Stand Out From the Crowd

As often happens, my writing analogies seem to somehow revolve around my dog, Rascal. Today's analogy may be a little bit gross, but suits the purpose.

Lots of leaves have fallen in our backyard lately. Because of that it's very difficult for me to perform pooper-scooping duties. That's because the leaves all seem to blend in and hide the treasures I'm seeking. With all those leaves creating camouflage, still, if I persevere, I can find a modicum of success, though I have a feeling I could do better.

Immediately after the lawn is mowed for the week, and the leaves are gone, I do much better finding my targets.

How does this apply to writing or promotion?

Yes, with all those other authors around, clamoring for attention, it's hard to stand out from the crowd. A few ways to clear the area, at least for a short while can be:

1. Do a promotion, such as offering a freebie or reduced price for a few days. Other authors may be doing promos as well, but not as many as those who aren't.

2. Do a newsletter, and send it to those you've noticed have been loyal followers in the past. That way, it will be easier for them to remember you.

3. Do favors for other authors, and they'll do them for you. That pulls you out of your immediate circle/background and into other ones, where perhaps not as many people know you.

4. Retweet other authors on Twitter. Some will retweet you back, and their followers will learn about you.

5. Last, but not least, this has been said often enough, but still bears repeating: Write a Good Book! Good books create buzz and word of mouth is very effective.

Your turn - Can you think of other ways to stand out from the crowd?

Morgan Mandel

Find all of Morgan Mysteries and Romances on her Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/morganmandel

Excerpts from all of Morgan's books are at Morgan's Book Blog:

http://morgansbooklinks.blogspot.com

Twitter: @MorganMandel