Joanna Campbell Slan

Thanks for visiting the official website for New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author and Winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award of Excellence, Joanna Campbell Slan.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Karen Brees says

    Hi Joanna,

    My first book is coming out July 7 and I’m working as hard on the publicity as I did on the writing. (The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Preserving Food). I’m going the guest blogging route and also doing a road trip- Seattle to San Diego and Boise to Boston to promote it at hardware stores (sources for canning supplies) and book stores along the way.
    I’ve updated my website (www.karenkbrees.com) with an Events tab to publicize the tour and a Blog tab to link my blog and website. Also on Facebook, Linkedin, and Twitter. Created a new group on Facebook (Practical Preserving) and will link that to the blog.
    While this book is nonfiction, I think the same techniques apply. My next book is a mystery 9of course) and I’ll have the groundwork in place.

  3. Chester Campbell says

    Sounds like you’re doing a great job, Karen. Have you considered writing articles for magazines related to canning and such? When my first mystery came out, I did an article for the University of Tennessee alumni magazine, which goes to thousands of alums. There are all kinds of possibilities out there.

  4. Helen Ginger says

    Chester, get paper and do some free associating. On one sheet put your name in the center inside a circle. On another, do the same, only put the book title in the circle. Then draw spokes out and write down ideas that relate to the book or to you. For you, start with every place you’ve lived and every job you’ve held, and go on from there. For your book, put down every topic touched on, even if you’re not an expert on them.

    Do this until you run out of ideas. Then start thinking of how you could promote your book to each spoke.

    (This makes more sense when I teach it in a workshop with visual aids.)

    Helen
    http://straightfromhel.blogspot.com

  5. heidiwriter says

    Chester,
    My experience with my first book is much the same as yours was, sounds like. I’m spending a lot of time on marketing and finding little time to get my revisions done for the sequel. But I’m hoping the learning curve will get easier as I progress! Good luck on your tour. I’ll be doing one the last two weeks in May.
    Heidi, Cowgirl Dreams
    http://www.heidimthomas.com

  9. Chester Campbell says

    Prioritizing is something I have difficulty with, Joanna. It doesn’t seem like I’ve ever done quite enough. I can always find something else I missed. Like Helen’s circles and spokes. It has all sorts of possibilities.

    I’ll need to do a bit of juggling, though. Both newspapers I worked for are long gone. The ad agency and PR agencies are gone. The governor I wrote speeches for is long dead. The trade association I ran for 18 years has changed its name and structure and no longer resembles the one I worked for. Guess I’ve been around too long. I’ll have to try the book part.

  10. Anonymous says

    Think “off the beaten path,” as a member of our local writing group did to promote her book: You can’t smell the flowers if you’re pushing up daisies. She talked to some local nurseries and persuaded them to carry her book. Seems like if you can think of something related to your book, but not necessarily the typical location…I wouldn’t try the local poison control center. But I can’t help with suggestions because I don’t have a sense of what your book is about. Free association might help you come up with something. If you come to the Seattle Tacoma area, I’ll stop by one of your signings.

    Sherry from Cozy Armchair

  12. Joanna Campbell Slan says

    Sherry, I like that. Hmmm. So I went to a scrapbooking site and signed up to have a blog there. That’s on MY path since my book’s about a scrapper. We’ll see, huh? I wish there was one central hub for all these sites.

  13. Joanna Campbell Slan says

    Chester, can you stop back by tomorrow in case anyone visits tonight? I wouldn’t want folks to miss out on getting to “chat” with you.

    I’ll pick a winner tomorrow at 5 p.m., so everyone check back, okay? I know you want to try these benne seed wafers. They’re like peanut brittle but buttery-er.

  14. Gramma says

    One of the more creative marketing ideas I have heard of was a local author persuading local nurseries to carry her book, “You Can’t Smell the Roses if You’re Pushing Up Daisies.” Our small, novice group, published two anthologies, and we learned a lot about marketing and promotion (and did a lot of booths at summer fairs and farmer’s markets). Good luck, Chester, it sounds like a keeper.
    Sherry of Cozy Armchair group

  15. Chester Campbell says

    Thanks, Sherry. I haven’t figured out how to tie in the poison part, either. The plot involves chemical pollution of the water supply, so I don’t think too many water companies would be interested. Jaz LeMieux, the number two character, is board chairman of a chain of truck stops. I think I’ll see if there are any possibilities there.

    Thanks for hosting me, Joanna. I’ll stick around and watch for any more comments.

  19. Chester Campbell says

    Coming late to the party, Joanna, but I do think we need to be more proactive in the promotion part of our job today. With people spending less these days and the mass of books out there to choose from, we’re faced with a big task to see that ours are noticed.

  20. Charlotte Phillips, Co-Author of The Eva Baum Detective Series says

    Chester,

    I don’t believe you should give up on your spokes so easily. Other people worked for those organizations. Where are they now? Are they on LinkedIn? Has anyone created alumni type organizations? Is anyone writing a personal column in a newspaper? Are any anniverseries coming up for any of those orgs – birth or death? What about the govenor – any current events that could be tied to your work for him? You just never know.

  21. F. M. Meredith, author says

    Definitely promotion is as time consuming as the original writing.

    Yesterday I spoke to Yosemite Romance Writers, today I’m going to a book fest. Next weekend is the L.A. Times Book Festival where I have three signing times.

    Mostly though, I do Internet stuff like Chester.

    Who knows how well any of it works, but if you don’t do it, you certainly won’t have results.

    Marilyn a.k.a. F.M. Meredith