STATUS: I may have finally caught up with all my post-BEA stuff. That just leaves everything else that hasn’t had attention for more than a week.
What’s playing on the iPod right now? THIS IS IT by Kenny Loggins
The problem with publicity is that sometimes, you can have all the promo in the world (and spend big bucks) and it doesn’t move books. The New York Times, usually once a year, runs an article that profiles two “big” books with similar marketing/promotion budgets and wonder why it worked for one book but not the other. Unfortunately, even the NYT doesn’t have the answer.
So, do you spend money to promote? Sometimes the advance isn’t enough to make a huge investment in that aspect if the publication. So where do conscientious writers go to get the word out?
Yep, you guessed it. The internet. Cost-wise, it can be most cost-efficient and effective (although how effective is up for grabs).
Here’s what Kelly Parra has been up to for her debut GRAFFITI GIRL:
–YA Fresh blog, where I spotlight other YA authors and promote teen fiction.
Result: Continuous support and interest by other YA authors, readers, and librarians.
-Interview authors of all genres in my “Words of an Author” column on Publishers Marketplace. Result: reaching Author/writer/reader visitors interested in author back stories to publication and their new releases.
Special Graffiti Girl promotion:
Result: I’ve connected with several graffiti and teen artists from the US and other countries, and gain teen artist interest daily. Also communicated with musician Mark Pickerel who wrote and sang the “Graffiti Girl” song with Bloodshot Records. We garner interest from linking to each other’s pages.
-A new urban art style Kelly Parra website redesign.
-I’ve had giveaway contests for Graffiti themed products and an Ultimate Art Pack giveaway.
-A flash fiction contest with a graffiti theme in order to win a Graffiti Girl ARC.
-Virtual blog tour with Karin Gillespie’s Girlfriends’ Cyber Circuit, consisting of over 20 published authors’ websites and blogs.
– Interviews on Graffiti Girl with Teen Reviewer/Reader sites.
All resulted in new visitors to my website and potential interest in Graffiti Girl.