There are many ways to market your novel. Getting its release reported on in newspapers and magazines is a good way to potentially boost sales. But unless you’re an established author (or perhaps even if you are an established author) you need a good press release, with an angle that an editor can use. Mine must have been OK, because it got my story onto page four of my local paper,  the Penarth Times.

It isn’t the national press. To date, I haven’t seen any paparazzi hanging around outside my house. But it’s a start. And the local press are not to be underestimated. The publicity seems to have had some effect, as my local book shop, Griffin Books, have asked for more copies of Moojara to replace those they have sold following the article being published.

I’m quite a private person, so to open the local newspaper and see a photo of myself was quite disconcerting. I hadn’t imagined they would print the photo quite so big! For me, it’s about the book, but for the paper, I guess, it’s all about people, so the author is the focus. I’ll have to get used to that (if I’m lucky!) When you write a book you create something in your own mind which morphs into something slightly different in the minds of the readers. The author creates the book, but is also (particularly in the case of an author who self-publishes) the vehicle that delivers the book out into the world. So this might not be the last time I see my ugly mug staring back at me from a newspaper, magazine, or website.

The thing is, I think, not to stand still. I need to build on the momentum. This year local. Next year national. And maybe the year after that, global. I need to keep looking for new opportunities to publicise my novel. So if anyone has any ideas, please let me know.