Letters to Kel: THE UGLY TRUTH -- PROMOTION

Fact of the Writing Life: NOBODY is going to sell your books for you until you sell them first.

That might sound like common sense, and at the same time, a lot of us say, "HUH?"

Well, yeah, we have to sell the books to an agent and then a publisher. Unless of course we go the self-pub route, which more and more people are doing.

The trick is getting the attention of readers -- and not just any readers, but the ones who want to read the kind of books we write. Not that easy. Because everybody is jumping on the bandwagon every time someone announces a new promotion outlet or trick. Blogs, Facebook, booksigning tours, giveaways, raffles, auctions on eBay, etc., etc.

Every time I pick up an article or book talking about promoting your books, getting people to at least read the blurb and consider buying, someone says that WORD OF MOUTH is still the best method of promotion. But how do you get people to talk about your book? Well, you have to get someone to read it, and get them to start talking, telling their friends.

Someone once said that even bad publicity is worthwhile. Rotten reviews, the really scathing, virulent, poisonous reviews, get people interested -- they want to know why someone is so fired up against your book, perhaps even more interested than if someone was passionate about your book. I don't think I want to go that route, but think about it, how many best sellers out there became best sellers because some group went foaming-at-the-mouth, condemning-the-author-to-eternal-perdition violently against it?

The glory days of authors who can sit in their cozy writing rooms and just write and do nothing else are long over -- if they ever truly existed. Yes, the best thing you can do to promote your books is to write one great, compelling story after another. But a very, very close second is to let people know the book is THERE.

So begin talking about your book before it's published. Get a blog. Join groups where you can talk to readers -- but don't be obnoxious! Don't spend all your online time talking about "my book, my book, my book," ad infinitum, ad nauseum. Offer them something they're interested in, something they want or need, something that entertains or makes them think, and then as a side note, mention you write this type or that type of books. Then when the book is released you can say, "Oh, by the way, my newest book is ..." And people will react like a friend just announced a baby has been born, or they got a new job -- they'll be congratulatory, and those who are really interested will come look.

It's hard. I hate promotion. But I do the little I can figure out to do. And when I run regular ads and I post regularly and just get my name out there ... yeah, my sales pick up.

So let people know your book is coming. Find opportunities to show off your cover and talk about the story without being obnoxious. Establish yourself as someone who can be trusted, so people will listen and give you a chance. Get yourself a website and/or blog, where you can post about your books and people can communicate with you, to ask questions, or even invite you to author events. Find people who are interested in what you write. As for the rest ... once you figure it out, tell me?