I’m trying to learn about writer promotion. It’s not as simple as standing in the middle of the street and waving a flag that says “I’m a writer” or “Buy my book.”  Well, first I have to actually write a novel before I can start hawking it. But that’s for another post.  Today I’m beginning the process of creating the “buzz” that will ultimately result in a fan base and lots of sales.  One of the first tools was to create my website. The next tool was to create my blog and keep it active by posting regularly.  So far I’m two for two. 

But how will anyone know that I exist here in cyberspace?  The secret to writer promotion on the Internet is the use of keywords and links. There’s all kinds of info around about search engine optimization, but frankly I’d rather be writing than researching at this point in time. So I asked a friend of mine who knows a lot about writer promotion what I could do, and she gave me some tips. Just having this kind of friend is beneficial – it’s called networking.     We’ll talk more about that in another post.

(Silly me – I thought I wouldn’t have enough ideas or topics to keep this blog going regularly, but I’m keeping a list of these “spin-off” topics. And thanks to inspiredauthor for the..well…inspiration!)

At the urging of some friends from InspiredAuthor.com’s Friday night chats, I decided to sign up with MySpace.com.  Apparently that site is the “in” place for anyone who is anybody or anyone who wants to be somebody. LOL

Seriously, it’s a great place for networking. The idea is to promote yourself before your book is published. You want to get your name out there, build a reputation (good one, naturally!), and generate interest in your soon-to-be-published novel.  Even if you’re still writing your novel, it doesn’t hurt to have potential readers lined up and anxiously awaiting its publication. The trick is to not spend so much time on marketing and networking that you (me!) don’t have time to write that novel. 

Right now my MySpace spot is a bit bare, and I’m not likely to do any blogging there for awhile.  I’m busy doing the preplanning done for the novel I”m going to work on during NaNoWriMo, which starts next week.  Actually, I have at least three novel ideas to choose from. Maybe I’ll post loglines from each in the next day or so and see which one ya’ll think would be the mosting interesting story.

Writers are told to “study the market.” For freelance writers, Jenna Glatzer, editor-in-chief of AbsoluteWrite, explains it well in her book Make a Real Living As a Freelance Writer.  But how do I do it if I’m writing a novel?  I’ve found two answers so far:

1. A technique called “mapping.”  I don’t know who came up with this method, but I’m learning how to do it in an online course conducted by author/editor Suzanne James.  Mapping helps you identify the patterns common to a specific genre, such as:

• What drives the story: the situation or the character?

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