Word of mouth is important! In this day and age where most writers are doing the writing, editing, proofing and the publishing themselves, they have to rely on word of mouth to build a reputation. We cannot afford advertising. We cannot fund book tours or invite ourselves on radio shows. We are unknown by the general public and not supported by publishing houses or expensive PR campaigns.
Word of mouth is it, the most important thing in the world to us.
*
If you have found an author you really like, please help them by letting others know how much you enjoyed the read. If you want more books from that author, spreading the word will help keep that author at their desk, doing what they love to do most (if you’re really keen, consider occasionally buying their books as gifts to friends and relatives).
Put simply, writers wing it. It takes time for their careers to build. Readers simply don’t realize just how important they are to the whole process.
Check out my books – sci fi that’s more than science fiction – The Khekarian Threat, a big fat juicy mature audience read (yes, it’s got sex in it), and The King’s Sacrifice, another big fat juicy story for the mature reader (yes, another one with sex in it). Paperbacks are available and a good price, and Kindle is even cheaper at only USD $4.95.
Check out both books at Amazon.
Each is worth much more.
Cheers, all. 🙂
Allyson
Bloodstone Sci Fi 
Allyson, I agree but perhaps you should consider taking the blog aspect one step further. Social media is here to stay and is an enormously powerful tool if used correctly. Facebook and twitter are far more relevant to, say, an author, rather than my ‘face to face’ based services company, yet it works very well for me. And here’s how it works, look up 123 Finance on Facebook and ‘friend’ it, I get exposure and all your other friends do when we interact as well. I have books on how to make the most of it if you are interested, you can contact me on my Facebook page 🙂
I’ve bought the new book but am rereading the original first, now I’m tapping my toes at myself!
Congratulations!!!!
Thank you, Rob. 😀
I think you are right. I don’t have facebook or twitter – and wordpress (where I blog) tells me I need a twitter or facebook account before I can open those to others. I’ve held off so as not to get tied into tweeting (twittering?), but I see I’m going to have to take the leap.
Okay. Give me a day or two to approach all this while properly alert (I was awake all night, plotting), and I’ll find you.
Thank you! 😀
Okay – I’ve opened up a facebook account, but at this moment all I’ve got is a page and no way of finding anyone else.
I’m working through the help menus, but this may take a while…
Don’t rush with book one. Take your time with book two. That’ll save on how much foot-tapping you’ll do waiting for book three. 😛
Cheers! 🙂
I loved The KheKarian Threat and I am now reading The Kings Sacrifice. I have already mentioned the first book in a Book Review thread in a forum I am in. I also noted in that thread that The Kings Sacrifice would soon be out. I will be posting my thoughts in there on the second book after I have read it.. Allyson.. I think you know the forum I speak of.. Good Luck in all you do..
Hi, Marie! 😀 I do indeed know where you are talking about. Thank you very much, your feedback is important.
Cheers!
I do agree that the ‘word of mouth’ is still an important tool in advertising for writers. I wonder if you belong to any book forum on Goodreads, too. On my part, I’ve shared news about your second book (this post, precisely) on Twitter. I’ll be digging in, so I can do the same with the first. Then I will tell friends, too, on FB. I know this may sound insignificant, but it’s a good addition.
Uzoma – this is not insignificant at all. Far from it. From the depth of my soul, thank you so much.
I am not part of a book forum. So far I have only this blog plus a few friends from a different forum entirely. Following Rob’s advice (on this page), I have opened a facebook account, but they seem to be having trouble at the moment. I don’t get a homepage, only a admin panel. A lot of people are complaining about the same problem, but so far there’s been no response from facebook. I’m assuming this will correct itself (I’ve tried using Internet Explorer and also Chrome, so that’s not it).
I have not yet looked at Twitter, but realize I will need to do that, too.
I’ve spent so much time on writing and only after the first book was published have I looked at promotion. This blog was totally new ground for me, but I am really enjoying it. The best bit is reaching halfway around the world and finding friends, like you, who have the same dream and the same mindset.
Thank you so very much for believing in me and for helping spread the news. That means the world to me.