For those who have reached their goal to publish a book this year, the New Year is a time of celebration. But why stop there? This year, resolve to refine your writing life, promote the book(s) you’ve published, and get started on your next project! These tips will get the ball rolling.
New Year’s Resolutions for Published Authors
- Set goals. It’s nearly impossible to keep those lofty resolutions without clear goals. If your resolution is to finish and publish another book in 2016, make sure you break that resolution down into concrete, manageable steps.
- Make writing a priority. Take a break from TV and social media, and set aside a time to write every day. It’ll feed your creative side and improve your craft!
- Read, read, read. The number one piece of advice best-selling authors offer to other writers is to read as much and as widely as possible.
- Create your author platform. Learn how to put popular social media platforms to work for you! If you’re not sure how to get started or how to make connections with your target audience, Outskirts Press can help with the Author Platform Set-up option.
- Cross-promote. Use social media or other writing groups to connect with other authors to share marketing ideas, publishing tips, promote each other’s work, and make the “solitary” life of a writer a little less lonely.
- Embrace a good critique. If you want to improve your craft but find it difficult to be objective about your work or spot the flaws in your writing, consider joining a critique group. Constructive criticism is a writer’s best friend!
- Try something new. Those who have published memoirs may try their hand at fiction this year, or a how-to author might experiment with poetry. (Stretching your creative wings is never a waste of time.)
- Follow up. Many authors find that a second book does amazing things for the first book in terms of sales and publicity. Resolve in 2016 to write a sequel or something completely different!
- Release the press! Press releases are an effective tool for announcing new book releases, and they can also be useful when you’ve hit an important benchmark – big sales, good reviews, awards, contests, and more.
- Stop comparing your achievements with others. Embrace your own style and remember, each author’s journey is unique. Besides, as Teddy Roosevelt once said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.”
- Get materialistic. Marketing materials like business cards, posters (for bookstore and library use), bookmarks, and more are extremely inexpensive to produce, but they provide potential readers with a memorable way to find you and your book.
- Writing consultation. Stuck in a rut? The Writing Consultation service from Outskirts Press will help you restart or fine-tune your writing and get your book back on track. This service gives you time with a professional, skilled writer to address any writing issues you are experiencing, along with valuable advice and a plan of action for moving forward.
- Be on the lookout for marketing opportunities. Resolve to wear your “author hat” at all times this year and don’t miss out on important occasions to promote and sell your book. Recognize these openings-and then be bold and act on them.
- Giveaways. Build your readership in 2016 by giving readers something for free-a sample chapter on your website for those who join a mailing list, or a free book through a Twitter “name my next character” contest. Whatever the giveaway, you’ll be creating a buzz for your book!
Need more ideas? An Outskirts Press Personal Marketing Assistant can help you make other resolutions specifically tailored to you and your work.
| RECEIVE YOUR FREE 2016 AUTHOR MARKETING CALENDAR |
Successful book promotion requires an organized plan. Let the Outskirts Press 2016 Marketing Calendar draw your attention to some of the most important book marketing deadlines throughout the year, as well as the most helpful marketing options in the industry.
Best of all, the calendar is absolutely FREE for a limited time for Outskirts Press published authors! Simply enter the promotion code Free2016 when you check out of your shopping cart by January 15th. Your free marketing calendar will appear immediately in your Toolkit.
It’s just our small way of wishing you a Happy New Year!
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