What can writers do to promote their work in the digital age? Rob Macdonald from Scribd, Scott Weisenthal from Off the Bookshelf, Nina Lassam from Wattpad, and Debbie Stier shared their thoughts during a book promotion panel at our eBook Summit last week.
Lassam shared the example of novelist Diana Ilinca. The author will publish Zirconya: The Sage of Aluh’Nehn in June, but Ilinca developed a side story from the novel on Wattpad. After interacting with her readers every week, Ilinca built a fan base for her upcoming novel.
Stier suggested that people pay more attention to mobile devices. She highlighted Foursquare’s use of coupons and how food trucks use Twitter to announce their locations. Stier predicted that writers, especially those in nonfiction, can capitalize on similar techniques.
Macdonald’s advice was simple: “make it easy for your content to be found.”
Weisanthal noted that people usually prefer their friends’ recommendations instead of the bestseller list. Weisanthal emphasized the importance of giving people personal experiences with their writing and using social networking sites. He recommended authors focus on strong writing quality and a unique tone of voice to funnel personal experiences.
UPDATE: For more eBook Summit coverage check out Sean Concannon’s Shelf Awareness dispatch and Virtual Davis’ Storify essay.