A great article, Katy. It's so important to build your following, find out what it is that you write about that interests readers. For me it is living in the wilds of Northumberland, standing up for nature, rewilding, ecofeminism and living as sustainably we can.
We chat about all these issues as well as my author life and book.
Hi Sue, (hope you don't mind me jumping in, Katie) - I just wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS!! I've seen the effort you put in on Instagram and this is one hell of an achievement! How have you been able to track the number?
Hi Nicola, I don't mind you jumping in! I also have a very good following on Facebook of very loyal supporters. As for the numbers, I have a website and ask folk to order through that. Plus I know how many author copies I have bought and how many are left. I don't know the full figures of those bought from bookshops & Amazon. The figures I gave are just for those sold from the pallet lorry delivery I had.
This is a great post and as the author of five books, I have to agree with almost everything you wrote. What is also helpful about Facebook is setting up an Author/Book page besides your regular member page. If you post regularly on your Author page, (i.e., excerpts, reviews), when your book comes out, you've already prepared your readers. Facebook also allows people to buy your book right from your Author page with a 'Store' button.
Goodreads is also a nice place to be for networking and when your book is released, you can have a book giveaway. People sign on, hoping to be the one chosen to get a free copy. Great advertising!
Thank you! I would love to hear more about how you use Goodreads - I'm not generally keen on it because I feel like the reviewing situation can be weirdly harsh there, compared to Amazon or other social platforms. Do you not find that? What kind of networking are you doing there?
Hello Katie. I suppose it may be different for everyone, but I love their targeted clubs and talking with other children's authors there, i.e., what works for them, or not, etc., I don't look for book reviews at Goodreads. I do post reviews, answer readers' questions, follow readers and authors and allow them to follow me.
The really great thing about Goodreads is that book giveaway for new books! You get huge numbers of people who sign up for a chance to win your book; Goodreads pumps several advance advertising emails to hundreds telling them a book they're interested in will be having a giveaway; and after the giveaway, a good percentage of those who didn't win the free copy will buy anyway.
Goodreads doesn't appeal to everyone and that's okay. It's just one avenue, but that's what it's all about. What works for each of us.
Personally my favourite places to spend time are here and Instagram, but I try to help authors find the channel that works best for them, as people get along very differently in different spaces!
Having another book is definitely important, as your books can help to promote one another. But you do need to find a way to tell people about the books - it’s possible that people will chance upon them on their own, but it’s unlikely given the huge volume of publishing that’s out there. That doesn’t have to be social media - there are endless ways you can market your book, and there are lots of people who market their work effectively without it - but social media is a great place to start as there are literally millions of readers using it, you can build real community there, and the barriers to entry are very low.
A great article, Katy. It's so important to build your following, find out what it is that you write about that interests readers. For me it is living in the wilds of Northumberland, standing up for nature, rewilding, ecofeminism and living as sustainably we can.
We chat about all these issues as well as my author life and book.
Love this, Sue!
I've been building an audience for 12 years......sold 700 copies of The Rewilding of Molly McFlynn through social media alone in the last 6 months.
That’s brilliant, well done 😍
Hi Sue, (hope you don't mind me jumping in, Katie) - I just wanted to say CONGRATULATIONS!! I've seen the effort you put in on Instagram and this is one hell of an achievement! How have you been able to track the number?
Hi Nicola, I don't mind you jumping in! I also have a very good following on Facebook of very loyal supporters. As for the numbers, I have a website and ask folk to order through that. Plus I know how many author copies I have bought and how many are left. I don't know the full figures of those bought from bookshops & Amazon. The figures I gave are just for those sold from the pallet lorry delivery I had.
This is a great post and as the author of five books, I have to agree with almost everything you wrote. What is also helpful about Facebook is setting up an Author/Book page besides your regular member page. If you post regularly on your Author page, (i.e., excerpts, reviews), when your book comes out, you've already prepared your readers. Facebook also allows people to buy your book right from your Author page with a 'Store' button.
Goodreads is also a nice place to be for networking and when your book is released, you can have a book giveaway. People sign on, hoping to be the one chosen to get a free copy. Great advertising!
Thank you!
CJ
Thank you! I would love to hear more about how you use Goodreads - I'm not generally keen on it because I feel like the reviewing situation can be weirdly harsh there, compared to Amazon or other social platforms. Do you not find that? What kind of networking are you doing there?
Hello Katie. I suppose it may be different for everyone, but I love their targeted clubs and talking with other children's authors there, i.e., what works for them, or not, etc., I don't look for book reviews at Goodreads. I do post reviews, answer readers' questions, follow readers and authors and allow them to follow me.
The really great thing about Goodreads is that book giveaway for new books! You get huge numbers of people who sign up for a chance to win your book; Goodreads pumps several advance advertising emails to hundreds telling them a book they're interested in will be having a giveaway; and after the giveaway, a good percentage of those who didn't win the free copy will buy anyway.
Goodreads doesn't appeal to everyone and that's okay. It's just one avenue, but that's what it's all about. What works for each of us.
Thanks, Katie.
Thanks for sharing - I love hearing how it works for you.
You're welcome. What is your best avenue?
Personally my favourite places to spend time are here and Instagram, but I try to help authors find the channel that works best for them, as people get along very differently in different spaces!
I never joined Instagram. You’re nice to help authors find what works for them. Thank you, Katie.
IS not better to invest time in writing a new book than in social media?
Having another book is definitely important, as your books can help to promote one another. But you do need to find a way to tell people about the books - it’s possible that people will chance upon them on their own, but it’s unlikely given the huge volume of publishing that’s out there. That doesn’t have to be social media - there are endless ways you can market your book, and there are lots of people who market their work effectively without it - but social media is a great place to start as there are literally millions of readers using it, you can build real community there, and the barriers to entry are very low.
Yes, only the time to spend on a rented land.
I would prefer promoting by email/newsletters, as you told. And maybe using a wordpress site, aswell.