by Alice Anderson

Here are a few small things that you can do to make yourself stand out in the field and make life easier on those who can promote you. After several years of promoting authors I can say for certain that authors who are organized and thoughtful are at the top of my list for people to call on when I have free promo to offer or big news to offer.

First of all, be consistent. Make sure that your PEN NAME is ALWAYS in your communication. Preferably in the From on your email. Generally it is set to your email address, sometimes your real name, a nickname, or even a husband’s name. Get your own email address and set it up so that email coming from it is sent from the name you want people to remember. If you correspond with your real name as well, include both! People who deal with multiple authors every day have enough people to keep up with without you being your “real” self in half the correspondence and your “pseudonym” self the other half. It just makes life simpler. So, recap….. your FROM: line on your email should say Suzie Q Author. In your email, sign as Susan Quinn Author, w/a Suzie Q Author.

Include your email and website address in your signature and any other correspondence.

Include it with payment for advertising.

Get an email address that represents you. SuzieQ1999@yahoo.com is not going to help me or anyone else remember you. If you haven’t gotten your own domain yet (and why haven’t you? They’re so cheap!) get a yahoo or gmail account that you use for business only that is something like SuzieQ@yahoo.com or SuzieQauthor@gmail.com.

Adjust your file names. When you send out a file, include your name. If you’re sending a banner, user the first letter of each word in the title and the last name you go by. If you have multiple size banners, include a number like 468×60. For instance, if my book was called Adrenaline Rush, my banner name would be ARAnderson468×60.gif

That file name tells me everything I need to know at a glance. Do not use spaces! Yes, Windows allows you to do it, but it makes it harder on webmasters. Spaces don’t transfer well to web addresses. And it’s just harder to keep up with.

If you’re sending out a publicity photo, make sure it isn’t called publicity photo.jpg. First of all, you broke the rule about not spaces. Second, if I come back to that file name, how am I to know who it is? Save me a few seconds and give it a better name! I’d do something like AAndersonphoto120×150.jpg. Yeah, it’s a little long, but it’s very helpful!

Remember that those who can promote you are human. They have a life. They have other authors they work with. Sometimes life gets busy. Sometimes email just doesn’t make it. So be polite, but don’t hesitate to check back. Follow up. Ask how you can help. Share your ideas and thoughts for making services and products better.

Learn how to write good promo materials and prepare them. Have a tag line.

A tagline is a brief description of you and your work. Nike’s tag line is famous. Just do it. Coca Cola’s tag line is famous. Always Coca Cola. Your tag line should represent you. Keep it short! To the point! Memorable. And use it everywhere.

Diana Laurence has a memorable tagline: Erotica with soul.

Prepare multiple length blurbs about yourself in both first person and third person. Ask how long of a blurb you should supply and if it should be first or third. Example of first. “I’d always dreamt of being a writer and once I read my first romance novel I was hooked. Six short years later I submitted my nineth novel to Super Cool Romances and they accepted my book. It’s been three years since I saw my book on the shelves……” Third person would read, “Alice Anderson always dreamt of being a writer and after reading her first romance novel…..”

Have a full length bio. About a page, maybe two. Generally in third person. Have a brief description written up about each book. Have a single line teaser written about each character. You never know when these will come in handy. Usually when you have a banner to produce.

Keep everything organized and in a separate file on your computer. But also keep a copy of your tagline and blurbs about you and your books in a single file that you can send if the PR person hasn’t asked for anything in specific. Sometimes we just forget and are vague or we don’t have a chance to be more specific. Usually, we’re happy to have more info than too little and you may just get extra promo because we have more information on file.

All that said… learn how to write a decent press release. These days the push is toward a more “finished” release. One that has quotes from you, another author, an editor, a reviewer, etc. Write up your release article style. That means, the important parts at the top. Include all necessary information for finding your book later. Make it more interesting than a promo blurb about your book. Is it part of a series? Tell us a tiny bit about the series and why everyone should be waiting on this next installment. Does it relate to a bigger issue; play that up. Does it represent a fantasy? Is it your first book? Are you celebrating the release of your 10th release? Find an angle that makes it newsworthy.

My last tip on dealing with PR people and getting more promo. Be as specific as possible. Provide as much information as possible. Give the name of the website you’re referring to, some people work for/with multiple sites/magazines. Give dates and times, prices, titles, publishers’ names, release dates, etc.

There are thousands of places on the web just dying for content and donations and contributions and participation. If you can follow the tips above, you’re bound to get decent promo at little or no cost.

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