WRITERLY WISDOM: Peterand The Dragon

 

Dragon

 

***An author friend of mine, Peterand The Dragon, has a new book, Children of Little Might, coming out soon. I invited him to write a post for the #StoryCatcherPublishing blog and he graciously accepted. Check out his post about one way to get the word out about an upcoming book release.***

 

How to promote your book like CHILDREN OF LITTLE MIGHT

by Peterand The Dragon

 

 
Whether you are self-published or chose the traditional way, chances are you want to do your own marketing. You undoubtedly use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and any other social media like Goodreads to push your sales. But how do you attract attention? By posting the link to your book and hope people click on it?

Montague ‘Monty Hill’ Glupie is sixteen and has autism. He finds a  manuscript that promises him to grant any wish; provided he translates it. Certain wishes don’t work, Monty decides on an impossible one: his Paper Girl from the manuscript.

That’s the start of my upcoming Young Adult Fantasy book that takes him on an adventure in another world where Monty and Storm, his wheelchair bound sidekick, fights their own school’s principal to save a kingdom.

To sell that book, people need to know it exists. The most logical step to take, is to put your link out there. Depending on your follower count, that might be a good idea.

Except: sales are horrible. Ask people who use this technique. They provide the link, give some background (on Twitter in 280 characters) and hope for the best. And yes: anything is possible. I found my publisher through Twitter during a pitch war and that worked miracles. But it did take me a while to land that publisher.

 

Marketing

 

So, ask yourself. If Monty had to sell himself, what would he do? He has autism, he hates to step into the spotlight and believes most people ignore him anyway. Sure: release the first chapter as a teaser; I did that, too. And, like me, you may publish guest articles to push your agenda. And while that helps, it’s not enough to sell your product.

Authors sell stories. That’s what we’re good at. So, why not create a story around the book we publish? Let’s take Children of Little Might, my YA Fantasy novel due out by Rhetoric Askew Publishing in a couple of weeks. To get people interested, I have to offer them something. Something that interests them (and hopefully gets them to order the book).

I do that by creating stories around the release of the book. Why did I write Children of Little Might? It’s about autism and my attempt to put it in a positive light. You may compare it to the Force in the Star Wars universe; autism has limitations, but it opens up a lot of possibilities, too. By showing people that, I create a story that pulls them in, that relates to them and maybe attracts them to buy the book.

In another story I write about my journey to find my publisher. That focusses on a different target audience that gives them a reason to discover my book. A third article may handle the emotions behind the book, or my own adventures with autism or the battle I fight with a company just to give one of my children a fighting chance. I can add links to organizations that help the reader to discover what autism is and where to get help. In every story you give the link to your book as well. This time people not only find the links, but they receive a ‘gift’ that, hopefully, gives them a good vibe about the book.

In my case: as soon as Children of Little Might can be pre-ordered I write one article a day that tells readers something about me, my book or the challenges my characters face. Each article comes with a (music) video that offers an insight in my emotions or those of my characters. The reader not only receives a link (he hates to click anyway), but he joins the author in why he wrote what he wrote. They read your advertisements because they offer more than plain advertising.

And, ultimately, that’s the key to your success. Create a story around the release of your book. Attract people by doing the one thing you are good at: telling stories. And combine things your readers might find fun. That way they learn more about you as an author and maybe you attract another interested reader that way. And that takes me to my last point: one I leave you to discover all on your own: Obey every rule and then don’t. Monty loves to explain you what it means. See you with Children of Little Might?

Have fun.

You can find me on:

Read the first chapter of Children of Little Might: http://peterandthedragon.home.blog/2019/05/06/chapter-1-thud-whizzz-and-bham/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PeterandTheDragon
Twitter: http://twitter.com/AuthorTheDragon
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/peterand_thedragon/
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/86983553-peterand-thedragon

Donna L

Hybrid award winning author; aspiring sketch artist; and 4th Degree Senior Certified Taekwondo Instructor. Host of BOOK NOOK REVIEWS. Member of SCBWI. Mom to fabulous son and adventurer delving into the tricky world of indie-publishing.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *