Marketing the New Book

I'm not exactly the best marketer in the world. Matter of fact, I hate marketing. Just the thought of hawking my book makes me cringe. I feel like becoming an ostrich and hiding my head in the sand. You know, and it's not because I couldn't come up with a campaign. It's because I just don't want to bother anyone.

So what do we do? How much of a pain in the ass to our friends and followers do we really want to be?

I, for one, despise blog tours. I won't do one, and with over 12 tomes out in the last two years, you may wonder how I ever got noticed. (Yeah, I'm not really sure of that myself.)

Guest posts? Not so much. I can't write anything unless I'm given a topic. Not big on personal essays, unless you count blog posts, but that's different. I remember when I did a guest post for Tara when I first released Remembering You. I had to rewrite it 3 times, at her urging.

Twitter campaign? Nah. Did one of those for one of the  books and the bit.ly markers drove me over the edge. However, the thing that kills me, every time I turn around, there's some multi- million dollar author says that's how he made all his money.

Free doesn't work anymore. There's so many books still out for free, I'm hearing they're only producing a couple of hundred takers at best, with no reviews, whereas 3 years ago, you'd get 10,000 downloads and at least 100 reviews. My how times have changed. But free doesn't work anymore anyway.

So what else is there to do?  I announced I wrote a book. I have buy links on all the blogs, I made 1 (one) announcement on Twitter (through LinkedIn -- killed 2 birds with one stone there) and now, even though I feel like I should be doing something, I'm not.

But this is a different kind of book. (Yes, I'm speaking of my recently released Regency -- the "school story" project). It's not my typical Regency. It was written for a specific clientele, so I guess I'm going to market to them, in person. I'm going to have to push the paperback version because it's a fundraiser after all. That should be fun.

And you know, I think really, the best way to market is to have a couple of reviews in place when you first publish the book. I keep forgetting to do that. But how many of my friends really want to read one of my books and then leave a review, especially if they don't like it. I know how I feel when one of my friends asks me to write a review. (And I've gotten stuck with a couple of really shitty books so I know exactly how they feel. I never wrote the review.)

I guess the only thing to do really is just to write the next book. I believe in this atmosphere if you're not seen every 3 months or so, people forget you. At least that's what's happening to me. But that's a story for another day.

Tell me -- Do you have any marketing or promotion tips other than the above mentioned? Keeping in mind I hate marketing. lol

Robynne Rand (c) 2013

They Say Authors Shouldn't Spam, But What is Everyone Else Doing?

Okay, I don't know what's going on, but lately I've seen ads popping up EVERYWHERE.

Take Twitter for instance. I haven't been on the site in a while now. A couple of months anyway and when I finally did get on to share my news that I published WHEN WE WERE IN HEAVEN (my one and only promotional Tweet) I was hit with advertisements to get rid of unwanted belly fat and how I could get my bachelor's degree in less than two years. (Sorry, already have mine and it took 6 through no fault of my own.)

Then, I was doing some stuff to my other blog, through Google Chrome because that's the only way I can get my pictures uploaded, when BAM, a bunch of pop ups started happening and I couldn't get rid of them. I finally had to shut down my computer to close all the pages.

What the *&$#& is going on?

When I first started blogging, I saw blogs that had ads on them. It's called AdSense, and I guess how it works is for every time a person clicks through to the ad, the blog makes money. Yeah, okay. I guess if that's how you want to blog, fine. It's just not my thing. I blog because I have something to say. I don't blog with the hope I'm going to make money.

They say we need to build an online relationship with readers and not to spam them every five seconds with unwanted crap. I used to Tweet all the time about my books, but then THEY said it was a no-no. That wasn't the way to sell books. But I see it all the time on Twitter. Every other Tweet that hits the roll is a link to buy a book. Or a review with a link. Or a ReTweet with a link.

And now, they have these big glaring ads coming in as well. Do I really want to see spam about how to enlarge my penis, (sorry no penis here) or any other crap they're trying to sell? Do the marketing directors of these huge conglomerates think that we will click on these links? Are they really so stupid that they think we'll trust them not to infect our PC's?

It's bad enough I get emails all the time from crazy people in other countries telling me I've won 8 million dollars in a foreign lottery and for only a small fee (thousands of dollars) I can be the recipient of the cash.

Yeah. Right. Like I'm going to fall for that.

So why would anyone in their right mind click on any of the links on Twitter or through Google?

I have all my stuff on my computer. Thousands of hours of writing material, not to mention pictures. Would I really want that to be corrupted? I don't think so.

I mean, it's bad enough we only get to watch tv for 8 minutes and then are bombarded with commercials. (Thank God for PBS!) It takes an hour to watch a whole program that's only 42 minutes long.

Yeah, sure I get it. That's how they sell. We're not living in the same world we used to. When newspaper ads were all they had. But jeez criminy, is this what it's all coming down to now? Ads, ads and more ads.

Pretty soon, we'll all just be walking billboards. Buy This, Buy That, Buy ME!

Makes me just want to get off ALL social media.

But then again, I live a solitary enough life as it is. Social media IS really the only way I get to be sociable.

Tell me -- Do you click through on anything you see that may interest you? Or are you still old school and Google the brand you want to buy and click on the trusted link?

Robynne Rand (c) 2013

I Applaud J.K. Rowling

With the publishing world like the weather these days, (wait five minutes, it will change), the hubbub over J.K. Rowling's apparent try for anonymity is lessening.

I for one applaud Ms. Rowling's attempt at gaining another name for herself and her work. I mean, if you're one of the most famous authors in living history, (next to Stephen King), no matter what you write will be scrutinized down to the last undotted i.

Look at what happened to CASUAL VACANCY. Panned by the critics, nothing she could ever write would compare to Harry Potter. I'm sure she knew that going in, and for God's sake, CV was an adult book. It wasn't meant to compare to HP. But everyone did it nonetheless.

I maintained that she should have found herself a pen name for that book. But, not knowing her on an intimate basis, I couldn't tell her that.

I'm glad she tried to do it with A CUCKOO'S CALLING. I'm sorry it didn't work out. I would have liked to have read it without the notion it was written by J.K. Rowling. No matter how we say we wouldn't compare, deep down I know I probably would have. But then again. Maybe not.

I think I've read two of the Harry Potter books. Yes, they were entertaining. Yes, they were very well written. But they were also out of my genre. I don't read paranormal kid/tween/YA lit. If that's even the genre classification they are. (Truthfully, I think they're their own genre now.) But with HP, Rowling could do whatever she wanted. It was her world, her characters, she could create at will, the more fantastical the better.

With her two adult novels, she needed to stick with what adults know. Contemporary world, with contemporary characters. No pulling ghosts out of picture frames, or griffins, or magic.

However, if I read CUCKOO'S CALLING by Robert Gailbrith and I liked the book, then I would have liked the author. If I found out later it was actually written by J.K. Rowling, I would have thought she was a good writer regardless of what her name is.

I don't blame her for wanting to find out if she was a good writer. Or that she could make it in the publishing world without the use of her real name. People do it all the time.

I know a woman who writes erotica. She's a stay-at-home soccer mom who goes to church every Sunday, assists in her kid's classrooms, and does volunteer work at the old folk's home where her grandmother resides. Do you think for one second she wants people to know she's really a mass producer of triple xxx porn? Okay, tasteful sex-capades. There is a "story" behind her erotica. She's not just writing sex for sex sake.

And although J.K. Rowling is famous for Harry and friends, why should she submit herself to the scrutiny of the public eye when she wants to write something else?

I mean, how do you know if you're "good enough"? And I believe that's all she wanted. Was to find out if she was good enough. Sure she didn't sell many books, most first time authors don't. But she did get some good reviews out of it. So there was something.

When I first published REMEMBERING YOU, it was under my Anne Gallagher name. Everyone was aghast that I, as a writer of sweet Regency romances, could drop the F-bomb (in Italian mind you) so many times. I received one review (that was very good) but it was from a friend, so that was to be expected.

I decided to republish it under Robynne Rand. I now sit with 7 reviews (4 and 5 stars) from people I don't even know. Naturally, I'd like more because I love that story, but hey... the only way to do that is to publish another book and I can't do that right now. Too many other things keep me from writing.

I hope Ms. Rowling tries to write another book. Under another pen name. This time I hope she self-publishes it. Better chance of making it than through a regular publisher. Then she'll really be anonymous. And she'll be able to find out if she's good enough for the masses. And the critics.

Then again, she's the richest woman in the world (next to Oprah) so she can do whatever she wants with her writing. Even though A CUCKOO'S CALLING wasn't selling, as soon as it was revealed she wrote it, the book hit the best-seller list.

So, if you're listening J.K. try it again. This time self-publish. You'll never know who you really are until you do.

Robynne Rand (c) 2013

It's Book Fair Day!

Remembering You - a novel

           Robynne Rand
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When Genna comes home to Rhode Island over the 4th of July holiday, she finds that her family is falling apart and she has only twenty-one days to put them back together.

Her vacation is far from relaxing. Two men are vying for her attention, her aunt is clearly showing signs of old age, and her grandmother is pushing Genna to accept an inheritance she does not want.

When tragedy strikes, Genna steps in to keep her uncle’s diner open and she questions what’s more important – returning to her job to break the glass ceiling or her family.

The clock runs out and Genna finds she is needed at her job, needed by her family, and she is needed by lovers old and new. Now Genna must search her soul to find out what she needs.
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Excerpt

Genna took a deep breath of the salty, humid air, pulled her ponytail tighter, and turned the handle. The door tinkled as she walked into her uncle’s little diner, a mainstay in the neighborhood for more than thirty years. The knot in her stomach tightened a little. Would this long awaited trip be all that she imagined? Finally home for three weeks, all that she wanted to do was relax, and enjoy the time she spent with her family.

She walked to the low counter and sat on one of the stools in front of the cash register. She looked around at the white washed walls, noticing not one thing had changed since her childhood. The same picture of Pope John Paul II still hung over the door to the kitchen. The flag of Italy under glass, displayed over the map of Salerno where the ancestors originated. Did anyone even bother to look at the decrepit bulletin board anymore? Still by the front door with so many cards stuck to it, the thing was an eyesore and should have been taken down. The little café curtains that hung along the wall of windows were the only thing to mark a discernable difference. Blue checkered now, instead of red.

As her eyes flitted from booth to booth looking for people she might know, she spied a lone man in the corner. Holy shit! It couldn’t be! But, it was. Her breath caught in her throat. Even in her wildest fantasies about seeing him again, she never imagined running into Tony just five minutes off the road. But there he was, larger than life, sitting in her Uncle Sally’s diner.

He noticed her at the exact same moment. Half rising from his seat, he stared back as if she were a ghost. Genna met his shocked expression before turning away, giving him, what her historical romance novels called ‘the cut direct’. She hoped he got the hint, because she couldn’t talk to him now, if ever.

“Rosa Linda Fortuna Genovase, is it really you?” A large voice boomed through the pass-through window next to the coffee maker. A moment later her uncle burst through the swinging door, arms extended for a hug.

“Uncle Sally!” Genna jumped from her seat and rushed into his arms.

Salvatore “Sally” Genovase, her father’s brother, pulled her close then pushed her away from his huge body, grasping her hands in his.

“Your Aunt Fortuna is gonna’ have you on a spit you know. You shoulda’ called.” He hugged her again, and her back cracked in two places.

“I know, Unc, I know, but it was kind of a spur of the moment thing. I had some time coming to me, so I decided to come home. Surprise!” She held his hand as she sank back down onto the stool.

He sat on the next stool in line and asked in a low voice, “You okay? You don’t owe nobody nothing, do ya’?” He glanced over his shoulder around the small café.

Genna laughed. “No, I don’t owe anyone, anything.” Ingrained throughout her childhood was the Genovase family creed:  Mind Your Business – Mind Your Family –Mind Your Money.

“You sure?” he asked.

“I’m sure, now stop.” She squeezed his hand. “I just wanted to come home, that’s all. I missed you. Once a week phone calls just weren’t cutting it anymore. Now, what’s going on here?” She looked at the white dry-erase board hanging over the coffee machine and smiled. “Same old Tuesday specials I see. When are you going to change this menu?”

A waitress she remembered from her last visit stepped up to them. Genna asked for a glass of water.

“Ha, just like a woman, not even here for two minutes and already giving me grief. Your Aunt Fortuna trained you well.” Salvatore chuckled, patting her face with his calloused hand.

“I’m not giving you grief. I’m just not crazy about stuffed eggplant.” Genna giggled and gratefully sipped from the glass the waitress, Heidi, put down. She grabbed a napkin to wipe up the condensation before it dripped all over her shirt.

“Hello, Genna.”

Tony! She didn’t want to turn around, didn’t want to see him up close, and certainly didn’t want to talk to him. Especially now. What she wanted was to melt under the floor, or better yet, have him melt under the floor so she could walk all over him the way he had done to her.

“Hello, Tony,” she mumbled over her shoulder. She was only being half-impolite. At least she said hello.

“How’s it goin’? Back in town?” He stood waiting to pay his tab.

“Yeah,” she said. Although she hated to tell him anything, family etiquette demanded it.

“Well, maybe we can catch up later.”

Not in this lifetime. Heidi cashed him out and Genna heard his footfalls receding. She turned her attention back to her uncle who wore a pensive expression, watching Tony walk out the door.

“I don’t know why you’ve come home, Bella, but I hope it wasn’t to reunite with that culo.”

Genna shot her uncle a puzzled look. “I didn’t come here to see Tony. I came here to see you and Aunt Fortuna.” Changing the subject, she asked, “Where is she by the way?” Her aunt had always been a fixture at the restaurant, from nine to two, every day.

“She had to baby-sit the boys. Your cousin’s got a doctor’s appointment.” Salvatore made the sign of the cross.

"What’s the matter with Angie?”

Salvatore leaned forward and whispered, “Girly problems.”

Knowing Uncle Sally that could mean a thousand different things, nine-hundred and ninety-nine of them not being serious. “I’ll ask Auntie when I see her. Where’s Robby? Down at the shop?”

“I would imagine.” Salvatore glanced up at the big clock over the pass-through. “It’s only eleven, you gonna’ go by there now, or you want some breakfast first?” He rose from his stool without waiting for her answer and moved behind the long counter.

“No, I couldn’t eat. I’ll just go down to the garage. I figure he’ll be mad because I didn’t stop to see him first, but…” Genna finished her water and stood.

“But you love your uncle more, right?” Salvatore poured two large to-go cups of coffee, added sugar, milk, and ice, and put them in a bag. He filled another bag with doughnuts and muffins. He placed both in front of Genna. “Here. Give him these. Maybe he won’t be so mad, eh?”

Genna hugged her uncle, kissed him on both cheeks, and picked up the bags.

“I’m assuming you’ll be home for dinner,” Salvatore said as she walked toward the door.

“As if I wouldn’t.” She turned to face him, her hand on the door handle. “You think I’d want Aunt Fortuna hunting me down? What time?”

“Six, I’d imagine. Soon as she finds out you’re home she’s gonna’ be cooking like its Christmas. Remember to bring your appetite. Ciao, Bella.” He waved her off with a kiss on his fingertips.
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REMEMBERING YOU is available only for the Kindle at this time.

Marketing & Promotion

Well, for those of you who follow me here, and I do appreciate you, this blog is mostly about my writing. Yes, unfortunately this blog is all about me. If you want to see things about you, you have to go to Piedmont Writer.

In the course of the last month, I've been moving. Because of where we lived, where I live now, and that my parents own both the houses, I've been lucky enough to move at my leisure. Well, the first few weeks were furious that I had a man around to help me move the big furniture. Now that he's gone, I've been struggling to get the old house into some semblance of clean so we can market it and sell it.

My mother feels that we should just leave it the way it is. Broken toilet downstairs (that has been broken since we moved in) overgrown yard, mismatched cabinets in the kitchen. Sell it for what we can get.

I, on the other hand, want to fix all the gaffs, repaint, fix the toilet downstairs and gut the bathroom upstairs to bring it to the 21st century. I want to make the house shiny new so we can sell it for a little bit more than what we paid for it. Sounds sensible to me. And if not get a little more, then sell it for what they originally bought it for so they don't lose money.

 My mother also feels she wants to sell the house For Sale By Owner. I do not. I gave her the arguments that although she'll save money by not hiring a real estate agent, she'll also have to be at the beck and call of people who want to look at the house. Not to mention, find ways to market it, etc. and all the other things real estate agents do. Pictures, MLS listings, showings, print-outs. (And that will fall to me, which I do not want to do.)

There's been a slew of discussion going on for the last few weeks, and now that she's gone on vacation, I have settled down into the routine of cleaning and moving the last of the stuff out. Next week, I'm hoping to begin painting.

And all of this brings me to the idea of what we need to do to market our books. I just released REMEMBERING YOU for the third time. New cover, new name, new edits, new chapter titles. Shiny shiny shiny.

I'm not what is known as an aggressive marketer. I prefer to do things quietly. For my Regency romances I think I only mentioned it on my blogs once, and then Tweeted once and let it go. I may have done one or two interviews, one or two guest posts.

With REMEMBERING YOU, I had nothing set up, (because quite honestly I didn't know I was going to release it, was a spur of the moment decision). I decided to offer it for free on Amazon, put a barrage of hourly Tweets up, and did a post on Monday on the Piedmont Writer blog. I guess you could say that was somewhat quiet.

I did get to the #1 rankings on the Kindle Free list, so that was nice. I didn't give away as many books as I thought I might, but enough to keep me hovering at the 1 and 2 spot for two days. But because Amazon changed their algorithms again, I've lost all my ranking. It seeems one needs reviews to keep the rankings. (Anyone out there have a review handy for me?)

Anyway, what this post all boils down to is that, with the new self-publishing model, we can make changes to our books as we see fit. We don't need to keep what is old and broken and not working anymore. We have the option to go back in and change what needs changing -- to make it shiny and new. We have the option to have an "open house" instead of trying to show one person at a time. We have the option to go all out on a marketing frenzy or just quietly promote and hope for the best.

I suppose it depends on who you are and what you want from your book.