Most writers are shy of promotion. And yet, they need and want readers.

Our favorite fantasy is that we’re “discovered”. Someone else does all the work, and we just get to sit and write…

I love this interview, Kindle Author: Kindle Author Interview: Consuelo Saah Baehr, because the writer “gets” promotion:

“CONSUELO SAAH BAEHR: I began a blog and diligently post every two or three days. I also comment on sites like The Huffington Post and The Daily Beast and invariably I get views to my blog and my books. I am a frequent participant on the Kindleboards and find the camaraderie very inspiring. I do guest blogging and interviews every chance I get and have also taken out two small ads on the Kindleboards. I did a Goodreads giveaway and attracted almost 900 participants. I send review copies to reputable reviewers and hope they’ll take the time to look at the book. I just keep doing what I can. I’m not very savvy technically but I cobble things together. I spend a part of every day doing some sort of marketing.”

What promotion will you do, today, tomorrow, this week?

I encourage you to learn advertising and branding. Learning how to do it is key. Once you know how, you may cringe initially, but then you’ll find that you enjoy it, and accept that promoting is a part of your writing life.

What will you promote today?

A tip: promotion starts while you’re writing your book. Start a blog, get known. Take baby steps.

Want to sell your book? When you write a book, selling it starts as soon as you get the idea. You need to build your audience. Do that while you write, and you’re golden. (One of the easiest ways to build an audience is by blogging.)

Blogging is a form of social media. You interact with your audience, and as your network grows, your opportunities grow.

There are many social media sites, and while you’re writing your book, you need to become active on at least one or two of them.

Book Marketing Bestsellers: Promoting and selling your books to a worldwide audience. The Book Promotion Blog! suggests:

“Use Twitter to find a journalist to target for your book/niche. Search for journalists on WeFollow and search.twitter.com. Listen to what they are tweeting about, Retweet them and get noticed. Build a relationship and then pitch. You can also set up a Twilert for your niche topic and you will receive a daily email with who is talking about it. Join the conversation and get noticed.”

As a writer, sites like Twitter and Facebook are invaluable to you, but only if you’re aware of them.

How to use social media while you’re writing a book

While you’re writing, build your audience. Please realize that you build your audience one person at a time. If you understand this, publishers will love you.

You can also use social media to research and get insights for your book — find experts to interview. Whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction, the social media sites make it easy to find experts.

How to use social media to sell your book

If you become active on the social media while you’re writing, you’ll find it easier to sell your book, even before you finish it. You can find literary agents, and acquisitions editors on the social media sites — or I should say, they’ll find you.

Self-publishing? The social media build your audience, so that you get more sales.

Befuddled by Twitter? You’ll be amazed at how many writers, editors, agents and buyers of your writing use it

Be where the action is with “Twitter for Writers: Achieve Writing Success 25 Words at a Time”, your guide to micro blogging for writers.

Oops… the perils of bestsellerdom. You know you’ve hit the big time when you get sued.

Stephenie Meyer’s publisher denies ‘Breaking Dawn’ plagiarism claim | EW.com reports:

“Author Stephenie Meyer has been accused of plagiarizing small portions of Breaking Dawn, the fourth book in her Twilight series, from a novel called The Nocturne by Jordan Scott. “

Interesting snippet: “she (Jordan Scott) regularly posted passages and chapters on her web site, www.jordanscott.com”.

Does this mean you should forgo blogging to build your platform as you write your book?

NO. Blog your book — it’s the easiest way to build your platform.

Want to write a book? Start a blog.

That’s been the theme on THIS blog for quite a while. With blogging, you no longer have to pursue the horrid never-ending hassle of sending out query letters and proposals — you wait for publishers to come to you.

(I say “horrid” because it is: YOU don’t want to send out queries etc, and publishers and agents don’t want them either — they know they have a better chance of hitting the lottery than of finding anything of value in the slush pile.)

From Blog to Print, Laughing All the Way to the Bank – NYTimes.com reports:

“Mr. Birmingham started Pets Who Want to Kill Themselves in early January, uploaded the first entry and asked readers to contribute. Within days, visitors were supplying him with snapshots of bulldogs in bunny costumes and cats wearing wigs. The blogosphere noticed — and so did the publishing world. Within a week, he was contacted by editors and literary agents. By the second month, he said, he had sold a book based on the photos to Three Rivers Press, an imprint at Crown Publishing Group, for ‘enough money to buy a Lincoln Town Car’ — with change left over. “

Here’s the big benefit of blogging: if it’s a great book idea, people (readers and publishers) notice. If the idea stinks, it’s better you should find out now, and not after you’ve wasted three years of your life on it.

So, if you want to write a book, do it on a blog.

Get the writing success you deserve by taking the first steps into the new world for writers: instant publishing on blogs

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“Writing Success With Blogs by Angela Booth” includes an hour of FREE email coaching with me with purchase; this is a $300 value. I want you to blog with style and confidence, and get the top blog jobs.

Discover what, how, when, where and why you should blog for writing success. Get started blogging, today, and watch your writing career take off.

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Above – the twiller – a thriller on Twitter, here’s the plot summary.

Want to write a book, fast?

Books on blogs are common, but there’s no new form of book-blogging: book micro-blogging, on Twitter. The excerpts above are from Michael Richter’s “twiller“.

Introducing the Twiller – Bits Blog – NYTimes.com reports:

“Recently, a handful of creators (present company included) have scrapped pen and paper for mobile phone and keypad, and started texting their novels — in real time, just a few characters at a time. Our medium is Twitter, a service that lets you broadcast bursts of 140 characters at a time to be read by people who subscribe to get your updates.”

So, if you’re writing a mystery, you could write a twistery on Twitter… a Twitter romance would be a twance…

Try it: you’ve just eliminated your “I haven’t got time to write a book” excuse. You can write your book 28 words at a time.