Writers are a solitary bunch. Most don’t like being in the spotlight. We would rather be sitting in front of our computers creating people, worlds and plots.
Once you get those people created and those worlds built, you have to present them to the public if you want your book to become a best seller. That’s where writers seem to have the most difficulty. Marketing and promotion. Two simple words that carry the proverbial “big stick.”
It doesn’t matter if you’re traditionally published, unless you are already somewhat famous, the traditional publishers aren’t going to throw their marketing/promotion dollars in your direction. You have to promote yourself until you become worthy enough that the big guys begin to notice you making a name for yourself. Then, they may decide to throw a few dollars in your direction and might even set you up with a book signing.
As an indie, you have to do the marketing/promotion efforts yourself also.
So, what does a writer do to get their name out there? How do you get noticed when you’re just a small pebble? It’s the ripple effect. You do a little bit here and a little bit there and watch the ripples spread. You can drop a pebble in the middle of a lake and eventually the ripples will hit the shore. The bigger that pebble, the bigger the ripples and the faster the people on the shore will see them.
So, get busy and throw out some pebbles. In my next blog, I’ll give you some ideas of what you can do to start your ripple effect.