Author Publicity

All authors are faced with the hurdle of gaining publicity when publishing their work.  

Today TWC will begin exploring ways for authors to gain publicity.

The first things that come to mind are social media - Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.  Almost all aspiring and published authors have a Facebook page and by using all 3 of these sites an author can begin to build a buzz about an upcoming book or build their platform.  The key is to start early and post often to attract followers.  Offer something helpful to the reader so that she will return to your page often looking for more information.

VIRTUAL BOOKSHELVES AND BOOK FORUMS

One way to gain publicity is to use sites like:

GoodReads - This site encourages authors to setup a profile and connect with readers.  You can add your book for free and the site has something like 18 million members.

Shelfari - This site run by Amazon is similar to GoodReads.  You can share book recommendations, join book clubs, and learn more about your favorite books.  The site allows users to create a virtual bookshelf, discover new books, and connect with friends.

Book Tagger - Book Tagger allows readers to interact with folks that have read a book instead of having to judge a book by its cover.  You can list the books you've read and want to read.  Build an online book club.  Review the books you've read.

Authors Den - This site makes the claim that its "the world's most vibrant online literary community".
The site lists eBooks, Books, Stories, Articles, Poetry, Blogs, News, Events, Videos, Recent Success Stories by Date, and Testimonials.  It has a large listing of links down the left side of the site that contains bios authors. Another near area of the site is the "Author Signing Area" where readers can buy signed books.