I try to dream up ways to get a book noticed. I am thinking of them all the time. Here are a few things (not all are crazy) that I have thought up, some of which I've tried and some of which, I have not.
# Donate a copy to the library
# Request small or second hand book shops carry a few copies and share the profit. (This would probably work best with the smallest, personally owned book shops.)
Shops that carry my books
(Notice they're not all book stores? Not every place you approach has to be a bookshop!)
# Slip flyers, bookmarks, or business
cards with your website/book name on them into similar books at the
library. (For example, if you write mystery then slip it in a mystery
book)
# Ask the library if you can do a
reading. My local children's library likes to have people come in and
read picture books to the children.
# Email everybody in your address book about your new book or your website
# Blog about it (Isn't this one mentioned way too much)
# Make trailers (using copyright free material) and post them on Youtube. I actually did this for Tokka Tuomela: Sixth Grader At Large
# Someone in this forum mentioned standing near a stop-light and selling books to passing cars. People in my town sell newspapers this way and I would consider also handing out flyers to passing cars (since it's quicker and flyers are free)
# Have an author website. If you don't have one you should get one. I use weebly as a host. They have a very user-friendly interface.
# Have an eBay auction with a signed
copy of your book as the prize. You could also include other prizes
such as related bookmarks and a signed photo of the author. You could
include a better known book (and auction it off as a two book set).
You could consider giving all or part of the money won to a charity.
#Consider Doing a giveaway with a noteworthy blogger. I did a giveaway of a signed Tell Me How You Say Good Night with Marilyn Panton of Storywraps.
# Ask local bookshops and your library to post flyers in their windows/on their bulletin boards. A lot of the places in my small town have bulletin boards full of flyers. In some small towns, especially where the internet is still not in every household, a flyer may be worth more than a website.
# Ask review sites/review blogs to review your book. It's better to go to the smaller, independent blogs. They have more time and are more likely to get to your book. They tend to have dedicated readers as well.
# Post a free sample chapter of each book on your website or blog.
