What IS romance?

 

Today I’m celebrating the idea of Romance with a little Giveaway!

I'm personally awarding one prize not listed to the JUICIEST (not X-rated please...I don't have the disclaimer on my blog...lol) comment.
 

(**$10 Amazon Gift Card and eBook ARC of my upcoming novel, Book of Dreams: Lullaby)

There's also a Kindle Fire, Nook & other great swag available for the Grand Prize drawing from all the entries on the tour.

So . . . What is romance?  Can you answer that with a few sentences?  Really?

As writers we delve into this mysterious martyr every time Character A catches a glimpse of Character B across a crowded room, or graveyard, or runs smack into them turning a corner . . . either way, you get my point.  We dig our claws in and hang on for the ride when it begins.

I could go on and on about what I happen to think romance it.  I could spout off about candlelit dinners (which are a bit cliché at this point, if you ask me), roses (at least find out her favorite flowers . . . don’t just half-heart it with the old standby) or love poems.  Ok, actually . . . love poems are still a really great idea if done right.  Just, for the love of all that is holy, don’t start it off with “Roses are red, violets are blue . . .”  If you do, you don’t really deserve to get the girl/guy.  Seriously.

 

With that said . . . let the contest begin.

Here’s how the contest works.  Go through the list below & do those things. Yeah . . . I know.  Simple.  I don’t like to complicate things.  You can come back every day during the giveaway and enter AGAIN.

(Side Note:  Simply clicking on the +10 or whichever to get points for joining/liking/tweeting DOESN'T sign you up for the site or automatically perform that action for you.  You have to actually join in the right margin/like the FB page or Tweet. It won't count your points for the raffle otherwise.  Please make sure you do this so you get your "tickets" submitted.)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

And remember to visit the other sites on the Romancing the Hop Blog Tour today...many are also giving away great prizes. the list is below.

 

**A few notes about the prizes.  I will need info for the winners in order to send the Amazon gift card and the ARC for Lullaby will be emailed once it is completed and available, likely 3-4 weeks prior to the scheduled release date . . . fingers crossed will be sooner rather than later.

Ideas for Marketing Your Book - Part 2

Repeat after me:

I love marketing.

I love marketing.

I love marketing.

I’ve read somewhere that if you repeat something for at least 10 seconds, you’ll remember it.  Maybe if you repeat it enough times, you’ll start to believe it as well.   Who knows . . . the human mind is a strange and wondrous thing.

As I mentioned in part 1, you realized once you have made it to getting your book published that the work has only just begun.  Writing your book, editing it, publishing it – that was the easy part.  Those things have a sense of closure to them. 

Marketing . . . well, marketing is like that painful, angst-ridden breakup with your ex – closure isn’t an option.  It goes on and on.   (Tweet this comment)

Ultimately though, marketing brings with it a satisfying end – much like running into that ex months later and seeing that you are 10 times better looking than their current arm ornament and likely more mentally stable.

Here are more ideas for getting you to that ultimate reward.

List # 2 – Send, Send, Send

1.      Send a copy to review sites or book review blogs (I am in the process of putting a list of these sites together . . . stay tuned for that).

2.      Find a top reviewer (I’ve linked to the site for you) of books in your genre on Amazon.com and contact them, asking if they’d like a copy of your book.  Reviewers LOVE free books to read.

3.      Send a copy to local book clubs in your area (and surrounding areas too). 

4.      BONUS:  If the local book clubs have regular meetings . . . set up a “Meet the Author” night with them . . . have a Book Signing while you’re at it. 

5.      If you still have them in your area, send a copy to your local independent bookstore as part of a marketing kit or press release.  Bookstores love to receive advanced free copies and often give them to their employees to read and suggest to customers.

6.      Offer free copies on your blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest – whatever social media outlet you can get on – as a raffle.  Create fun contests for your readers all while building a contact list to send updates too.

7.      Give away free copies on bookmooch.com.  Ask readers to only mooch your book if they are willing to review it for you on Amazon.com.  You can gain more reviews which will in turn help sell books.

8. College Campuses! Don’t forget your campus bookstore, campus library, campus clubs, writing groups, historical societies, etc.  Especially if your target audience is YA!

Well . . . I have way more marketing tips than I had realized.  I’ll have to make sure I have a Part 3 very soon.  Until then....Happy Marketing!!!