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| F.M. Meredith |
F.M. Meredith, also known as Marilyn Meredith, is the author of nearly thirty published novels. Her latest in the Rocky Bluff P.D. crime series, from Oak Tree Press, is Angel Lost. Marilyn is a member of EPIC, Four chapters of Sisters in Crime, including the Internet chapter, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. Visit her at http://fictionforyou.com and her blog at http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/
Today, you can catch a glimpse of what F.M. is doing to promote her latest book. First, here's a little bit about that book.
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| Angel Lost by F.M. Meredith |
My Promotion for Angel Lost
by F.M. Meredith
I do a lot of the same things as everyone else, Facebook and Twitter, and I’m on a blog tour through the month of March and will be visiting a few other blogs in April.
About Blog Tours: I host authors on my own blog http://marilynmeredith.blogpost.com and I’ve found that some of my guests don’t really have a clue about what they ought to be doing. Oh, they send me exactly what I ask for, and usually write great blogs, but they don’t do a thing to promote (I do) and they don’t come back and visit to see if anyone has left a comment or a question that they can answer.
The champion promoter on Facebook is Rob Walker and I can’t really add anything to what he’s doing, in fact I’ve copied some of his strategies. Just know, Facebook is there and it’s great way to reach a lot of people. Facebook and Twitter are other ways to steer people to your blog posts. And if you use http://iPing.com you can connect with most of the social networks you’re on with one post.
Though I love promoting on the Net I do a lot of in-person events too.
The only mystery con I’m going to this year is Mayhem in the Midlands in Omaha. This is one of my favorites because I’ve made a lot of friends who attend every year and are also my fans. Attending is much like going to a family reunion.
I only have two bookstores where I make regular appearances; one is our local used book store and I’ll be doing the launch for Angel Lost there. I’m also going to an independent, Willow Bridge Books, in the foothills to give a talk to their writers’ group. I love going there and I always sell a lot of books. This year though, I’m traveling to Sedona AZ and will be speaking at the Well-Red Coyote Book Store http://www.wellredcoyote.com/ because my hubby and I and our daughter and her husband are going there on vacation. I spoke there about three years ago and it’s wonderful bookstore. (Another tip, combine your speaking engagements with your vacations.)
Writing conferences are another favorite, though I don’t attend them anymore unless I can be a speaker. (Don’t get me wrong, I always learn something new at a writing conference and they are always great for recharging my battery, it’s just that I have so little time I have to choose what works best for me. So, having said that, this year I’ll be heading to Public Safety Writers Association http://www.policewriter.com where I’ll learn from the experts and know I’ll be on panels because anyone who wants to be on one will. ( Plus I’m the program chairperson and because my sister lives in Vegas where the conference is I’ll visit her while I’m there.)
I’m also one of the instructors for the Cuesta College Writing Conference http://www.communityprograms.net/wc/wcindex.htm which leads me right to Book Festivals.
The Sunday following the conference is the Central Coast Book and Author Festival in San Luis Obispo. This is an event I never miss. Craft Fairs are also great venues for authors to sell books and this year I’m going to the Jane Austen Festival in Fresno—yes, I know my books are not historical or about Jane Austen, but I was well-received last year and invited back this year. My point here would be to look for places where you can sell your books.
I’m also going to be talking about what gave me the ideas for my books at a college in Southern California. Check out your nearby colleges and see if they’d like to have you as a speaker. Some pay a speaker’s fee and some will let you sell your books after the talk.
If you belong to a Sisters in Crime chapter or more than one like I do, you could offer to be a speaker at their meeting, or perhaps they have a speakers’ bureau like the LA Chapter of Sisters in Crime that arranges for panels at local libraries.
The potential for speaking engagements and selling opportunities is only limited by your imagination and time. I hope I’ve give you some ideas.
Please leave a comment to welcome F. M. Meredith, author of Angel Lost the latest in the Rocky Bluff P.D. series.
