Do you submit articles or short stories as a method of promoting your nonfiction book or novel?
Of course, the point of having your articles or stories published is to bring news of your book to your potential audience. It is a method of making your audience aware that your book exists and that you are a worthy author of this particular book. If they like your stories or trust your expertise, they may be interested in reading your book.
If it is nonfiction, you should be writing nonfiction articles for the very publications that your readers peruse—parenting, pet care, elder care or car repair, for example. If your book is fiction, you should be placing stories in the same genre as your book in publications and at websites read by your audience—those who love science fiction, romance novels, young adult fantasies or thrillers, for example.
But you may have additional opportunities that you haven’t even thought of. Once you have begun to infiltrate the publications appropriate to the theme and genre of your book—after you’ve had numerous articles or stories published—then you might start along a different path.
For example, let’s say that your book is designed to raise awareness about the diminishing rain forests throughout the world. Certainly, you might pick up some readers by submitting short stories focusing on this theme to many literary, general and other magazines that publish fiction. Try it.
For a novel featuring bank fraud, you may find potential readers among serious investors, bankers and others who subscribe to business magazines. So see if you can get an article past the editors of these publications.
Maybe you could promote your book on foods that cure depression or recipes for pet food through short stories on similar topics submitted to a variety of magazines. It’s worth a try.
But before you start playing around outside of your genre, get serious about promoting your book to your specific audience through appropriate publications and websites.
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