The Marketing Side of Writing

Thursday the publisher put Sown in Dark Soil, my new release, on sale for $1.99 on amazon for kindle. At the same time, Cleared for Planting, the first book in the Appalachian Roots series, was marked down to $2.99. Both are regularly $5.99 each, so this was a great deal, where the reader could get both books for the price of one, or the new one for a third the normal cost.

In conjunction with this, I tried to inform as many people as possible that I thought would be interested about the sale. I don't think most people realize that more and more of the marketing rests upon the author's shoulders. Even the bigger publishing houses no longer have big budgets for marketing like they once did. This makes it hard for the new author who is just trying to build name recognition. In lieu of an advertising budget, word of mouth seems to be one of the best ways to market.

With Cleared for Planting, I had no help with marketing. I literally had to do it all myself. I don't mind or dread marketing, but, as a former teacher, I have little to no training in it. This time, however, Ambassador International has a social media director, who is helping with sales. I don't know if this is a new position, if an author doesn't get the marketing help until the second book, or if I got it this time because they know I've been working hard on my own. In any regard, I appreciate the help. I need all the help I can get, so if you can help me spread the word, that would be great!

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