What I Learned from Lori Rader-Day about Book Marketing

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I am loving all the workshops and classes that are available on Zoom. I had the pleasure of attending Capitol Crimes’ presentation on book marketing for introverts with SinC past-president, Lori Rader-Day. She is such a talented writer with a the best sense of humor. I had the pleasure of being on a panel with her a few years back at Malice Domestic, and we had more fun that should have been allowed on an early Sunday morning. Here are some nuggets that I learned from her Zoom presentation about book marketing.

  • Work on your craft (the writing part) first.

  • Build a supportive network of other writers to share information and experiences.

  • Make a plan for your launch. Don’t think of your launch as a single event. Gather your resources as you plan.

  • Decide what you’re good at and do those things. You can hire people to do some of the other tasks.

  • Find role models and examples. Buy/read their books, look at their newsletter and website, and attend their events.

  • Know where your readers are and who else they read. Where do you have a built-in audience?

  • Schedule events (in-person or virtual) and guest blog posts ahead of your book launch.

  • Don’t contact booksellers during the holidays. Plan ahead.

  • Don’t overload your schedule. You don’t have to do everything.

  • Leave space in your schedule in case anything amazing pops up.

  • Good self-promotion is not including “buy my book” in every conversation.

  • Carry business cards and bookmarks with you.

  • Make real, authentic connections. Just be yourself.

  • Protect your personal and writing time.

  • For those who are shy, try doing an event. The more you practice, the better you’ll get.

  • Talk about the interesting things in your story/research, your hobbies, or your pets.

  • Give first before you ask for favors.

  • Read the books in your genre.

  • Write another book.

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