Welcome to the second of two guest posts from the fabulous Sheila Lowe – part one, available Monday, was an excerpt from Last Writes, the fourth installment in her Forensic Handwriting Mystery series featuring Claudia Rose; part two, available today, contains Sheila’s blog writing tips for marketing your book (should you be one of those lucky enough to actually finish your book – she said with a sigh). Enjoy!

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Marketing Your Book

Here’s a tip that about-to-be-published writers might find surprising and, hopefully, valuable: Unless you are a Dan Brown, Stephen King, or Mary Roberts Rinehart, your publisher is unlikely to put a lot of bucks into promoting your wonderful new book. If you’re lucky enough to have a deal with a major publishing house, you’ve got distribution going for you, which is terrific. But beyond that, it’s going to be up to you to promote your books. If you don’t tell the world that the books are in the stores, within a few weeks they will be returned to the publisher and your life on the shelves will be a short one.

For a new author, with the possible exception of your hometown, book signing events tend to be unrewarding in terms of turnout. Still, there is a hidden advantage to showing up at bookstores anyway, especially the indy stores—you get to meet the people who are actually going to be selling your books. These good folk are usually busy, so don’t take up a lot of their time beyond introducing yourself and offering to sign stock. They know their customers’ reading habits, so if you’ve had bookmarks professionally printed, booksellers generally appreciate receiving a stack that they can hand to customers who ask for recommendations.
Continue reading Guest Post: Market Your Book - Blog Writing Tips from Sheila Lowe