July is almost here so it’s time to start the promotional push for Butterfly Swords. At least, I think it’s time. (???)
I took the wise advice of my agent who told me she’s never really seen an impact on a book due to having or not having a magazine ad. So I took ads out of the budget and instead invested in a publicity muse and a graphic designer.
You know how authors with big releases have publicists and/or assistants that take care of non-writing tasks for them? Well….I can’t actually afford a publicist or an assistant LOL. But between revisions and drafts and the day job, I figured out really quickly that it would be nice to have someone assisting me so I don’t have to do it all myself. Especially true because I’m most likely to overreach on publicity for my first book and try to do too much.
Enter Anna – Publicity Muse. She’s a mix of assistant/publicist for a limited engagement. Nowadays with authors worried about blogging and reviews and an online presence, it’s nice to be able to offload that to someone else. She’s setting up guest blogs and interviews for me and will take care of organizing and sending out ARCs to reviewers. So far, worth WAY more than an advertisement in a magazine. And it’s not even October yet.
My second ace is Jaxadora Designs. I enlisted author Jax Cassidy who’s also a graphic designer to put my bookmarks and postcards together. I absolutely love them. She made Butterfly Swords look like it’s a movie up for an award at the Cannes Film Festival. I love her website and book covers so I knew she’d do an awesome job.
I know there is a lot of debate in the writer-verse about what type of promo is necessary and effective. Since this is my first time, I’m trying a few strategies and keeping watch on what works. It’s kind of a fun scientific exercise in and of itself, no?
And, you know….getting bookmarks and such…it feels like part of the ritual of a debut release. Like the pinning of the corsage before prom. Maybe I could get through prom without a corsage, but I don’t want to be the only girl without one.
In the meantime, I’ve been writing and writing. So everyone’s happy.
Dara
Jun 30, 2010 @ 10:34:26
Super exciting! Those ads are beautiful! It would definitely catch my attention (but you’ve already got a sale from me 🙂 )
I’ll have to remember those names if I’m ever blessed enough to get published.
Cynthia Justlin
Jun 30, 2010 @ 10:52:53
Wow! Those are some beautiful bookmarks/postcards! They really make your cover stand out. Love them!
And I think you’re taking a good approach to your promo…not that I know anything about it, LOL, but I think it’s important to really think about where your promo budget will be the most effective.
Save a bookmark for me! 😉
Jeannie Lin
Jun 30, 2010 @ 13:30:58
Dara – I feel very lucky to have met both Jax and Anna!
Cynthia – I’d characterize my approach as “let others who are better at it take care of things”. I do love these designs. They look even better printed out. Do you think I”ll overdose on red by the time this book comes out?
December
Jun 30, 2010 @ 17:51:58
great plan Jeannie! I think this will be the little extra push to help bump your brilliance to the top of the heap.
Crystal Jordan
Jun 30, 2010 @ 18:22:12
Wow, really lovely!
Nonny
Jun 30, 2010 @ 18:33:05
Those are gorgeous. Jax rocks. 😀
Victoria Janssen
Jul 01, 2010 @ 05:46:05
Those are gorgeous!
I will be really interested to find out how the experimentation all works out.
Me, I already plan to buy more than one copy.
Jeannie Lin
Jul 01, 2010 @ 09:00:12
Thanks everyone. As you can see, I’m just jumping with excitement.
Victoria – one of my strategies is to listen to people who’ve done this before so you’ve been a great help.
Jax Cassidy
Jul 02, 2010 @ 13:21:52
You’re already going to be on my auto-buy list even if I didn’t design promo materials for you.
Thanks for the mention! *mwah*