by Alycia W. Morales     @AlyciaMorales

As writers, we’re always talking about ways we can promote our latest release. We know the pressure of book sales and the stress of having to advertise our own product without sounding like a broken record or like we only want money. We all hate tooting our own horn.

So how can we help relieve one another’s stress levels at book launch time and after?

1. Offer to let them guest post on your blog. Usually an author will need to set up a blog tour. Offering them a spot on yours is one less they have to ask for.
2. Blog through their book. This is one of my favorite things to do. As I read through a nonfiction book, I’ll highlight and take notes. I’ll also write blog posts based on what I’ve read and share a quote or two from the book.
3. Create memes using your favorite quotes from their stories. Remember to properly attribute them.
4. Be word-of-mouth advertising for them. I was in Barnes and Noble a few weeks ago, and I was in the Christian fiction section. A college-aged girl was perusing the bookshelves alongside me. I asked what types of books she liked to read, and I ended up being able to promote a few of my favorite authors. Last I saw her, she still had one of James L. Rubart’s books in her hands.
5. Leave a review on amazon. Love the book? Tell the world about it. Send your favorite authors’ numbers closer to the top 10.
6. Join their launch team. We all need advertising for our new books. It really helps an author when others come alongside them to promote their newest releases.
7. Read in the waiting room. I had a copy of DiAnn Mills’ latest book with me at the pediatrician’s office not too long ago. The doctor noticed and asked about it. Turns out, she and another coworker were fans of her novels. The next time I took one of my kids to see her, I took along DiAnn’s novel and one of Lynette Eason’s novels. I gave them to the doctor to share with her coworker. Now they’ll be anxious to go out and buy the next book in the series.
8. Share on Facebook and Twitter. When my favorite authors’ books are reduced to 99 cents on Amazon, I let my Facebook wall know. I’ve seen a couple of my friends faithfully purchase them every time. I know that when I share, I’m drumming up sales for their books. Those sales earn my friends money.

How would you promote your favorite authors and fellow writers? We’d love to hear from you! [reminder]

Alycia W. Morales is an award-winning freelance editor and author. Her clients have won the Selah Award, BRMCWC Director’s Choice Award, and many others. Her writing has been published in Thriving Family magazine, Splickety Love, and several compilation books. She is a member of ACFW, the president of Cross n’ Pens critique group, and a BRMCWC Conference Assistant.

Alycia blogs at The Write Editing and Life. Inspired.

When she isn’t busy writing, editing, and reading, Alycia enjoys spending time with her husband and four children taking hikes in Upstate SC and NC, creating various crafts, coloring in adult coloring books, and watching TV.

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