As far as a marketing plan. This is what I have come up with so far.
1. Send a press kit to the 150 book reviewers that are appropriate for my genre. That is once I have a pub date.
2. Send to like authors in my genre that might be able to comment on the book.
3. Get listed in the major national distributors around the country by sending out media kits to each of them.
4. Send media kits out to the regional distributors around the country. There aren't that many, but it's a few.
5. Send out media kits to every small distributor in every city that I had already sent press kits to the same reviewers.
6. Send out Tip Sheets, author info, ordering info, and free bookmarks to every store within 150 miles of each city that the previous mentioned press kits was sent to each reviewer.
7. Call local radio stations in my genre that have on regular guests.
8. Call syndicated radio shows in my genre to become a guest. Tie in the appearance to a recent news angle that is prominent in the national news at that time.
9. Place at ad in the nation media magazines listing that I am available for interviews. There is a service that does this for about $300/month. I will be paying for this service. All you do is fill out a survey with them, send in a photo, and let the calls come directly to you.
10. Send postcards to every major, regional, and local news agency that has a major story that I can tie into. Have the postcards say something related to the event and my book. This is a direct media tie in. Sending out at least 500 postcards. Kinkos in helpful in a rush. But your contact list must be extensive before this is done. I've bought a book that lists media contacts. Email me if you want the info on the contacts.
11. Make appearances at regional writer's conferences. Since I have a visual aesthetic, I milk it. I tie in my over all look to the mystique of my novel. Making appearances when you have a visual hook is good because it starts conversations. I will be pitching my novel to publicists while there.
12. Hire a publicist. Have them arrange radio interview that I could not while doing initial marketing for the book. Have them arrange television interviews at local news stations and minor shows.
13. Submit distribution info to amazon.com's kindle service. Call for follow up two weeks later.
14. Send author press kits to celebrities that have a vesting interest in my genre or topic. I.e. Artists, Musicians, Actors, Directors.
15. Have a ten minute semi professional book trailer that closely resembles a movie trailer placed on youtube.com. Hiring college actors, pro make up artists, a college director, pro photographer, and skilled college editors. Place video on website, the amazon page that lists the pre-release sales info, and on every video outlet possible.
16. Promote the video on twitter, facebook, and every other quick social site possible.
17. Make personal author videos detailing the world of the book. Shot at home with a good set up and an interesting backdrop.
18. Ant video interviews that are done, place copies streaming on the main site and promote them on twitter, facebook, and youtube.
20. Well as you can see I can go all day with this subject. There are many things to be done and that's just what I would have to do when I can a large publisher. There are some outlets that won't even talk to you unless you have a named publisher. It seems wrong, and it is, but it's their way of quality control. I don't agree with it, but I will adhere to it. Plus there is the added benefit that with a formal publisher, there comes an advance. Even though it may not be that much, it does help pay for the cost of the marketing. Postage is the real killer here. That and the cost of the actual press kit to be sent out. Sending a book, six sheets of paper, a folder with two cover inserts, a bookmark, and a business card adds up quick. Considering that this list is not even my complete marketing plan, or that it does show what the actual cost of everything is, once again I put forth the statement that I plan on finding a large publisher. To foot the bill myself would be difficult to put it financially.
I hope that this helps.
Sincerely,
Virgil Allen Moore
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4 comments:
That is a really good list. It gives me something to think about. I've been going to conventions, but I need to actually make postcards to leave on the table like so many people do. I'm not real sure how well this works, but anything is better than nothing.
Thanks for sharing your list.
Dear Christina,
You are welcome. The postcards help to establish presence and buzz about your book. Depositing them at local second hand book stores is also a good idea. Slipping a postcard or better yet a bookmark about your book into one of their already on display novels is also a good trick. Though it can get you reprimanded by the owner if you aren't upfront with them. That is why I suggest libraries.
Placing a bookmark into a rented book when returning it is a great way to spread the word. Librarians read too. And more importantly, they recommend books to others on a daily basis. Seeding a few before and after renting a few books from each of your local branches might not be a bad idea.
Sincerely,
Virgil Allen Moore
PS: In the same regard, tweeting about this post/conversation on twitter and posting on facebook would also help to let your fellow writers know what steps they should be thinking about for marketing their books.
That is a great list. But, the major thing being you have to land a publisher. Are you trying to go through an agent?
Yes, I am submitting to agents as we speak. I will let you all know when there is a development. In the mean time, I am doing prep work for the current Demon Vampire Novel, building a fan base, updating twitter and facebook. Things have gone well since I first made the site about six months ago.
As to my present hopes, I know that success in this reality is the product of work. Work is the product of thought. Thought is the product of dreams. Therefore, I am deeply vested in the idea that Dreams Create Reality.
Virgil Allen Moore
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