Will You Please Buy My Book?
The trials and treats of promotion
by Merrillee Whren

By the time you read this, my first book will be on the shelves. My hope is that many, many people will look for my book and buy it. Promotion must be part of the writer's life if she wants her book to stand out among the titles released each month. I'm going to share my promotion journey from the time of "The Call," which I received in February 2004, to the last thing I did before I turned in this article.

Since this is my first book, I have had to wade through the numerous suggestions on how to promote my book, and with high hopes I have used many of them. I'm sure there is a learning curve here for a second go-around with my next book, An Unexpected Blessing, which will be a June 2006 release.

Immediately after receiving the call, I registered my domain name. Some writers do that before they sell. They even have Web sites before they sell, but I chose to wait. Even though I didn't have my own site, I thought it was important to have some kind of Web presence. That is why I became part of the Wet Noodle Posse Web site. Until I was able to get my own site, I thought the Wet Noodle Posse e-zine was a great place to begin.

In order to create my Web site, I first did a lot of research. I looked at dozens of writers' Web sites. They are as varied as the books they write. The main idea in this research was to look at the content on these sites and decide what I wanted on mine. I also knew from the beginning that I could not design my own site. Some Web site designers I contacted could not work on my site until early 2005, but I wanted to launch mine in December 2004 so I could tell everyone about it in my annual Christmas letter. That letter goes out to more than one hundred family members and friends. Fortunately, I was able to find someone in my local RWA chapter to do my Web site in the timeframe I wanted. I think she did a terrific job. Please take a look at www.merrilleewhren.com.

My Web site was good to go when I sent out those Christmas cards. I put my business card in each letter and asked them to look for my book in August. Now I know that many people who read that letter last December have certainly forgotten that I have a book coming out in August. I have found people that I see weekly at church, on the tennis court or at a social function can't remember when my book is coming out. So I keep reminding them with little gifts such as pens and bookmarks.

I also took an online class about promotion. I learned some valuable things, but I found this particular class was mainly geared for people with single title books, not the series books that I write. A great source for promotion came from the nifty little packet Harlequin sends to their authors. In it, they give information about pitch letters, press releases, biographies, interview do's and don'ts, and promotional material available from Harlequin. There are tips about creating a Web page, bookmarks, book signings, conferences and conventions.

Using the information in the packet, I wrote pitch letters to two area newspapers and two radio stations. I didn't know what to expect when I sent out these letters, but I soon discovered the radio stations were not interested in talking to me. As an aside, I am always amused at how many people think I surely will be on Oprah's show with my book. Not likely when I can't get a local Christian radio station to interview me. In addition to the radio stations, our local weekly paper did not want to do a story about me but said they would print an announcement of my Aug. 13 book signing at a local bookstore. This was probably the most disappointing aspect of my promotion journey. I thought for sure my local paper would have an interest in my story. My big success came from the pitch I sent to the Nassau Neighbors section of the Florida Times-Union, the newspaper from Jacksonville, Florida. A reporter called and interviewed me. Then she came out to our house and took my picture. Numerous people have told me what a great article it is. Here's a picture of me holding the news article, my book and bookmarks.

Ordering the pens and the bookmarks turned into an adventure. I went online to order each. A day after I ordered the pens, a gentleman called to verify the information. He told me my pens would arrive in two to three weeks. Imagine my surprise and delight when the pens arrived five days later on a weekend when my daughter was visiting with friends. I gave them all pens to share with their friends. My mother-in-law also took pens to share. When I ordered my bookmarks, I had some difficulty figuring out the online instructions. Soon I had five orders for bookmarks pending and didn't know how to get rid of them. Finally, the designer from the site deleted them for me. I certainly didn't want 12,500 bookmarks. Because of the 4th of July holiday, there was some down time, and I was sure I wouldn't have my bookmarks in time for my trip to the International Christian Retail Show in Denver, Colorado. But again to my surprise, the bookmarks arrived earlier than expected. The day they arrived, I grabbed a bunch and went for my daily walk on the beach. I went up to people who were reading a book and gave them a bookmark. I have no idea whether they will buy my book, but at least now they know about it.

Other authors suggested getting reviews of my book, so I checked out a list of review sites. Many did not review inspirational romance. Several that I contacted by e-mail did not reply. I have one online review at Once Upon A Romance.net.

One popular promotion is a book signing. I have set up signings in my hometown and in Spokane, Washington, the setting for my book. Several signings that I am doing are in conjunction with other authors and conferences. Someone else set up these group signings. I just indicated that I wanted to participate. For the individual signings, I had to contact the bookstores. I found the bookstore personnel to be friendly and cooperative as I set up the signings. The results are yet to be seen.

Even writing this article is an act of promotion. Turning it in will be the last thing I do before I fly to Denver for my first book signing.

I have had some fun doing promotion even though it's been a lot of work and somewhat time-consuming. Thankfully, it hasn't taken too much away from my writing time as I have just turned in two proposals in hopes of selling my third and fourth books. Next time, I'll have a better idea about what to expect in the promotion game. One more thing - Please buy my book, The Heart's Homecoming, in bookstores this month.

To read last month's Writer's Life article, click here

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