Such a nice offer, Andrea!

Full disclosure: Andrea and I used to work together at Doubleday Books. I can vouch that she is a total pro and publicity maven. Not to mention all-around awesome.

So happy to have you here in the community!

Thank you Andrea. My biggest obstacle is marketing. I'm really looking for a way to promote my books and get them out in front of readers. I'm especially interested in doing a pre promotion for my new book, Search for The Hercules, and generating some hype before I publish it this coming spring. I am on facebook and I use twitter where I promote my own work as well as the other authors. One of the problems that I have there is almost all of my followers are writers. I'm really looking for a way to draw in an audience of readers. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Marlin

Hi Andrea,

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Can you suggest a list of sites that would accept a mention of a book and a link to a website? Is this a viable strategy?

Hi Marlin- It's great that you're connecting with other writers, building up that community is priority number ONE in my book. So keep that up. That's a strategy that will pay off big time down the road as you all continue to build up your respective followings. But I understand that only having other writers as connections can feel limiting. I would urge you to think about what YOU can do for your potential readers. What can you offer them in addition to your book? Who is your reader? What else will they be interested in? Think about what content you can give them to get and keep them engaged so that they'll want to buy your book. This is why blogs remain an all-star for me re: social media strategy, content is king. Whether you're offering stuff that's funny, thoughtful, inspiring, instructive, or provocative, having regular content out there is the best way to make your voice heard and make friends and fans online. Goodreads also has some great features that can help you connect with their massive user-base, the giveaway feature and Listopia are my favorites. Hope that helps! 

With regards to your second question: I can't imagine a publicist taking on work in that way, because they would likely end up doing a whole lot of work for free. The best publicist in the world ultimately can't control the media coverage a book receives, let alone the sales that coverage generates, so it really wouldn't make sense. 

Good luck with your book! 

Hi Mimi- I'm not sure about sites that are set up that specific way, but many book bloggers are happy to include a mention if you offer a copy for giveaway. Many book blogs are run by one or two people, so they're constantly overwhelmed, this means that the easier you can make it for them the better. When reaching out to book bloggers, I recommend offering copies for giveaway and/ or a guest post that would appeal to their readership. This way you're doing something that will help them, rather than just asking for their time and resources, It also creates more fun, dynamic content. If you're looking for good lists of bloggers, Google is your friend. There are lists upon lists of the best book bloggers for every genre imaginable. Take note though, keep your pitches personal and specific, make sure the site actually looks like a good fit for your work. No spamming!

Hope that helps! 

Awesome advice, Andrea! And really great topics for discussion from Mimi and Marlin.

When authors are trying to build a platform, I think they feel a lot of pressure to reach a lot of readers really fast. But don't forget that engaging ONE really enthusiastic reader--like your favorite book blogger--will be very worth your time, plus it will probably just be fun, anyway.

My book is not ready, (not awfully far from ready either) so I'm starting to think about this stuff. I plan to sign up with A Small Orange this weekend. I have next Monday and Tuesday off from work, so I'll have a good chunk of time to try to get the hang of it. I've already got my domain name: myguysly.com.

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I didn't want Sly.com, it might be porn, God-knows-what. Anyway, it's already taken; they'll sell it for seven thousand dollars, if anyone's interested. My Guy Sly on a bumper sticker, or anywhere, with a head shot of my cutie, may get a few folks to check it out.