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.

Here’s an interesting experiment at the Boulder Book Store in Colorado. Print on Demand (POD — self-publshed) authors sell their books on consignment on the bookstore shelves, and pay for the privilege.

The Boulder way: A bookstore’s experiment with microdistribution » Nieman Journalism Lab reports:

“…The store charges its consignment authors according to a tiered fee structure: $25 simply to stock a book (five copies at a time, replenished as needed by the author for no additional fee); $75 to feature a book for at least two weeks in the ‘Recommended’ section; and $125 to, in addition to everything else, mention the book in the store’s email newsletter, feature it on the Local Favorites page of the store’s website for at least 60 days, and enable people to buy it online for the time it’s stocked in the store.

And for $255 — essentially, the platinum package — the store will throw in an in-store reading and book-signing event.”

If you’re a new author, and haven’t set up your own marketing, it sounds like a great offering to me. You’re getting your book out there, and that’s important.

Few bookstores will stock POD books, so let’s hope that more of them develop this distribution model for their local authors.

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You’re writing your book, and you’re a bundle of nerves: what if no one wants to read it?

These days, you can lay those fears to rest. I’ve been recommending that you blog your book on this blog, but there are many other things you can do.

I love this idea, for example Synergizing the Book and Web: The Future…? | Digital Book World:

“The Amanda Project is a first of its kind transmedia experience – ‘an interactive, collaborative fictional mystery for girls ages 13 & up, told across a variety of different media including an 8-book series, a website that features games, writing, art & social networking, and a related series of blogs, satellite sites, music, and merchandise.’”

Can you create a synergy between your book and the Web?

Remember, your aim is to get readers. Once you have readers, getting an agent (and a publisher) is a piece of cake. Get creative — there are many, many ways you get can readers for your book using the Web.

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Writing a book is all very well. Anyone with a little stamina can write a book. Selling that book is something else.

Here’s where 99.9 per cent of new authors fall down: they don’t promote enough. They don’t promote enough before they publish their book, and they don’t promote enough afterward.

Listen: I don’t care how GREAT your book is, if you don’t promote it it will go nowhere.

Promotion is vital for any book, whether it’s your first or your tenth, because promotion determines the length and success of your career.

Here’s a great story Indie Kindle author lands book deal:

“Author Boyd Morrison sold two books, the first one called The Ark, to Simon & Schuster. Boyd uploaded and sold the books himself and raised awareness for his novels by being a member of Kindle Boards and generally self-promoting.”

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Writing a book is a long process, and so is selling the book.

It’s not unusual for a book to take five years and more to see publication.

It’s a long time to be working in the dark, so to speak, unsure whether your book will be accepted by a publisher, and will sell once it hits the bookstore shelves.

There’s an answer to this “in the dark” situation – cast light on it by promoting your book as you write it.

Kate Mosse blogged Labyrinth as she wrote it, and you can blog your book too.

If you need help with the promote-as-you-write process, I can work out a plan for you. Just contact me for a consultation; I’m happy to help.