Lee Goldberg has an interesting post up on writer's doing promo for their books. Specifically spending their advance to do so. The post is in response to some post or the other over on Joe Konrath's blog.
A number of published authors weigh in in the comments with some interesting insights. Check it out.
On one hand, I get what Joe has been constantly and consistently saying about investing in *yourself/your career*. On the other hand, I fully believe the best promo = writing a damn good book + the resulting word of mouth recommends. Not saying that's all there's to it, in this crowded marketplace, you have to do something to get your name out there and/or the news of your books, but not sure about blowing your entire advance on it.
****Update: Alison has picked up on the Lee G vs Joe K blog exchange and has her own post post up now, mostly with quotes/links to some other very interesting opinions. I think these opinions fall more in line with my thinking, but I can't believe Joe is doing all that promo *without* seeing some sort of immediate result. ie, bigger advance for subsequent books, etc. To each his/her own.
4 comments:
Buy one, blog one, get one free? Sounds like it'll work! Still wading through all this promo stuff. It's very sticky out there.
I do like Alison's idea. Definitely something I'd do if/when the time comes.
Not if, but when, when, when. :)
I've been giving away books since my first one was published, and I've noted two things: if the recipient loves the book, they almost always become a loyal reader. If they don't, they usually donate the book somewhere or pass it along to someone else, which is like a second chance. You can't do that with a bookmark or a widget.
The personal side of this is great, too. I don't have boxes of author copies stacked in my closets (since I'm not a fan of clutter, a huge plus.) I'm promoting myself with absolutely the best representation of my work: the work itself. And it's fun.
PBW, you're preaching to the choir. I never thought of *those* particular results of giving away book, till you pointed them out. Bonus.
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