Tell me about your favorite books
As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve spent a lot of time on marketing activities recently. Which means I’ve watched a ton of book marketing Webinars, signed up for a gazillion email lists, and experimented madly. (If you’re interested in some of the resources I’ve discovered, see below.)
During all this marketing madness, I realized that I’ve made significant strides in building my author platform. And that means I have access to a lot of readers. And that means that if I’m interested in what readers think about something, I can ask.
That’s where I got the idea to find out what you like to read. It’s fund to discover what fellow bibliophiles are into; it’s one of the reasons I enjoy Goodreads. I hope you’ll take the survey (all questions are optional) and pass it along to other readers.
Dance of Souls is free again
I’ve been focusing on building readership for my first book, Dance of Souls, by offering it free on Amazon. It’s free again today (June 1) and tomorrow (June 2), so if you’ve wanted to grab a copy, now is the time. The last giveaway netted a few readers and a few new reviews.
News goes first to email subscribers
Stay tuned for more news in the coming weeks. If you want to be the first to hear about new writing, events, and appearances, sign up here. It’s not that I don’t love my blog followers… but hey, my subscribers get some perks!
June events
If you’re in the vicinity of San Mateo, California, please stop by one of these local events!
Sunday, June 3, 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.
Local Author Readings at Barnes & Noble
Hillsdale Shopping Center, San Mateo
I will be attending between 11:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Saturday, June 9 through Saturday, June 16
Readings, workshops, literary prizes at the San Mateo County Fair Literary Stage
I will be running and/or participating in several activities:
Sunday, June 10, 4-5 p.m.: Editor’s Panel
Sunday, June 10, 5-6 p.m., Private writing consultations
Thursday, June 14, 3-4 p.m.: Workshop-Birthing Your Truest Stories
Thursday, June 14, 7-9 p.m.: Fault Zone readings
Helpful links
Here are a few of the resources I’ve found particularly helpful for writing, editing, and marketing my fiction.
Book marketers/authors/creative types to follow
Alliance of Independent Authors
Dan Blank
Derek Doepker
Jane Friedman
David Gaughran
Tim Grahl
Jerry Jenkins
Nick Stephenson
Email lists for promoting free & discount books (if you’re a reader, subscribe for daily notifications)
eBooksHabit
The Fussy Librarian
Bookdoggy
Books Go Social
Curated list of promo sites
Pre-release reviews for self-published (and other) books
Foreword Reviews
Booklife (by Publishers Weekly)
Booklist (library reviews)
Awards and contests (most charge entry fees)
Award and contest ratings (from the Alliance of Independent Authors)
Book of the Year Award
Best Indie Book Award
IPPY Award
Ben Franklin Award
Reviewers
The Book Review Directory (literary fiction)
Book Review Buzz (charges a fee)
AUDREY KALMAN 
Marketing and promotion is a challenging part of an author’s life, more challenging than the actual writing of the book itself for me. Thanks for sharing some of your resources. Best of luck with your appearances!
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I wish I had a clone of myself to do the marketing, though I’d settle for an assistant!
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Thanks for the freebie!
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Most welcome!
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