Authors and their Digital Presence Explained

A thoughtful and in-depth examination of how authors are not getting the best results from their digital presence. The writer explains why the interests of authors and publishers do not always align, and how a new generation of author-centric services are being created. 

It is ironic that the author brand is foundational — the success of all title marketing depends on it and all publishers depend on title marketing — but how the author brands are developed gets very little professional attention.
— http://www.idealog.com/blog/authors-need-help-digital-presence-still-not-getting/

Public Relations and Authors

If you are one of those independent authors to whom selling does not come easily, you might want to consider a publicist. Local publicist Phillip Anderson offers reasonably priced six week campaigns. Such campaigns typically feature the following:

  • Author interviews and reviews in relevant newspapers
  • Author interviews with key online news sources
  • Book reviews across national and regional newspapers and online publications
  • National and local author radio interviews (where possible)

Phillip can be contacted via email: phillip@phillipandersonpublicity.com.au. Before engaging in such campaigns, authors will need to get their ducks in a row:

  • Make sure their books are easily available in the areas reached by the publicity
  • Ensure that they have spare stock in case sales go well (though this does not apply to print on demand and ebook sales online)
  • Rehearse the points they want to get across in interviews, the key selling strengths of their book, the so-called 'elevator pitch'. And have some kind of idea of potential customers and what kind of angles might appeal to them

These might seem obvious points, but we have seen a remarkable number of authors who weren't really across any of them before initiating publicity efforts. Remember: bookstores will be much better disposed to independent authors who are making a clear and sustained effort to promote their work.