This is the hardest part about being a new author. You know you have a great story to share, but how do you convince others you have a great story?

Well, here’s the thing. You don’t.

The more you try to push your story on others, the more you get labelled an annoying salesman and drive potential readers away.

So what’s the solution?

It’s simple. You sell yourself instead of your books. Do this by using social media for its intended purpose: to meet and interact with people. Get to know other authors, especially authors in your genre, and people who enjoy reading in your genre. Engage them in conversation and visit their blogs (if they have one) and leave comments. Share their posts (and let them know you’ve shared). Re-blog their posts if their blog allows it.

By doing this, you’ll be helping them, and believe me… they’ll appreciate it. When you help people this way, they will often check out your stuff as well. If you have your website/blog set up to feature your work and get sign-ups for your newsletter, and you make it easy to share your content (with one click share buttons), they will likely share it.

Don’t stop there though. When you’ve made connections with people, offer to host them on your blog. You can interview them or maybe even offer to review their work (if you enjoy writing reviews). You can even ask them if they’d like to write a guest post for your blog. They might appreciate the exposure so much, they’ll offer the same in return. Of course, you can always ask for reciprocation.

Follow the 80/20 rule where 80% of your content should be entertaining and/or informative and 20% promotional. You can draw attention to your blog by writing informational posts on writing, publishing, marketing or your genre. Or you can write something entertaining like poems, short stories or even share a personal story. People will love to hear about your personal experiences while writing.

Bottom line is, don’t get caught up in the promotion. Most people, unless they know you, won’t be interested in your new book. So you have to let them get to know you first. Once you’ve taken the time to connect with potential readers, your work will likely sell itself.

---

Biography:

Renee Scattergood lives in Australia with her husband, Nathan, and daughter, Taiya. She has always been a fan of fantasy and was inspired to become a story-teller by George Lucas, but didn’t start considering writing down her stories until she reached her late twenties. Now she enjoys writing dark fantasy. She is currently publishing her monthly Shadow Stalker serial, and she has published a prequel novella to the series called, Demon Hunt. She is also working on a new series of novels, Savior of the Serpent Isles. The first book, The Galvadi Invasion, is due to be released mid-2016. Aside from writing, she loves reading (Fantasy, of course), watching movies with her family, and doing crafts and science experiments with her homeschooled daughter. Visit her site for more information and a free copy of Shadow Stalker Part 1 (Episodes 1 – 6): http://reneescattergood.com

Author Pages:

Website/Blog: http://reneescattergood.com/

Renee’s Author Spotlight: http://reneesauthorspotlight.blogspot.com.au/ – a blog where I feature indie and small press authors.

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00NTJY1W2

Smashwords Author Page: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/rscatts

Read As I Write (Don’t wait til the book is released): https://www.patreon.com/RScatts

Social Media:

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/reneescatts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ReneeScatts

Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/100671337443224225702/posts

LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/pub/renee-scattergood/56/963/3

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/rscatts/