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One of the dangers of self publishing is marketing. How do you get people to hear about a book that you alone published? I don't have the money to take out a lot of internet ads. In fact, I have only a Google adwords coupon for $80, so figure that might be it there.
So, with limited amount of funding, and no big names publishing house behind me, now what?
Well, I've got a plan. Sort of. Consider Facebook, twitter, and Myspace (sort of) accounted for. And stumbleupon. And the Catholic writer's organization mailing list. (Where do you think I met Karina Fabian?). And virtual book tours on blogs.
Celebrities: Anyone I can get my hands on, really. I'm apllying to be a guest at DragonCon in Atlanta, I-Con in New York, and NYComic Con. So, I hope to both talk at large groups of people, and bump into a few people. Peter David checks in at all three Cons, John Ringo is at DragonCon-- I don't intend to harass anyone, but more like say "Hi, I have a gift for you. Autographed. It mysteriously has the author's contact info."
Churches (churches have book groups, don't they?)
Senior groups -- make a large print edition, swing by a nursing home, a senior center, and start speaking like it's a Barnes and Noble reading.
My alma maters. I have people I would like to tell about my success. What there is of it. This includes my high school, my college, my and those of my family members.
The American Society for Clinical Laboratory Scientists. I know, it sounds strange, but my parents are members of this society, and I have gone to enough meetings to be considered a mascot.
Libraries, of course.
Instapundit. This one is going a suggestion from my friend Jason over at Axes and Allies. Instapundit is a massive news site, and the man who runs it is also a science fiction fan. If Jason gets his attention on my behalf, you will know because my website will crash with the increased traffic flow.
Glenn Beck -- Wait? What? Yes, Glenn Beck, that wierd little fellow with his own radio channel. Why? It Was Only On Stun is not a political book. All of the politics in it is from Europe, and a lot of those are from the 1990s -- remember them? However, he does read thrillers -- he has interviewed Brad Thor and Vince Flynn, other thriller authors that I also read. He is also a fan of science fiction. He might like a thriller set at a science fiction convention. It's possible.
Literotica.com -- After the last one, this is also going to stand out as strange. As you can tell from the url, this is a written erotica website. However, they have a non-erotic section, and I've posted some of the stories from this website there. I figure that if I start posting little slivers, one chapter at a time (or modified chapter -- maybe a few pages at a time, a few scenes at a time), and when I get a few dozen pages into the novel, the last post says, "Thanks for reading. To get to the rest of this story, buy the book, muahahahaha." Well, maybe without the evil laughter.
These are only some of the ideas I have right now. With luck, I'll have more soon. If you have some thoughts, let me know. If you're a publisher with an offer, let me know. :)
Be well, all.
