The Woodcarver’s Model has now moved into a new stage of marketing. This blog post is about platforms, and I’m not talking about stages that people stand on or those shoes that make one walk a little taller.
Prior to writing this book, I had dabbled in the world of social media.
I had a Facebook account that was primarily used to interact with friends. It was also a handy way to remember birthdays.
But the world has gone digital and that means that fans need to be able to access authors through a wide range of social media platforms.
As of today’s writing, I have a designated author page on Facebook, titled to encourage “search engine optimization” so Google pulls the name of the book first.
I now tweet on my twitter account. This is a handy way to keep in touch with the many many other authors out there.
While words used to be enough, a picture is worth a thousand words so an Instagram account became important. In my case, it is a “bookstagram” which features pictures of books I like. This tells my readers a bit about my personality.
I also have a Goodreads page where people can leave reviews, a website with this blog, and a designated Gmail account.
I haven’t yet succumbed to TikTok, but it appears that since the written word of Facebook has evolved into the visual world of Instagram, it is logical that the next step is videos on TikTok (or Youtube if I dare).
Each of these platforms has their own symbol which links to my social media platforms. On my website, you can find them at the top of the page.
The goal is to populate the blog, Goodreads page and Facebook accounts with content once per week, and the Twitter and Instagram accounts with something daily. It all takes time, but the publisher assures me that now that we are in the preorder stage and all of these platforms are established, that it will create a way for me to connect to my readers from around the world.
But there are other platforms to think about.
In the past, one simply went to a bookstore to pick up the book.
Now, the digital market is the place to be.
And hungry readers are now reached through sales platforms. The publisher puts in a great deal of time making sure that the book is accessible in as many places as possible. The Woodcarver’s Model is originally offered on preorder only in digital form, and then based on demand, over time the bigger players (such as Amazon) offer the print version (so if you want a print version … hang on … that format will become available closer to the release date on April 19th).
The idea of preorder is to build excitement towards the book and avid readers get their copy on the very first day it is released. It is the equivalent of going to the opening night of a play.
The Woodcarver’s Model is already available for digital preorder through all of the usual outlets that include everything from Amazon, Indigo/Chapters and Barnes & Noble to Kobo and the publisher’s own site First For Romance.
But is was rather surprising to find out that the book is also available (in English) on international sites such as Amazon Japan (where the book can be ordered for 574 Yen).
I think the most extraordinary place I’ve seen the book was on a German woodcare site.
Well, you kind of have to see it to believe it.
To see the page, click here and scroll down the page until you find the book.
So all of this to say that when it comes to marketing a book, one has to stand tall on your platforms and hope that the readers can find you amongst the thousands of other books that are released each month.
I’m doing my best, and I know that the publisher is getting me out there far and wide, and for that I am truly grateful.
The Woodcarver’s Model is now in preorder and will be released by Pride Publishing on April 19th. It is available wherever books and digital books are sold around the world.
*(And through one German site focused on wood products).
Peter E. Fenton 