Lorraine Mace

Write Away! July 2008

Text Box: Getting to Market Living abroad makes it harder to market books, but the tips below show it isn’t impossible. Personal website and/or blog Having a web presence makes self-marketing easier by showing your biography, achievements and previously published works. My website also includes reviews of The ABC Checklist for New Writers. Having a website isn’t enough; you need to direct traffic to it. Include a link in your email signature, so that every recipient knows you are the author of Insert Title Here and your website address. Chat on forums Join online forums dealing with your book’s topic. Put the title and your website address in your forum signature. Every comment you make is a promotional tool. Produce articles Write on your book’s subject for specialist magazines. Most editors ask for a short bio and this is the ideal opportunity to promote your title. Even with fiction, you can still write articles on how you conducted your research. An article pitched at a writing magazine, or one devoted to the subject matter (crime, romance or reincarnation, for example) showing how to find and use facts in fiction would be sure to find a home. Give some away Allow websites and magazines to use short extracts. Readers can then see exactly how appealing and/or useful the content is. Give it all away Offer copies as competition prizes to magazines and newspapers. This includes any local English-language newspaper, where you should also ask for a review. Your publisher will be only too happy to supply the free copies. I used to live here Prepare an interesting press release to send to the local papers of places you lived in the UK. If you were born in Sutton, later moved to Edinburgh and retired in Cornwall before moving abroad, then send three press releases. Sutton-born, ex-Edinburgh resident or Cornish pensioner writes great book while living abroad. Tell the World Wide Web Internet radio is gaining in popularity. I’ve been interviewed by Maggie Ball of The Compulsive Reader. She lives in Australia, I live in France; our audience is worldwide. www.compulsivereader.com or search on www.radiostations.co.uk and www.radiorow.com/stations/specialty.htm Tell other ex-pats English-language radio stations are always worth contacting. Also ask the nearest major library if you can advertise a reading for ex-pats. Donate a book to the English-language section. As you can see, there is plenty we can do to market our books. Good luck with your campaign. Write Away! Notes from the Margin


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