Beyond the Bookstore

One of the great things about Second Wind Publishing is that the company also owns a brick-and-mortor store, Barnhill's Books. This means that all authors published by SW have a readymade shelf awaiting their works, and a staff eager to push them. The store itself is really neat -- it's in an old house on a cool street in Winston-Salem. Hardwood floors and comfy furniture (plus wine tastings from many regional wineries) make it a welcoming space. There's also a children's section, and the staff schedules readings and events for readers of all ages weekly. I'm so pleased to be part of this group!

But I know I'll have to do a lot more than rest in one of those comfy chairs at a signing, waiting for my adoring fans to beat a path to the door. No, I'll have to take my book to the streets ... and papers ... and blogs... and magazines, etc. In other words, everywhere beyond the bookstore.

Since I have a few weeks prior to the launch of The Pirate's Bastard, I've been working ahead in the marketing area. This includes preparing media kit pieces, letters and lists. The media kit is self-explanatory. The letters are for bloggers who might be interested in mentioning the book to their readers. I've written several follow-up letters in that series, too. The lists are filled with various associations, companies, shops, media outlets, bookstores, galleries, and anywhere else I could think of -- places where my book might be a good fit to at least mention of have out on display. Hunting down contact information is easy in the digital age, but there are no guarantees that anyone will actually be interested.

Kinda like this blog. As of today, I've had no visitors. And I'm okay with that. I'm just learning about this marketing tool -- this mode of communication. Next week, I start posting on Second Wind's blog. Each author in the Second Wind family gets a day to post. And since cross-pollination of marketing can often result in a good thing, I might as well have something for others to read here. Besides, it's fun cataloging the steps I'm taking to get my work "out there" -- who knows? It may actually help someone else do it for themselves some day.