Self-promotion for writers

Self-promotion for writersfrom a masterclass at Spread the Word

by Tom Chivers, director of Penned in the Margins

Online Promotion

XKCD: Online com

munities w

ww

.xkcd.com/256

Start a blog or a website

Give readers a taste of your writing

Keep supporters up to date with what you’re up to

Online PromotionWebsite


Website tips

♦ Keep it simple: don’t overdo the graphics

♦ Link to other writers’ sites and websites you like

♦ Update regularly: people are more likely to visit a site with regular updates

♦ Consider hiring a designer if you can afford it

Getting the content right


reviews

examples of your work a biography

photographs

press pack

What will be interesting?What will be useful?

www.flickr.com/photos/davidden Creative Commons BY-SA 2.0


Places to start a blog

Wordpresswww.wordpress.com

Bloggerwww.blogger.com

Online PromotionSocial networking

Social networking

Start conversations with readers and other writers


♦ Avoid common pitfalls: – Don’t overdo it: sending messages and updates every minute will irritate people– Keep it relevant: don’t use every conversation to talk about your work– Think of how people might respond to your output and act accordingly

♦ Take time to get to grips with the different ways of using social networks: Facebook groups, fan pages, events, notes, status updates and Twitter retweets, @ replies and direct messages

♦ Interact with other people: comment and start conversations

Use and abuse

Social networking sites


Online PromotionEmail

Email

Use your list to tell interested people about forthcoming events, projects and publications

Start building a list now! It may seem useless now, but will be indispensible when your book comes out

Online PromotionEmail

Using email effectively♦ Use an informal tone, but keep things to the point

♦ Don’t spam your subscribers: one email a month is enough

♦ If you have over 100 subscribers, you might find Your Mailing List Provider useful

Online PromotionRich media

Using rich media♦ Why not film your work for a YouTube video?

♦ Short stories and poetry make ideal podcasts

♦ Embed rich media in your blog or website…

♦ …or submit to sites like Beat The Dust TV: “a space for writers to add an audio-visual dimension to their work”

Online PromotionGood examples

Salt Publishing♦ A small publisher driven by social media

♦ Their ‘Just One Book’ campaign led to over 400 sales in 24hrs and is very much worth checking out


Baroque in Hackney♦ Blog of Kate Evans Bush, poet, reviewer and freelance writer

♦ “sharp, wry … wears its considerable erudition lightly”

Time Out

♦ “stylish, vivacious and darkly hilarious

The Poetry Book Society


Ross Sutherland’s Things To Do Before You Leave Town video♦ One of The Times’ Top Ten Literary Stars of 2008

♦ Part of Aisle 16, a poetry collective called “highlights of the spoken word scene” by The Sunday Times

ww

w.flickr.com

/photos/adactio Creative Comm

ons BY 2.0

Offline Promotion

Offline PromotionLive Literature

Live literature eventsAn ideal way to meet other writers as well as readers

Being part of a social literary scene can be a great way to promote your work

4 Steps to Getting Involved


1. Identify the types of events you are interested in

2. Go along to these events as a punter

3. Introduce yourself to the organiser

4. When you feel ready, send your details to the organiser and offer to do a reading

http://ww

w.flickr.com

/photos/randomecho Creative Com

mons BY-SA 2.0

– Don’t be pushy: this irritates promoters and can do more harm than good

– Don’t be disappointed if you aren’t invited to perform: there are only limited slots


♦ Invite your friends to show their support. Promoters will remember if you’ve managed to get a crowd

♦ Use your website, blog or social networking sites to advertise your event

♦ Try to think from the audience’s perspective: How should you introduce your event?What poems should you select?

♦ Humour goes a long way

♦ Ask the promoter how to use the microphone and stand if you feel uncomfortable

Tips for performing:

Live literature events and venues


Plum.

Offline PromotionWorking with the media

Working with the mediaGetting in touch with the local (and maybe even national) media can really raise your profile and spread the word about your work

Advice for working with the media♦ Spend some time building a decent press database

♦ Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself to local journalists and build relationships with them

♦ Introduce yourself to your local radio station

♦ Always ensure you have good quality, high definition photographs of yourself: we live in a visual culture


Writing a great press release♦ Press releases should tell a story and be easy to understand.

♦ Think about why your story is interesting to the press.

♦ What is your “USP” (unique selling point)?

♦ Include plenty of information in your press release, or link to places with more info.


Self-promotion for writers

Put together by

Based on notes kindly providedby Tom Chivers,

director of Penned in the Margins

www.completelynovel.com/publish

Entertainment & Humor

Self-promotion for writers