Two Kinds of promotion

It’s April Fool’s day today and the beginning of a month where I have high hopes of getting my title, SHADOW OF THE WOLF into the spotlight. I intend putting it on the Kindle Select promotion for three days: 18/19/20. It will be free of course and I’m hoping to pick up some good reviews and, naturally, some sales after the promotion. It’s always a risk, giving away your books for free. If you get a high number, it means that readers have picked up your book for nothing and may not even bother to read it (it happens). And you think of how much you could have earned if those downloads had resulted in sales. But you have to sow in order to reap, and maybe a substantial number of those who read my book will realise that I’m worth keeping an eye on. It’s always necessary to promote the title, and this can be time consuming and sometimes a complete waste of time, but it’s a necessary evil. I started my campaign yesterday, posting on about eight sites that want notification of your free titles well in advance. Some won’t even look at your book if you don’t have a certain minimum number of reviews for it. It’s a bit of a chicken and egg argument: how can I get reviews if I’m not prepared to give free copies away?

Another problem I have with SHADOW OF THE WOLF is: how do I categorise it? It’s a war story, but not about battles between two opposing armies. The story is set on a remote island off the north coast of Scotland in 1943: a defunct whaling community where the young men are away fighting a war. The old men and women are at home living a relatively, peaceful existence, knowing there’s a war on but not experiencing the horror. Then suddenly they find themselves under the heel of the Nazi jackboot. I could categorise this under ‘Mystery’ because there is a mystery to be solved. ‘Thriller’ because any story involving soldiers and innocent civilians has the DNA thread of excitement and fear running through it. Or I could call it ‘Action & Adventure’, which would also satisfy the description. But however I describe it, the book is one of my best and worth keeping an eye out for.

I have another full week ahead of me, what with an Easter soiree with friends, promotion and all, and it keeps me away from writing. But I do have something else to occupy me this week, and that is preparing a sermon for next Sunday at our local fellowship here in Torrevieja (www.tcf-spain.org). Our Pastor is away for a couple of weeks and it’s down to me to bring the word to the congregation on Sunday. Some people say that because I am a writer it gives me the ability to write a good message. I say that I’m in God’s hands when I set out to do my research and it’s Him who fills the pages with text. Perhaps I should ask for guidance when I’m writing and when I’m promoting. Wish me luck.