What sort of promotion should an unpublished author do?
The answer is so simple that I'm still sporting the imprint of my palm on my forehead. I've been to conferences, signings, lectures, and workshops...as an attendee, naturally. I've participated in online workshops, read countless interviews, and
What kind of promotion can an unpublished author do? The same as a published author:
Write Another Book
Yeeeah. I know. Earth-shattering revelation, right? To have a following, you need to have more than one crumb on the trail. How many crumbs? The magic number varies. Five seems to be a good target. How often does one need drop a crumb? That answer is in flux, much of it due to evolving expectations around ebooks. Once upon a time, one book per year was acceptable then the number crept closer to two books per year. Latest numbers floating around out there are four books per year with the books being a magical combo of novels and novellas.
The wiser professionals issue reminders not to flood the market with too many releases per year -- that ties back to basic economic theory of too much supply drops perceived value. Let's not forget all that consumer-behavior research on too much choice crippling buyer decision that leads to no acquisition. Oh, and there's the age-old argument of quality versus quantity. Did I mention too many books being a threat author sanity?
Often the most effective solution is the most obvious solution. Best promotion an author can do:
Write Another Book
How many books a year do you, dear reader, think an author should release? Are you satisfied with the occasional novella from your favorite novelist or would you prefer they use their time to get the next novel to you faster?
