Thursday 14 January 2016

The Writing Life - Marketing Your Book

Hi Blogettes,

The promotion I organised on Amazon for A GIRL CALLED RANDOM was a great success. I'm thrilled with the number of people who downloaded the ebook, and tells me that the Notes from Random Knight series is as exciting to read as it is to write. My Twitter followers increased as did my Facebook page likes.

Marketing is hard. First we have the idea for the book, then the planning, then the writing, editing, editing, edit...you get the picture.

The cover must attract readers, the blurb must be enticing...we writers need to wear a lot of hats. But I love it. It's a challenge, one that I don't want to give up because it's now a massive part of my life. And we have to be totally committed to the cause, and that means marketing.

I'm always on the look-out for new and original ways to market my books. I've just created a new website www.valentinahepburn.com where you can leave your email address for news and competitions, a place that gives a flavour of what to expect when being absorbed by the Notes from Random Knight series. Also I have my blog (hello), Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads. I've had some great reviews from lovely people and anticipate getting lots more. Reviews are important, but they are difficult to come by. And we have to find a way to promote our books to keep them in the public eye without getting on people's nerves. Yes...it's not easy.

I guess the way to a reader's heart is a good book, and I've worked very hard to achieve it. It's the most important thing to me. I guess statistics are important, financial gain is a thought, but for me the best thing is for my readers to fall in love; with the characters, the story, and the sense of time and place. I want them to connect with Random, Ethan, Silent Red, Christina, Jemima-Jim, Dan, Thomas and Gabriel. To me, they're friends, people I want to spend time with again and again.

At the moment I'm writing the third in the series, and loving every minute. It isn't work, it's a joy because it means I'm in their world again. How will I leave them behind when its completed? Will I be able to move on? I don't know. I just don't know.

Lots of love
Valentina

www.valentinahepburn.com
@HepburnWrites
Facebook
Goodreads

3 comments:

writing and living by Richard P Hughes said...

Congratulations on a successful promotion.
You seem to be enjoying your writing life. Congratulations on that, too.

Valentina Hepburn said...

Hi, Richard,
Thank you. Lovely to hear from you. I hope you and yours are well. Yes, I'm enjoying it all, even the marketing!

Tanya Reimer said...

Great post to keep us motivated. Yup, promoting is hard, but you have some great ideas! Thanks for the nudge.

The Blogettes