Author Promotions

                One of my more recent discoveries is that of Blake Crouch author of Recursion, Dark Matter, and Upgrade. His new book Upgrade was just released a couple of weeks ago and is in full promotion mode for it. According to the News and Events page of his website he is having several different types of events. There are traditional book launches where he meets with fans and reads from his book and signs copies. This is probably the most important type of events he has because it enables him to meet directly with fans and have that much desired face time with readers. He has hosts events which are touted as evenings with the author. In these events book signings are more of an afterthought. Instead, he sits and discusses his novel with other fellow authors via Zoom. The topics can vary from the writing process to how the idea for the novel came to be.

Since these types of events are via Zoom, I think it’s worth noting that its accessibility to more people is higher. I am pretty sure that he can have this type of event in person but having it over Zoom enables a wider audience and helps in promotion since the event can be recorded and shared later. Crouch has wider appealing events such as San Diego Comicon where he hosts panels and book signings. Going to events like Comicon allow Crouch to expose his work to a more general audience since most of the attendees are there for other reasons. This is its most important function. Lastly, he has events titled as Q&A where he takes questions about his novel and answers them to the best of his ability. It gives him a chance to let his readers be heard in a manner not available anywhere else. Its uniqueness is its most important aspect. As a side note, he is also very active on Twitter but mainly uses it to promote the events in which I mentioned above. He has over 15 thousand followers, so it is worth mentioning that it helps spread the message for his events during his current book promotion.

From the different type of events that Crouch employs, I think the ones that I will incorporate into my future book tours will be the traditional book signings, author evenings, and Q&A sessions. Of course when my novel is released I want to be able to have physical book signings so that I can meet with my readers face to face. Since most of my promotion is virtually, having an even that is in person is important to me. I want to try and do them at local libraries, book stores or any location that will have me. I know its important to me to hear my favorite authors read from their book and talk about the germination of it. I want to be able to give that experience to someone else. I really think it can help me connect with my readers in a more personal way which will create engagement.

Author evenings are also a fun idea and a great way to cross promote with other fellow authors. For example, I could find local authors and have the session via Zoom where we discuss each other’s books and have an unscripted conversation. This conversation then could be shared later via social media to further promote and drive readers to my website and book purchases. I find it valuable to meet other up and coming authors and share experiences and best practices. Doing so will also promote my literary citizenship. Also, and arguable most important is Q&A sessions that can be done virtually or in person. For myself, these would primarily be over Twitter Spaces where I could host a session in which I would take questions from followers and non-followers alike since Twitter Spaces allows for non-followers to join the sessions.  Again like Zoom, I could record the session and share it later with people unable to attend the session. I love the format and its ability to give people joining a chance to take lead in the conversation and ask what they want. This important direct communication is what I seek when trying to promote my work. Making sure that my promotion is a mix of in person and virtual experiences are what will drive readers to my platform. Giving them different ways to engage with me is also important because not everyone interacts in the same way. Using these and other strategies will only better my outlook in the future.

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Works Cited

“News & Events.” Author Blake Crouch, 2022, https://blakecrouch.com/news-events/.