Who Says Fiction Authors Can't Be Great Marketers?

Let’s face it, as fiction writers we can be some of the worst businesspeople on the planet. But we don’t have to be. With a savvy marketing campaign, you can even learn to market your fiction writing.

I listened to a great webinar last night by Emily Craven of E-Book Revolution. I will blog some of the other things she said about e-publishing in another post. But for now, here are some of her tips about marketing your book as a fiction writer.

Facebook

Join interest groups and promote your work there.

My two cents worth: Don’t abuse this or you’ll come off as spammy. You have to become part of the community, comment on others writer’s work too. It can’t be all about you (even though many of us narcissistic writers would love it to be).

Free stuff

Yes, everyone likes free stuff. With the purchase of your novel or short story collection, why not include a free short story? Once you create a fan base, your fans will be dying to get their hands on more of your work.

Why not also give away free audio copies of your book? It’s a great way to create a buzz around your work.

And when you’re writing that new book, consider also giving away a free chapter online that people can read.

Trailers

Shoot a trailer of your book or pay someone to do it for you. Then post that trailer on youtube.

Engage your audience

I just found something interesting on author Jim Brown's website. Brown offers turning you, the reader, into a character in his next novel if you sign up for his newsletter before he’s done with the book.

These are all but a few of the ways for us as fiction writers to market ourselves.