By N.N. Light (Guest Author)
You’ve
just published a book. Congratulations! You’ve done something that
many have tried and few have succeeded. Give yourself a pat on the
back… then put on your thinking cap. It’s time for the next step:
promoting your book.
Book
promotion is something most authors dread. I get that and I’m here
to help. Being an author myself, I know how overwhelming it is to
sell and market your book. In today’s publishing market, both
traditional and indie authors are expected to promote and be active
on social media.
Lisabet
asked me
to share
some book
promotion tips
with you
today. Who
am I?
My name
is Mrs.
N and
I’m
the co-owner
of N.
N. Light
Author
Promotions. I’m
a social
media marketer
by trade
and I
have the
social media
reach of
over
thirty-million.
I’ve
been in
the book
industry for
over twenty-six
years and
I specialize
in matching
books to
readers. In
addition, I’m
the author
of three
books (with
more on
the way)
and I
firmly believe
in authors
helping authors
succeed.
Below
are my
three
tried-and-true
tips to
promoting your
book(s) without
alienating
readers. The
key to
effective book
promotion is
to balance
selling of
your wares
and connecting
with your
followers/readers.
Tip
#1: Be
a
real
live
person.
In the
digital age,
robots and
automation are
everywhere. Don’t
be a
talking billboard
on social
media. Don’t
scream at
the top
of your
lungs, “BUY
MY BOOK!
BUY MY
BOOK! BUY
MY BOOK!”
Instead, connect
with your
followers and
take an
actual interest
in their
lives. Say
hello and
talk about
things that
interest you.
When
I first joined Twitter, I had no followers. I started following
people who shared similar interests. I soon had a following and made
connections. I built a trust with my followers and laid a foundation
that’s more valuable than money. Sure, it was a slow process but
these same followers are still with me today.
Love
to bake, shop, hunt, travel or another hobby? Talk about it online.
Intersperse news about your writing and books with what you like to
do in your free time. Your following will soon grow and readers will
connect with you, the person.
Tip
#2:
Pick
three
social
media
outlets
and
be
consistent.
Every day,
a new
social media
outlet pops
up. It’s
hard to
keep up.
I mean,
who has
time to
tweet, pin,
facebook, tsu,
post pics
on Instagram,
etc.? I
surely don’t.
Readers want
consistency so
here’s
my advice:
pick three
social media
outlets that
work for
you. For
me, it’s
my blog,
Twitter and
Pinterest. I
post to
my blog
every day
(Monday through
Friday), tweet
24/7 and
add pins
to my
Pinterest boards
at least
once a
week.
My
followers know
if they
want to
connect with
me, the
first place
they do
it is
Twitter. It’s
my go-to
platform and
I’m
always on
there. I’m
a social
butterfly and
I love
how Twitter
is like
a global
social club.
I meet
people from
all over
the world,
get news
I can’t
get elsewhere
and connect
with people
I’m
interested in.
I can
share my
thoughts on
a topic
without having
to explain
myself. If
I have
news to
share (whether
personal or
professionally),
it goes
out to
my followers
and even
strangers (when
I use
the right
hashtags).
My
blog is my secret weapon. Secret weapon? Yes! Every day, I create new
content online and Google grabs it, sorts it and ranks it. Through
SEO (Search Engine Optimization), I’m able to help Google get my
writing into the hands of readers. Since I started blogging, my
followers have sky-rocketed.
Authors
underestimate how powerful a tool a blog is. Not only can you have
one place where you can promote your book(s), the more you write, the
higher your blog gets ranked by Google. Think about it for a second.
Every time you post something on your blog, your writing goes out
into the world. If you post twice a week for a whole year, that’s
104 sales pitches for you as a writer and author.
Sales
pitches?
Yes,
sales pitches. Each time you write a blog post, it’s a sales pitch
for someone to read, secretly disguised as an inspirational thought,
writing tip, recipe, book review, vacation memories, holiday
remembrance, etc. Someone who’s never heard of you will run across
your blog post and read your writing.
What
happens next will be up to your writing. If your writing
inspires/moves the reader, they’ll comment, follow your blog or
even check out your book(s).
The
best thing about using your blog to showcase your writing is that
it’s absolutely free. It doesn’t cost you a thing and the results
will astound you.
Remember
one important thing about social media: be consistent. No matter what
social media platform you use, be consistent. You don’t have to
post every day like me. Find what works for you and do it. If it’s
only once a week or once every two weeks, that’s fine. Just let
your followers know what the schedule is so they’re in the loop. If
they think you’ve abandoned them, they’ll leave and won’t come
back.
Tip
#3:
Use
graphics
in
your
promotion.
Studies show
that 76%
more readers
will
click-through to
check out
your book(s)
if a
graphic/photo
accompanies your
blog
posts/tweet/update.
Readers are
visual creatures
and one
way to
pique their
interest is
to create
a quote
graphic.
Find
a compelling quote that will draw readers in. Create a graphic using
one of the many software applications available (Photoshop, Adobe,
Canva, etc) and save it to your computer/device. I have a folder with
all the graphics I’ve used for my books so it’s easy to post to
Twitter/Pinterest/Blog.
I
can’t stress this enough, use graphics in Twitter and on your blog.
Trust me, you’ll get more readers intrigued with a visual aid than
by saying you have a book for sale.
Like
the graphic states at the top of this post, it all comes down to
trust. Readers will be more likely to buy your book(s) if you have
established a connection and they trust you. I’ve built trust as an
authentic author/blogger/reviewer and readers trust me when I tell
them something is great.
I
hope these tips have helped you to see that book promotion is not
only essential but fun, too. You’ve done the hard stuff, writing
and publishing the book. Promotion is sharing your writing with the
world while building your brand.
Title:
Princess of the Light
Author:
N. N. Light
Genre:
Paranormal Romance
Release
Date: September 2, 2014
Mary's
the Princess of the Light but her only hope is to make a pact with
her enemy.
Mary
Miller receives a startling visitation from Gabriel, the Messenger of
God. The Archangel reveals an astounding truth--Mary is the Princess
of the Light and even more amazing, her destiny is to battle
Lucifer's army of demons and restore the balance of good and evil on
Earth. It's getting harder to fulfill her new role and keep her
identity secret while juggling her personal life, and when Than,
Lucifer's second in command, amps up the attacks on her, she knows
she needs help.
Joe
Deacons is everything she's ever wanted in a man. And as providence
would have it, in a moment of great need, he's the Warrior of
Light--the one who can help her defeat the forces of darkness.
Not
so simple when they confront Lisbeth, a demon hell-bent on usurping
Than and Lucifer himself. When Lisbeth wages war and several
innocent people die, Mary must form an alliance with her enemy in
order to destroy her. But will this be a grave error or the choice
that saves their world?
Special Sale!
During
the month
of September,
Princess
of
the
Light
is on
sale for
the super-low
price of
$.99 USD.
100% of
the proceeds
during this
time will
go directly
to our
local food
bank to
help feed
children and
families in
need. This
is the
first time
Princess
of
the
Light
has ever
been this
low and
who knows
when it
will be
this low
again.
Book
Cover Graphic Artist Credit:
Illustration
: streamy digital
Model
: VictoriaAndrea
Photo
: shutterstock/depositphoto
Excerpt
I
sunk into the water, and let the suds and scent of lavender engulf
me. The stress of the day finally began to melt away.
My
body jolted.
I
was in the middle of the desert. There were grass huts and women with
hajjis walking quickly around me. Something whizzed past my ear, and
a deafening explosion rocked me off my feet. I instinctively curled
my body in a fetal position.
I
listened for the screams to start, but it was eerily silent. I
glanced around, but all I saw was water.
I
was still in the bath. What had just happened? Was that a vision? Had
I fallen asleep?
My
headache was a dull thud now.
A
knock on the washroom door made me gasp. I sat upright in the tub and
heard my roommate, Amber, call in, “Mary, are you okay?”
“Yeah,
I’m good. Just must have fallen asleep.”
“Hey,
Amber, what time is it?” I looked down at my pruney fingers and
wondered how long I was in the tub.
Amber
said, “It’s five thirty.”
I
leaned forward and turned on the hot water. The bath water had gotten
cold while I had drifted off.
I
leaned back as the warm water ran over my toes and closed my eyes,
wondering what I should wear tonight. I wanted to look beautiful for
Joe. I began to picture every outfit in my closet, and tried to
imagine his reaction to it.
A
shiver ran down my back and I faintly hear the water splash over the
edge.
I
opened my eyes and tried to scream. All that came out was a reverse
gasp, and I pulled my towel in to cover my body.
A
small child
appeared in
the tub.
He couldn’t
be older
than five.
Blood ran
down his
face, and
his body
was covered
in sand
mixed with
congealing blood.
He was
clinging to
my towel
and I
didn’t
know whether
to let
go of
it or
yank it
back from
him. His
dark hair
was wet
with fresh
blood. My
heart filled
with sadness
and I
quit trying
to scream.
As
I clung to my own towel, I didn’t know what was happening or what I
should do.
The
little boy raised his head and more sadness poured into my heart. His
eyes were dark pools of grief and despair. They pleaded with me,
begging me to help.
How?
I mouthed
silently.
I
jumped when he began to move slowly toward me. He lifted one arm and
spoke in a language I didn’t recognize. I knew I didn’t know
exactly what his words meant, but I knew what he was saying: He was
hurt and needed help.
The
closer he came, the more my fear eased and the pain increased. He
reached for my arm. His hand was bloodied, and it sent a jolt of
electricity and agony throughout my body. I tried to pull away, but
his grip was locked on my arm. His eyes turned black and murky, and a
voice not his own spoke.
“Princess,
help my people,” it said.
I
shook my head.
“Let
go!” I tried to scream again.
The
little boy disappeared, and I jumped out of the bathtub, wet towel
still wrapped around my body, and crumbled to the floor. The blood
was smeared all around me, and I looked at my arm. The blood was
still there, too.
I
whimpered, scrubbed at my arm until it was raw, and yet I could still
see the blood.
Buy
Links
Goodreads:
About the Author
N.
N. Light is the husband-wife writing team, commonly known as Mr. N
and Mrs. N. Mrs. N. has been creating stories ever since she was
little. Her grandfather remembers when she was two years old, she
would stand at the top of the stairs and tell him a story filled with
emotion (and in a language foreign to him) with her hands on her
hips. Let’s just say she was a born storyteller.
They’re
blissfully happy and love all things chocolate, books, music, movies,
art, sports, trains, history, cooking and baking. Their mantra is to
spread the Light.
Most
of the time you can find them on Twitter or getting new ideas on how
to spread the Light on Pinterest. They’re a proud member of ASMSG,
Independent Author Network and Marketing for Romance Writers.
In
addition to being authors, they’re also book promoters/reviewers,
social media marketers/influencers and the owners of N. N. Light
Author Promotions. They both love books, have ever since they were
young. Matching up books and readers is something that gives them
great pleasure.
100%
of the proceeds of Princess of the
Light go directly to food banks (US and Canada) in order
to feed the hungry and help those in need. With only 7,500 books
sold, N. N. Light will be able to set up a monthly endowment for the
local food bank.
They’d
love to connect with you either via email or via these various social
media sites:
