While reading one of my fave blogs, I stumbled upon a link to This Article on www.nypost.com. An author named Jennifer Belle hired 40 actresses to sit in public places (within NYC)  and laugh out loud while reading her book. It’s a very creative idea, and in at least one respect brilliant because it’s getting her some additional press.

One of the biggest challenges an author faces is getting word of her book out to the public. According to UNESCO, there were between 150,000 and 200,000 new titles published in 2005, in the US alone (I haven’t been able to locate more recent numbers). I’ve read the average fiction novel sells anywhere between 5,000 and 11,000 copies (this number, I’m guessing takes into account returns). With over 100,000 books published every year, it’s not newsworthy to have your novel published, at least according to television, radio and newspapers.

I believe, as book publishers struggle to find their footing in this volatile market, promotion budgets will be slashed and authors will be forced to take on the burden of marketing his/her books.  In most cases, this has already happened. More and more, authors are going to have to come up with unique and fresh ideas to promote their work. It’s not enough to write a great book anymore. And then another. And another. Those great books could very well end up being recycled to print another author’s great book.

So how does Jane Author get the media’s attention so her book, one of 150,000 or more, finds its way into the hands of readers instead of the bottom of a recycling bin? I don’t have the answer. Quite the opposite, as an author who is anxiously anticipating her upcoming release, I would love to come up with something mad/brilliant/newsworthy to promote my books. Perhaps looking outside the publishing industry would be wise? Can you think of a product that was promoted in an unusual/unique/interesting way? I’d love to hear about it.

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• Q&A with Megan Records, Editor Once a month, over on the Brava Author's blog, editor Megan Records is being kind enough to take questions from readers. And she's willing to answer just about any question you have. This month, the questions (posted in comments) included what types of books her authors write, what her thoughts......
• My Top 10 Erotic Romance Keepers For kicks, I thought I'd list the top ten erotic romance books on my keeper shelf. They are in no particular order, because I couldn't/can't rank them. They're all great! And, for the most part, they're all older titles--the first books in series. By the way, I could easily pick......
• About Rejection The day I received The Call about the sale of Blood of Eden, I opened a SASE and read a generic Dear Author rejection. The timing couldn't have been better. I got a good laugh out of it. Is this the first time it's happened to me? Nope. Will it......
• Sasha White's Show Me The Money If you aren't aware, there are a couple authors over on the GenReality blog who are foolish brave enough to share their actual sales figures for their books. Despite my seeming little dig, which is more an indication of how I think publishing folks will respond to this practice than......

• 40 Books to Read if You Love Twilight by First Mate Keira If you haven't yet read the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer, you should. All 4 books are out. This is their order: Twilight New Moon Eclipse *Breaking Dawn Plus there’s a companion piece to Eclipse entitled The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. Wondering who......
• How Your House Works by Charlie Wing If you have ever looked at a sink, a lamp or anything in your house and wondered how does that work this book has your answers. Any homeowner can benefit from learning more about how specific appliances and fixtures work, but there are not many resources that put it all......
• Creating Eye-Catching Book Covers Have you ever wondered how publishers create book covers? I was trolling through YouTube the other day and found this video that talked about the process. It's a little dated but I'm positive that it holds true to today as well. Even better it looks at creating romance covers and......
• Review: Kissing Sin by Keri Arthur The second book in the Riley Jenson series is a continuance of the first. It’s very important to read Full Moon Rising before starting this one because they are extremely tied in and you will be left confused if you don’t. The urban futuristic world is expanded and more......
• Traditional Publisher versus Self-Publishing for Business Books When you look at the options for publishing a business book for self-promotion or business promotion, there are actually three options. Traditional publishers, self-publishing or creating an e-book. Creating an e-book E-books are great because they can be created with any pdf-creating software, you have complete control over the process,......

Tags: book promotion, Jennifer Belle, writing
Categories: writing

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