What They Don't Tell You #1: Promotion

Tip of the Day: Meg Cabot wrote a nice post about ignoring some reviews here.

I'm going to start a new segment. I don't know how often I'll add something to it or who will do the adding (any of you A2A girls feel free to do a WTDTY!) but I thought it'd be fun to share things that you don't know about being an author until you are one. Today: promotion.

There's a lot of it. A LOT. And authors today need to do a huge chunk of it themselves. It can quite literally turn into a full-time job. And be super costly. $$$$$ When you first sell your book you think I'm just going to write all day and make lots and lots of books and write happily ever after. But you have to promote that book too. So suddenly you're not just a writer but you're a writer, marketing manager, graphic designer, web designer, video specialist, administrative assistant etc. You're writing presentations, booking school visits, setting up book signings, coordinating group book signings, designing marketing material, printing marketing material, designing and ordering stickers, posters, bookmarks, pens, random giveaways, hosting contests, creating clever cute contests that haven't been done before (this one is hard! Seems like it's all been done!), making book trailers, planning launch parties, blogging, twittering, facebooking, and PHEW. I'm tired. Like I said, it's A LOT. And they don't really tell you this up front. Movies tell us that writers are pouty and brilliant and run off to their beach houses with their laptops to write all day. Not that they're sitting on VistaPrint for two hours last night trying to get that dang post card with their book cover sized just right or that they spent countless hours scouring the internet for the perfect pink boxes for that snazzy new schwag idea.

Kristina, Miss See me on the Shelves