Dirty Little Writer Secret

Writers, can I tell you a secret?

You don't use your assets enough.

I edit the newsletter for OWW, Online Writing Workshop for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror, and I can tell you it's like pulling teeth to get some authors to pony up their information.

If the author is an OWW member, they get special privileges and can merit a spot on my interview roster if they happen to score a contract with one of the Big 6 publishers. I even do one better and try to get them interviewed as close to their release date as possible.

Oy! The things I do for authors.

Yet they do so little for themselves. If you're an OWW member, tell me you've made a sale. If you have an agent or editor, ask them if I can interview them--and earn a mention a second time by them.

Even if you're not a member there is a way to get noticed. Do you have any big name author friends, agents or editors hiding on your hard drive? Introduce them to me. That is the fastest way for YOU to get your name in the newsletter and a link back to your web site.

OWW is only one venue. There are thousands out there for you to mine. Big forums and newsletters have a lot of subscribers. And that means more eyes on your career.

Networking, people! Whether you realize it or not, you have people who can help you spread your name around. It doesn't always have to be about your work, but it can lead that way if you know just the right names to drop.

In April, I interviewed agent, Nathan Bransford. For May (as in tomorrow) I interviewed the very awesome Lois McMaster Bujold. Find Bujold's interview here.

Make yourself visible and don't just do it when you have a book to pitch. Saying smart things all throughout the year on sites that recognize and promote your genre(s) is the best way to keep your name in circulation. I'll discuss networking with groups in greater length on a future post.

What are you doing to network in May?

***

That seemed like the perfect segue to welcome Killer Campaigns back. Starting May 14th, the Killer is back. This time we're going to expand the concept and discuss not only marketing ideas but also business tactics as it applies to publishing.

I'm always looking for topics on the business of publishing. If you have a question or a topic you want discussed, drop me a line and earn a link back to your blog. (That's called networking.) I'll do my research and show you what I uncovered along the way.