Sunday marked the First day of Autumn, which means change of scenery, cooler weather, pumpkin flavored everything (for me at least), and for many authors out there, a new season of writing, editing, publishing, and marketing.
So in light of the changing season I came up with a short list of things authors can do to keep it fresh this fall:
Holiday sales
Now is the perfect time to begin marketing your book for Christmas and the holidays, for consumers and even retailers. You may reach out to some Ma and Pa bookstores, maybe even a few local Barnes and Noble’s to see if they will stock your book, gift shops, place Christmas ads, strategically set your KDP “free days” for around the holiday season to spike exposure, etc. Now is the time to prep for the holidays, if you weren’t already working on this back in July, that is.
In case you need some motivation on why and how to take advantage of KDP free days or book giveaways, I happened to just post a blog on this recently.
NaNoWriMo
Have you heard of NaNoWriMo? This stands for National Novel Writing Month and takes place in November. And it is exactly what it seems – write an entire novel in just one month. Just watch what happens to social media this month – things get a little crazy as word count updates take over Twitter timelines.
I’ll admit I’ve made half-hearted attempts to participate a couple years, and eventually always skimp out. This year I am in (and I may fail yet again), but I will make the effort and I hope you do to! Think of it as an awesome writing exercise, also you’ll find posts all over social media (hashtag #NaNoWriMo) and there are even local meet ups you can attend, hosted through the NaNoWriMo site for writers to get together and stay motivated. I plan to attend at least one meet up, if you are in LA maybe I’ll see you there!
Also, if you still aren’t sure, check out this post from guest blogger Stephany about why every author should participate in NaNoWriMo: http://wp.me/p3fOUh-gI
Join me in the countdown as we write a whole book in one month!
Contests
There are so many contests out there year round, but here are a couple big ones with deadlines coming up, so be sure to read the guidelines if they are for you, and submit away! And seriously, do not stop at these – there are hundreds of contests you can find by a simple search, just make sure they are legit first.
Writer’s Digest Self-Published e-Book Awards: Deadline is SOON! October 1st, 2013. http://www.writersdigest.com/competitions/writers-digest-self-published-ebook-awards
The RITA award for published romance novels or novellas: Deadline is November 27th, 2013. http://www.rwa.org/p/cm/ld/fid=528
Way too many contests I can’t even begin to list, but here you can search through Poets & Writers super organized database: http://www.pw.org/grants?order=Deadline&filter0=All&filter1=All&&perpage=6
TV Premieres
Okay, you got me, this has nothing to do with authors, but tell me you aren’t looking forward to some awesome TV premiers this Fall and you’re favorite old shows starting up again. And hey, authors could actually learn a great deal about story telling by watching TV… right? I support it! As long it doesn’t distract from your writing or reading, of course.
What things are you looking forward to this season, or hoping to work on to further your writing, marketing, or publishing efforts?
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Another really big contest to consider for published authors is the National Reader’s Choice Awards. Check out the link http://okrwa.com/contests/nrca/nrca-rules/ This contest has been around for 22 years. Many times the winners go on to win a Rita, as is mentioned in the post. Its an excellent opportunity for authors to find more readers.
Kathy,
Thank you so much for sharing that! The more resources, the better!