to the series – they have lots of books to promote each month, while I have only one new book at a time, and so can give this one my special attention, at the same time promoting my back list.

So, on to some of the things I am doing to promote Sage Cookson’s Sweet Escape:

Blogging (with posts like this one) about the book, about writing and about the writing life.
Tweeting – directly about the book, and on subjects connected to the book, as well as about seemingly unconnected things, which hopefully keeps my followers engaged.
Instagramming – photos with the book in, photos of things related to the book and, again, photos of seemingly unconnected things.
Pinning – to my Sage Cookson Pinterest board and other boards, related and unrelated.
Facebooking – adding content to my Facebook author page, again either related or unrelated to the book.
The 5 Minute Promo Challenge – a challenge I set myself and invited other authors to play along with, whereby I set a five minute promotional task each day for myself to do, then blog, tweet, Instagram and facebook about it, as appropriate.
Engaging with my followers on the above mentioned platforms, replying to tweets and comments, and checking out what they are doing, too.
Providing content for the Sage Cookson website, which New Frontier have set up.
Visiting schools, festivals and bookstores and talking about the book, or signing copies, or even (shhh don’t tell the booksellers) making sure the book is face out wherever possible.
Word of mouth. Telling people about the book – friends and strangers. But only where appropriate and not overdoing it.
Playing with my doll. A doll purchased from Kmart has been used to pose as Sage in social media photos, particularly on Instagram. Other props I’ve bought include a chef’s hat which I can wear for promotional appearances.
Ending every email with a signature line which includes the book’s cover and a link to my website.

If you have a new book to promote, there are lots of things in this list you can try, too – though tailor them to the topic or theme of your own book. Good luck.