It’s two weeks since Escape to the Cotswolds was published, and what
a two weeks it’s been.
The
build-up was amazing enough with pre-sales going along nicely. The blog tour
began three days prior to publication and I don’t think my feet have touched
the ground since. But what about the dreaded P word. Promotion! My publishers,
HQ Digital, provided me with some eye-catching shareables which certainly
enhanced many of my posts and even made me
want to read the book.
But
promoting oneself isn’t something that comes naturally, either to me or, as I
understand it, to most other writers. My biggest problem was where to draw the
line. If you don’t advertise yourself then no-one will know you are there. That’s
undeniable. But is there also a danger of over-promotion? Being irritating?
Prompting people to think ‘Oh no, not again’! If this has happened to you I
apologise here and now, and wholeheartedly, if I have been guilty of
over-egging it.
So
what have I learnt? Amazingly that I like Twitter! I’ve always enjoyed
Facebook. To me it’s a friendly place where I’ve met many people, writers and
others, and it’s truly a sociable medium. Members of groups I belong to who
have nothing to do with the writing world have been incredibly supportive. Some
have even bought my book! But I’ve struggled for some time with Twitter,
knowing that my knowledge wasn’t sufficient to take full advantage of its
possibilities. I still have much to learn but I’m getting better, finding
it easier to negotiate my way around.
Yesterday
I ran a campaign on Twitter. Well, it felt like a campaign. There was the
opportunity to win a free copy of Escape to the Cotswolds – all you had to do
was retweet to be in with a chance. Not having participated in anything like
this before I was staggered at the response. I carefully noted and cut up the
names of all who hit the RT option and put them in…a shoe box. Here’s me
picking out the winner.
For
me this blog post is an opportunity to say a huge thank you to all those
bloggers, reviewers, Facebook pals, Twitter supporters and anyone else who has
taken the time and the interest to become involved.
See
you next time.
Natalie
