Starting My Blog

My first book is coming out, and yes, I’m peeing-my-pants excited! But being a first-time novelist can be a little bit intimidating. How exactly am I supposed to market this thing? Okay, most of my friends and family know my news. And to be honest, the neighbors must know too, after the dolphin-pitch shrieking that accompanied “OMG, my book is on Amazon!!!” But what about people I don’t know?

My husband, John, will tell you I’m a Virgo, which means I tend to be modest, quiet, even shy. I’m not one to talk about myself. And what is promotion but essentially talking about myself and my book? So you can see my dilemma.

The first solution that I have found is to let my friends do the promoting for me. Let’s face it, John is nothing if not supportive, but subtle he is not. I’d say he’s my pimp, but that just sounds wrong. Let’s call him my book pimp. Then there’s Sam, owner of 13 Magickal Moons and my best friend. She is hosting my upcoming book release party at her store and shouting the news to anyone who will stand still long enough to hear it. And my parents in Florida are practically on the verge of setting up book signings for me there.

Of course I’ve arranged to have the book reviewed on a number of websites and magazines. This has me peeing my pants, but in a different kind of way. I’m the tiniest bit terrified about the reviews, but I’m also kind of excited. I think (hope) it will be received well, but only time will tell.

I’ve written bookseller notices and even press releases that I can mail to bookstores and local newspapers. Every time I say “press release” I try not to giggle while at the same time feeling a bit pretentious about writing one at all. But if I’ve ever had news to tell, this is the time!

Finally, the other big promotion activity I’m working on is the blog tour. My first question: what the eff is a blog tour? Answer: a series of blog entries I make on other people’s blogs. Hmmmm… in that case, I guess I should start practicing my blog writing – hence this note. (And could I possibly have used the word “blog” more in a single paragraph? Especially because I’ve probably never typed the word before now!)

So here we go - wish me luck!