Blog Chain: It's Market Time!

Okay, this round definitely made me pause. Carolyn posted before me and tackled this brilliantly, as always, and Sandra will post something equally fabulous next. Heather chose the topic and she wants to know:

What plans do YOU have to market your novel? How will you make sure the public finds your work?

When I read this topic, my first reaction was "Uhhhhh....I dunno."

The thought of marketing scares me a little because when I think of marketing, the first things that comes to mind are book signings and radio shows and interviews. I'm kind of on the shy side (I know, you never would have guessed, huh) :D I love the thought of myself as an eccentric recluse that lives in some drafty castle in Scotland and only has contact with the rest of the world by email...maybe by phone if I'm feeling feisty.

Yeah....probably not going to happen....

I suppose in reality, I'd probably have a blast doing book signings and live interviews (aside from the staggering fear that no one will show and I'll be sitting all alone at a table full of my own books (*shudder*)

And let's face it, I really do love to talk, so I'm sure I'll get through interviews, live or otherwise, with no problem...although if it's going to be someplace where people can actually SEE me as opposed to just hearing me, I'll have to lose some weight first :D

Now, since all of those things are far in the future of unlikely possibilities, I think I am already doing what I can to market my work. This will be a bit of a repeat from Carolyn's post (as she gave me most of these ideas a while ago) :D But, I have this blog, I have a website, I have links to both in my email signatures, I belong to several writer forums where I talk about my work as much as I can...I have made a book trailer, although this is an old one (here I was all excited to procrastinate by making a new one and I didn't have time!), and if I ever do get this thing published, I will make (or more likely pay someone else to make) a really nice one.



Also, my book, like Jess's, involves a necklace, which would be very fun to see made real (though it wouldn't be very practical as it is a very elaborate pile of gems). But it could be fun to make a toned down piece. Or make a replica of my character's wedding ring, which is very pretty, if I do say so myself :) A diary plays a big part in my book, so producing a Courtland Diary could be fun. And since my book is sort of a mystery/treasure hunt, maybe I could come up with a board game or something where you'd have to follow the clues to find the necklace while dodging squares that say things like "got shot, go back 3 spaces." :D

Hmmm, maybe this marketing thing isn't so scary after all :) Could be kind of fun :)

Be sure to head on over to Sandra's blog to see what awesome marketing ideas she has!