Effect of MR Promotion, or not?

[pholy]

ASparrow, it wouldn't hurt to have a link to your book(s) in your sig line, with a brief description. I have so many books right now that I'm not doing much looking now, but it might catch my eye sometime in the future... If it's there, I mean. Just keep posting other stuff, stay in the conversations, and you'll catch some eyes. Other than my favourite SF authors, I tend to look around MR first for new authors.

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by ASparrow

Regarding targeting, I have no idea where to find a place where people go to discuss contemporary fantasy/adventures with elements of magical realism. I suspect such a place doesn't exist. This kind of problem seems to happen a lot to indie authors who aren't guided by commercial trends and mix other genres or simply fail to hew to the norms.

Maybe the answer is to stop writing non-genre-specific stories, but that's not going to happen in my case. I write these kinds of stories because I can't seem to find too enough of them in book stores.

That's the best reason to write, and why the reading world is so much better now that people have realised they don't need publishers telling them what to write.

With crossover genres I would have thought it would be easier to find forums to join though? They wouldn't need to fit exactly, there will always be a bit of an overlap. It would still be better targetting than a forum like this where reading tastes range from Dickens to Guy N Smith.

[ASparrow]

Originally Posted by pholy

ASparrow, it wouldn't hurt to have a link to your book(s) in your sig line, with a brief description. I have so many books right now that I'm not doing much looking now, but it might catch my eye sometime in the future... If it's there, I mean. Just keep posting other stuff, stay in the conversations, and you'll catch some eyes. Other than my favourite SF authors, I tend to look around MR first for new authors.

Yeah, you're right. I probably should list them in my sig, or at least mention their titles or something. I did for a while, and probably will again, when my next book is ready in a few months. For now, they're all top secret.

[ASparrow]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

That's the best reason to write, and why the reading world is so much better now that people have realised they don't need publishers telling them what to write.

With crossover genres I would have thought it would be easier to find forums to join though? They wouldn't need to fit exactly, there will always be a bit of an overlap. It would still be better targetting than a forum like this where reading tastes range from Dickens to Guy N Smith.

I've tried several fantasy boards (elfwood, etc.) for a while and for the most part they seem dominated on one hand by aficionados of Tolkien-esque epic fantasy (which I also enjoy, but never write) or some combination of vampires, werewolves and/or zombies.

I'm shooting (missing) for something a little more literary (pretentious). I like playing with (torturing) language.

[ASparrow]

How bizarre! I've had more downloads today (20+) than any day in the past three months, and I didn't even mention the names of any of my books in this whiny little thread. I don't get it. Is there such a thing as negative psychology marketing?

[DavidRM]

Originally Posted by ASparrow

How bizarre! I've had more downloads today (20+) than any day in the past three months, and I didn't even mention the names of any of my books in this whiny little thread. I don't get it. Is there such a thing as negative psychology marketing?

Any given day, man. Any given day.

You just can't predict how it's going to go. You have no control over being found or noticed. You just do what you can and hope for the best.

-David

[Steven Lake]

Originally Posted by mr ploppy

That's the best reason to write, and why the reading world is so much better now that people have realised they don't need publishers telling them what to write.

That's incredibly well said! And I don't think it's so much readers that have realized this as much as it is the authors. For a long time people thought I was insane for going small press. But the more I publish and the more I write, the more they're realizing that the choices I made were actually wiser than going the traditional big house route, which is really the lesser way to go anymore. We've already seen what's coming for the publishing industry simply by studying the other large industries that encounter major transformations before us. And the music industry has been out on the forefront of that transition. We're already starting to see how the cookie cutter "formula" mentality blew up in their face, is blowing up in the face of the movie industry, and will soon blow up in the face of the publishing industry as well. Change is coming, and it'll be the smaller, more agile presses that will come out of this storm alive.

Originally Posted by DavidRM

Any given day, man. Any given day.

You just can't predict how it's going to go. You have no control over being found or noticed. You just do what you can and hope for the best.

-David

Agreed. I've had days and even weeks where it's complete crickets, and then the next week it's Hurricane Alex. So I've just gone to a system of keeping 3 month averages, as that tends to be a more accurate representation of your sales than day to day or week to week, as anything less than 90 days for averages or 120 days for trends is far too short and allows natural variability too much control over your true numbers causing you to think you're either doing better or worse than you really are. In other words, it's just basic application of statistics.

[greencat]

Steven's right. A well established author friend of mine is going the self publishing route for a book she could never interest publishers in as it's not the normal thing she writes. But the book is written so she might as well see if there is an audience for it.

[James_Wilde]

Glad this thread came up now. I'll be promoting my book very soon now!

[Steven Lake]

Greencat, the reasons for her not wanting to run it through a big house probably has less to do with the fact that it's not her normal fare, and more to do with the fact that it's probably one of those great books that falls outside of the "formula" the big houses are using. People in general are growing tired of "formula" this and "formula" that. Mostly because formulas very quickly become cliche and people don't want cliche anymore. They want new and exciting. Heck, they even want their cliches done in new and exciting ways, rather than the long held, tested and true "formulas". And it'll be those formulas that will implode the big publishers just like it's doing to all the big record labels.

[joycedb]

Going to genre specific forums might backfire if the participants think you're only there to hawk a book. What do others think?

Joyce

[ASparrow]

Originally Posted by Steven Lake

Greencat, the reasons for her not wanting to run it through a big house probably has less to do with the fact that it's not her normal fare, and more to do with the fact that it's probably one of those great books that falls outside of the "formula" the big houses are using. People in general are growing tired of "formula" this and "formula" that. Mostly because formulas very quickly become cliche and people don't want cliche anymore. They want new and exciting. Heck, they even want their cliches done in new and exciting ways, rather than the long held, tested and true "formulas". And it'll be those formulas that will implode the big publishers just like it's doing to all the big record labels.

True. I see formula and I tune out. Other people seem to have a lot more tolerance for it, though.

[greencat]

Originally Posted by joycedb

Going to genre specific forums might backfire if the participants think you're only there to hawk a book. What do others think?

Joyce

Totally agree. Most forum participants are intensely suspicious of promotional or commercial activity. If you can do it all - I think you have to offer plenty of additional value (eg the dog expert on a dog lovers forum) and check out the community's rules and regulations.

Dropping in, pumping your book and dropping out again won't win you any friends on most forums.

[mr ploppy]

Originally Posted by joycedb

Going to genre specific forums might backfire if the participants think you're only there to hawk a book. What do others think?

Joyce

I didn't really mean go there and blast them with adverts, I meant join in some conversations with a discreat advert attached to them.

[Steven Lake]

I've found that if you join the forum, become a regular member, and add your book to your signature, they're more likely to check out your book than if you toss it in their face. It's better to bring it up out of hand or not even mention it at all, but merely have it as part of your signature, than to openly talk about it unless invited to. Well, initially anyways. Over time you'll find yourself more able to do it, but not right away. And another thing. DO NOT put your book in your sig until you have at least 25 posts. I've heard said that you need 10, but I apply a rule to myself that I need a minimum of 25 posts and 2 weeks membership before I dare put anything in my sig. You look less like a spammer if you do, and people will accept you more.