You may not know it, but I'm pretty sure you have a fan club that will help you market your writing.
OK, it won't be the size of Lady GaGa's or Justin Beiber's, but that's OK. What we're after is just a dozen people willing to help make the people they know aware of your book.
Some will be willing to do it because they like your blog or web site, some may be fans of other things you've written, some may owe you a favor, and some will do it because they're family.
Here's the secret to making maximum use of this resource:
You have to tell them what to do and when to do it.
Do not just say, "I'd really like it if you told all your friends and contacts about my new book." They'll mean to but they'll forget, or they won't know what to say, or they'll mention it once in a Tweet and that's it.
Make it easy for them. If you know they're on Facebook, give them the core message to post. They can add the compliments. What you give them is something like this:
My (friend/sister/mother/whatever) has just published her book on Kindle! It's called Make Me an Offer and it's a funny novel about a single Mom who who has to decide between two offers of marriage--one from the guy who brings excitement into her life but is hated by her kids, the other from the man she thinks is super nice but not Mr Passion, who is adored by her children. Here's the link to use to buy it, it's only (price) and I think you'll love it (link to Amazon or other sales site).
Let them know they can change the wording if they want to. Most of them will use it just as is. Suggest the day and time for them to post this on their Facebook page.
Check who did it and who didn't. For the ones who didn't, send them a cheerful email a couple of days later saying something like, "Sorry if I'm being pushy, but I noticed you didn't have a chance to post that message about my book on your Facebook page. If you could do it in the next day or two, I'd really appreciate it."
Now that they know you're watching, most of them will do it.
Do the same with Twitter, and friends who have a podcast, or who use Pinterest or any other social media sites or belong to a book group.
You're not done. A week later, send them a jpg of your book's cover and ask them to post a message like this:
Thanks to the people who got behind my (friend's/sister's/etc.) book, (title of book). I meant to send you a picture of the cover, and here it is now. It's a great funny book that I think most women will find all too accurate about men! You can get it here: (link)
There's more. You can send a message like this:
I had a great response from the folks like you who were kind enough to mention my new book. I'd love it if you could post this message on my behalf: "I just wanted to thank all the nice people who saw the mention of my book, (title of book) here and bought it. I hope you're enjoying it! If you have any questions--other than which bits of the book are autobiographical!--I'd love to hear from you. You can email me at (email address). If you don't have the book yet, this is the link where you can get it: (link)
You're still not done. The next message goes out when you get a review. It can be from a blogger, or a local paper, or a magazine, or a reading site, but of course it should be a positive review. Then you hit them up one more time:
A little while back you were kind enough to help spread the word about my (sister's/friend's) book (title of book)--thanks. Look at the great review she got! I think the best part is where they say " (quote of best part of book--could be a phrase or a sentence)! You can get the book at (link).
Is this a little pushy? Sure. Do you want to sell books or don't you? Besides, most of your contacts will not mind. You're giving them content for their Facebook or Twitter feed or podcast, and they get to say they're associated with a real, live author.
(There's a lot more about marketing your book in "Your Writing Coach," published by Nicholas Brealey and available from Amazon or your other favorite bookseller.)
