Spreading the News: Ways to Promote Your Writing

Everyday writers across the world publish new articles and books without little, if any, fanfare. This can be extremely frustrating to those who have worked hard to spread their message only see their work receive virtually no attention. To avoid this all authors must be prepared to work hard in order to get their work the attention it deserves. The first thing many successful writers will tell you is that after their work was published the real work began.

In this day and age where the internet virtually rules the world a website is almost mandatory for any writer who hopes to be successful. While many authors concentrate and purchasing a domain name to focus on themselves and their work as a whole, usually a www.authorsname.com it is very beneficial to set up domains and separate sites focused on each book, project, ect. I myself have sites/blogs dedicated to each separate book I have written and published (www.bookname.com), my writing in general, and personal interests.

This might seem a bit tedious and expensive but these days many web hosting companies offer packages that will allow you to host as many domains as you want with your plan for no additional fee and domain registrations themselves are fairly inexpensive. Using a blog platform such as Wordpress or Blogger will allow you to have a visually pleasing site up in little or no time without having to go through the trouble of learning HTML or any other coding language. Also using a blog will allow you to constantly update information without having to change the entire sites layout.

Once you have established a web presence you can let the world know about your sites by joining writing communities, message boards, and newsgroups. Create a signature linking to your various websites and then participate in the discussions. You don't have to mention your sites in your posts because any reader viewing your response will be able to see a link to your sites after every one of your posts. Also add links to your websites in the signature of your email addresses. This might seem like a waste of time but remember; every time you send an email to anyone they will see your links and visitors can be converted into sales.

After you have built a strong web presence it is time to begin marketing yourself and your works offline. Start small by offering to give interviews to local newsletters and groups run by churches, schools, and other's in your community. Also try to get your work reviewed by local organization because these reviews of books, magazine articles, and more can lead to a buzz in the community as the news of your work spreads through word of mouth.

Attend writing conferences or events that are related to your area of expertise. If you are a science fiction or fantasy writer try attend any sci-fi conventions in the area and contact organizers about possibly promoting your book at the event either by doing a book signing, speaking, or giving out promotional material to those attending. These sorts of public appearances can lead to attention from local television news and radio which in turn can lead to articles and interviews about you and your work.

Most importantly do your best to stay aware of your fans. It is easy to lose touch of your fan base as money starts coming and you begin receiving more attention. But remember if you offend these fans you end up not only losing them but the promotion they generate for you by word of mouth alone. Always do your best to answer emails/letters and also try to keep fans up to date regarding your future works either by keeping your website or blog updated as much as possible