Connecting Readers and Writers discussion

One of the most successful ways to sell your book is through doing guest blog posts. Now, that does not mean you write articles for every tiny blog you can find. If they have 20 followers, you are not going to see the results you want. You need to be smart about it. I write for a few big boy sites. One of them is http://xerposa.com/. This is a very successful Steampunk site that gets a thousand clicks a day. They go to the site, read an article, they like the way I write and Bam, I just sold a book. If your interested in writing Steampunk articles or original content, I highly recommend you send your stuff to them. I just found out they accept articles from the general public.

I recommended this site to a friend of mine, and he said no because they don't pay. I just smiled. At this stage in the game, you can't afford to think you're worth more than you are. Publicity is worth it's weight in gold. Especially if the site will link your book or website like the flash fiction one, I pointed out and this one.

Doing publicity on Goodreads is great, but you have to branch out. Start finding websites that accept articles from writers, then go out

Thanks, Elle.
These are good ideas.

Do you ask the editor if you can post there?
How did you get on board posting at the publicity sites?

I mean, I have a facebook page, I tweet, and I have a blog set up where I post, and it gets traffic - I'm just not sure that turns into book purchases.

Paula wrote: "Thanks, Elle.
These are good ideas.

Do you ask the editor if you can post there?
How did you get on board posting at the publicity sites?

I mean, I have a Facebook page, I tweet, and I have a bl..."
There are buttons on both sites where you can submit your book. It is hard to bring people to your blog and translate those people into ones that will actually buy your book. You might find this article helpful.
http://ellelapraim.com/how-to-build-r...
It's never easy, but at least it's free.

Elle,
I checked out the site, and I found the "contributors" link. While Xerposa may not be exactly my style of writing at this point, I totally get what you're saying.
Thanks for the excellent idea.
Paula
www.paulamillhouse.com

Paula wrote: "Elle,
I checked out the site, and I found the "contributors" link. While Xerposa may not be exactly my style of writing at this point, I totally get what you're saying.
Thanks for the excellent ide..."

Yes, it is food for thought. i hope it helped spark something for you. Steampunk and Flash Fiction are not for everyone, but it does go to show you that there is something out there for everyone.

Hey,

What are good questions to ask potential bloggers willing to host you and your book on their site?

Do you only consider those in your genre, or any blog? Does it matter how many followers they have? What if they're starting out just like the debut author is. :) How do you decide what to do?

There's always questions, Julie --- the answers elusive!

Julie wrote: "Hey,

What are good questions to ask potential bloggers willing to host you and your book on their site?

Do you only consider those in your genre, or any blog? Does it matter how many followe..."
The bigger the blog, the more exposure you will get. If you just love doing interviews or seeing your work on blogs, then by all means trade with your friends and put articles on any site that asks. But, if you don't have a lot of time, then go after blogs that have a lot of traffic. You need exposure and don't have a lot of time. That's really the best way. If a bigger blog says yes to putting your work on their blog, then don't ask questions, just say , thank you. You can usually tell from the site, how many people probably follow it.
I don't mean to sound like smaller blogs don't matter, I follow a blog that I love and is written by a teenage girl. I am pretty sure me, and her mom are the only ones who read it, but it's great, so I do. Small blogs can be gems, but if you need exposure and don't have a lot of time, then you need to be more selective.