MARKETING

One thing that came out of the joint book launch/celebration event Bridge House Publishing and Cafelit held today was that writers were to share marketing tips with each other.  This was useful.  My suggestions were:-

1. Be open to possibilities.  I fell into flash fiction by accident (I had a piece that was too short to do anything with, Cafelit let it be known they were after very short stories, I sent it in, it was accepted but none of this was planned by me).  
   
2. Enter reputable writing competitions and build up a writing CV.  The idea is to show an agent/publisher others thought you worthy of publication.  It also shows commitment on your part.
   

Other suggestions by me (we were only supposed to share one tip, I sneaked in two!):-

1. Don't be afraid of marketing.  See it as talking about your books, stories, writing, all topics you love.  Okay you don't want to bore everyone but you should be keen about what you do.  
   
2. Be glad for other writers.  Why?  Because we are not rivals.  Give 10 writers the same theme and word count and there will be 10 different stories.  We are all promoting literacy and books in general as well.  And we are all in the same boat, especially those of us who would still like to get a novel out there, get an agent or what have you.
   
3. Social media is phenomenally useful for spreading the word but use it wisely.  Talk about your work while talking about other relevant things.  For example, I hope, when I know when my flash fiction collection will be out, to write about the thrill of that and then go on to discuss more about flash and give tips.  Also I'll be able to sign myself off as Allison Symes, Author of.......................  and I can add that to blog posts etc which are not directly about my book.  Marketing can be subtle (and the best kind always is).