The promotional steps to climb when publishing your book

Wouldn't it be nice if we could find Boxing Day sales on agents, publishers and marketing packages?

The truth is, promoting your book takes a lot of time and energy, unless you have the resources to pay someone to do it for you.

Yes, of course there are many websites that offer help in this domaine, (often for a price), but that still leaves you with the work. So what are the steps involved? Here are a few, and in no particular order.

-Let your friends and family know

-Use social media, facebook, twitter, linkedin, etc.

-Create a book page on these sites and maybe an author page too. ( I am only on fb because the thought of managing more than one site (for now) still seems overwhelming. Do I really want to just "copy-paste" the same stuff everywhere?)

-Ask your friends on fb to share the link to your book page at least once (no one likes to be harassed)

-List a book giveaway

-Let your local newspaper know they have a new author living in the area

-Ask those who have read it to post a review...not as easy as it sounds ;o)

-Create a goodreads account and include an author page (you can list a giveaway here too)

-Make a book trailer (video) (Windows media has a good program, but unfortunately mine stopped working and I lost my video. Adobe pro is a little pricey but Roxio is reasonable and fun)

-Create a blog

-Link everything together, so your trailer, and fb page can be found on goodreads and the other way around

-Join local author groups, and ex. if you wrote a sci-fi novel, join a sci-fi group as well (these often have fees, though)

-Join book pages and such on social media sites

-Go to your local library, give a free book and ask about doing an author presentation

-Offer the same deal to your local, high-school library

-Most of all, enjoy the process and don't forget to breathe. Go at your own rate because it can quickl become overwhelming...and remember, you are NOT alone!

Happy New Year to one and all!