Tag Archives: marketing a novel

October 1, 2013 · 4:43 pm

Author Spotlight no.335 – historical novelist Diana Jackson

Many thanks to Morgen Bailey for this on line interview! Hope to see some of you on Thursday 3rd in Waterstones Hitchin, Saturday 5th at the Luton Book Festival or on 12th back down in Southampton Waterstones West Quay!

Morgen Bailey's avatarMorgen 'with an E' Bailey

Complementing my interviews, today’s Author Spotlight, the three hundred and thirty-fifth, is of historical novelist Diana Jackson. See below for Diana’s book signing events! If you would like to take part in an author spotlight, take a look at author-spotlights.

DianaDiana Jackson has spent most of her career teaching English in the heart of England, but she has been writing all her life. Lucky to have an inspirational English teacher in her teens, a person who would continue to be a perfect role model in later life, Diana was encouraged to write poems and short stories. She graduated with a degree in education before training as a middle school teacher, where she motivated youngsters with her enthusiasm in the power of language.

Next Diana gained experience teaching English as a Second Language both in the UK and abroad, giving her a rich experience of life and cultures…

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July 22, 2013 · 10:55 am

Thinking and Marketing a Novel outside the Box

During this year I’ve been trying to think of some more unusual ways to reach new audiences for my writing, both on line and in reality. I enjoy meeting and talking to people. It may not be something you like doing, but for me it’s a great way to boost my confidence as well as sales. Here are the most obvious places for booksignings or talks:

  • Bookshops
  • Libraries
  • Talks for Interest Groups eg Historical Societies, ladies groups etc

Where else? This year, as I’ve ventured to some less likely venues, it’s been an interesting and sometimes rewarding experience. I qualify with the word ‘sometimes’ because there have been a couple of occasions when only a few people have turned up, but the thing is to try not to get too disheartened. Not only that but who knows what benefits there maybe in the future. Will people remember your name next time they see it, maybe in the local paper? (Ah, that’s the lady I met at the country fair in Somewhere town!)

Here are some of my more unusual suggestions:

  • A picnic and talk at a key location ~ a handful of us met as the sun was going down on Weston Shore, Southampton ~ It was a truly memorable occasion as we watched a cruise ship depart up Southampton Water, just like in the opening chapter of Ancasta!
  • A Walk and Talk on Alderney ~ I took some friends and family with me and some islanders and holiday makers joined us too. What fun it was to walk and talk in the places Harriet and her family ‘lived,’ my characters from ‘Riduna.’
  • A restaurant ~ many stopped by to tell me their stories
  • A classic car day ~ I attend a good few of such like events with my husband each year and it only cost a tenner for the little stall. Not only did I reach a suitable audience but many stopped to have a chat and I made enough sales to make it worthwhile
  • Haynes 100 ~ a lovely day. Just the right audience and not only did I sell books but I was able to promote my next novel, set in Haynes. Yet again I would have been attending the day with my husband anyway.
  • Pub ~ twice I’ve tried to arrange an occasion in the Yacht Tavern, Woolston. The first we had to call off, the second was an ‘at home’ match. Silly me, being so involved in my writing not to realise……third time lucky they say and as it happens through writing a post on this blog I have reached out to several people and had a lovely email the other day from a policeman who goes into The Yacht and would like me to sign his copy! So, I will certainly be going back there in October.

These are other ideas I’ve had but not brought into reality yet:

  • Village fete
  • Garden Centre
  • Craft Stall

It would be great if you could let me know if you’ve found any of these successful too or suggest any other ideas. What do you do that’s different to reach new readers?

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February 20, 2013 · 2:14 pm

A Big Thank You!

Today’s post is to say thank you, firstly to the people who worked with me to organise last Weekend’s Blog Tour. Then to the followers who promoted my posts and finally to share what I have learnt.

Firstly there’s Debra Brown, who seems to work tirelessly to keep up a blog which never ceases to surprise. Debbie, who writes fiction in the Regency Period, hosts posts from a wide variety of authors of historical fiction and you can gain an insight into the depth of their research. It is a place to ask questions and there is often a debate going as to a piece of research that has become a bit puzzling. It is a site for anyone interested in history and not just authors, but the beauty of it for an author is that there is a whole community on facebook who support each other, share and tweet posts. Here is her site:

English Historical Fiction Authors

The second person I need to thank was writer Mary Ann Loesch. She has guest bloggers from a variety of subjects and also does reviews. Here’s another good post on All things Writing on making an e book in Callibre.

All Things Writing

Now the first two posts were plane sailing and there the fun started. It’s a lesson to authors to factor in different time zones when planning a venture like this because my next post on the Saturday was to promote both of my novels. I knew it was an Australian site and so expected them to be in front of us. Confusion reigned because their server was in the US and so I quickly calculated that the post would go live at approx 11am UK time, and so it did. No worries! Many thanks to Stacey Nash for the promotion.

Authors Promoting Authors

Lastly I need to give a big thank you to  JA Beard, who also works with Debra Brown on Goodreads to manage the Historicalfictionitas Group, where you can ask questions, read reviews, advertise your special promotions and generally chat to other similar authors. JA Beard is a YA author who has published The Emerald City and he kindly interviewed me for his site. Where they both find time to write I have no idea, but his site is worth a look whether you are an author or a reader.

JA Beard’s Musings

So, what have I leanrt:

  • Organising a simple weekend Blog Hop is possible, fun but quite time consuming
  • Don’t forget to use all platforms to promote it..twitter, facebook and good reads and more …I’m afraid I didn’t get around to Goodreads. It was such a hectic week
  • Try to arrange it in your schedule when you have time to spare (difficult I know!)
  • Always follow up comments if you can and thank for RT
  • Start small, in a manageable time period
  • Don’t forget the time differences and factor it in accordingly
  • Just chose a time slot and send off your polite email requests. The writing community out there is very kind and supportive but it works both ways. Don’t forget to support others too.
  • Finally enjoy!

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