marketing a book

An author recently asked me how to market a book. Different authors find different methods. Depends on personality, opportunities, location, etc. Following are some things I've done. Which might work for you? What other methods can you suggest?

1] Invite people to write reviews of the book and post them and/or submit them to suitable periodicals.

2] Write a press release and send it to TV, radio, periodical, and other media people.

3] Share information about the book through (non-pushy) e-mails to people who may be interested.

4] Tell people about it through various online connections. For example, here are some of mine:

Website https://elmams.wixsite.com/elma

Blog https://elmasalmanac.blogspot.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/elma.schemenauer

Twitter https://twitter.com/ElmaSchemenauer

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/elmaschemenauer/

Amazon Author Central https://www.amazon.com/Elma-Schemenauer/e/B001JPAGJK

5] Join a writers' group or groups. Most will let you share info about the book with their members, who may buy it. You may also be able to promote it through group initiatives.

6] Write articles relating to the book, and try to get them published.

7] Give public talks about topics relating to the book. Have copies available for purchase.

8] Offer copies of the book for sale at craft markets and farmers' markets.

9] Ask libraries if they'd like copies. Some buy at least one copy.

YUKON WANDERLUST by Don Barz, reviewed by Elma Schemenauer

The wonderful orange and blue illustration on the cover of Don Barz's book YUKON WANDERLUST was created by Sharon Phillips. It depicts "the Sun and the Caribou," which in the artist's words are "always moving."

Above her illustration is a photograph of Don's father, Ernie, and Don's uncle, Art. They are the two intrepid young men whose adventures Don presents in this well researched and interesting historical work. The book concentrates on the period 1937 to 1942. Those were the years the young Barz brothers spent in Yukon working as "trappers, fur traders, dredge crew labourers and wood cutters."

Browsing the chapter titles gives readers the flavour of the brothers' travels and adventures. Titles include Victoria to Skagway, Stuck in Whitehorse, Wintering in Dawson, Floating to Aklavik, Living off the Land, Mushing to Mayo, The Legend of Bonnetplume's Gold, and Mysterious Margaret Lake.

YUKON WANDERLUST includes several maps and a comprehensive index. It is illustrated with numerous photographs, most of them taken by the Barz brothers themselves. The text is interspersed with stories, descriptions, and diary entries in the brothers' own words. This kind of original source material is priceless for historians and others, but it can easily be lost. Thankfully Don Barz has put countless hours into preserving, organizing, contextualizing and presenting it.

How did the brothers feel about their Yukon adventures when they looked back on them years later? Here's what Don's father, Ernie, had to say at age 91. "One time I asked Art if he would do it over again. Art said no and I felt the same way. When we were up there, it was fine. It was a good experience. But what we know of the dangers now, it was a miracle that both of us survived."

writerly news for Jan 3, 2022

-Owl Kids Books of Toronto is open to submissions of various kinds of children's books. Specifics here. tinyurl.com/2p82pkab

-I read somewhere that William Shakespeare never revised anything he wrote. This article contradicts that & gives excellent advice on revision. tinyurl.com/f4n2u2v4

-Article on rejections & multiple re-rejections but not dejection. tinyurl.com/4kfrn5w4

-Ways to get your story rejected. tinyurl.com/ac6d8r2y

-Mountain Brook Ink, a publisher based in Washington State, will be open to submissions of clean & Christian fiction in January 2022. Guidelines here. tinyurl.com/pmdb93tw

-MYSTERY WEEKLY of Ancaster, Ontario invites submissions of mystery stories 1000-7500 words long. Guidelines here. https://mysterymagazine.ca/submit

-Article on creating the writing workspace your body needs. https://tinyurl.com/2p9x2tj7

-LIVE is a Christian publication based in Springfield, Missouri. They invite first-person testimonials, fiction, & how-to. Click on the link & scroll down for more info. tinyurl.com/2p8md95f

-The Temz Review of London, Ontario is open to submissions of various kinds of short & shortish writing. Guidelines here. https://www.thetemzreview.com/submissions.html