Once a novel has been launched — with all the excitement of people actually receiving their copies and starting to talk about it — there’s a period (which I’m now beginning to enter) when the author starts to wonder if the initial momentum can be maintained and built upon.
I still have a few things ahead of me. More interviews, promised reviews and so on and so forth. But I’m constantly looking for opportunities to discuss If I Never and promote it.
With this in mind, I thought I’d use this post to suggest a few ways that you, my readers, can help — always assuming you want to.
So, if you’ve already read If I Never and enjoyed it, or if you are just interested in what I’m doing and would like to learn more, here are a few suggestions:
- Are you a blogger? I’m always interested in discussing my work and the part it plays in my life. If you’d like to interview me, I’d happily consider it — no blog too small! In this game, it’s the enthusiastic one or two the can make a significant difference.
- Do you run a small press publication? Would you be interested in reviewing? Contact me and I may be able to arrange a review copy. Failing that, once again, I’ll gladly consider taking part in an interview.
- Have you finished reading If I Never? If so, not review it on the Amazon, The Book Depository and Waterstones websites? If you feel comfortable doing this, please bear in mind these few reviewing tips: 1) Pay particular attention to spelling and punctuation. A review that reads “dis buck woz ded gud” probably isn’t going to do the book a lot of good 😉 2) You’re addressing potential readers, not the author. “Oh, you are simply amazing, Gary,” isn’t appropriate. Send comments like that here 😉 3) Try not to give anything away; if you do, however, include a spoiler alert at the beginning of the review.
- Do you write for a college magazine, the parish magazine or any other small, local publication? A free paper? Once again, I love discussing my work and sharing my thoughts on writing, literature and, well, pretty much anything.
- Are you a member of book group? If so, drop me a line here and I’ll do my best to talk my publisher into giving a discount on orders over a certain number of books.
- If you use the Good Reads website or similar, why not discuss my novel there?
- If none of these things apply or appeal to you, but you still want to help, don’t worry — you still can! Word-of-mouth is incredibly important. Books like If I Never (i.e. books without the huge marketing budget of Dan Brown) rise or fall on people telling their friends about it. So, if you’ve read it and enjoyed it, talk about it.
And, finally — thank you for taking the time and interest. Your help and support is, as ever, greatly appreciated.
A sample chapter of If I Never can be read here.
To buy your copy of If I Never, please click here.
