Writing and Cross-Promotion

Folks, I thought it might be interesting to write a blog about just what promotion is — and maybe a little bit about what it isn’t — while I also talk about a few of my favorite writers in the process.

Promotion tends to consist of a number of things.  It can be as easy as Tweeting something on Twitter (if you do that), or sharing something on Facebook.  It can be more complex, as when you write a guest blog for someone else . . . of course, the latter action is far, far more personal, and may grab a reader that much more easily.

Going to a convention, if you have something of your own to sell, is also a promotional experience.  And even if you don’t, if you’re out there networking, that’s still considered under the heading of promotion.

Now, what’s not considered promotion?  Going to unrelated websites and putting up a bunch of links to your work — spamming them, in short — as that’s completely unprofessional and extremely counterproductive, besides.  (You could even think of this as anti-motion rather than promotion.)

Another thing that would not be a good idea from a promotional standpoint is one I’ve only rarely seen — thank goodness, as it’s again highly unprofessional.  But here goes: when someone mentions inside a review that his work is better than the work that’s supposed to be under discussion, that’s just really bad form.  (More anti-motion at work.)

Promotion is many things, but it’s not supposed to be either unprofessional or “spammy.”  What you’re trying to do is get the word out, that’s all — which is why if you’re talking about your favorite authors, you could be said to have promoted them.

So if you have friends whose work you admire — and if they, too, are on Facebook, Twitter, or any number of other social media sites — you can help to promote them, providing you’re not being obnoxious about it.

It’s in that spirit that I wanted to let you know, again, about a few of my favorite authors.  In no particular order, here are some of the authors I’ve either enjoyed reading or have enjoyed working with during the past two years (trust me, there’s many more, but I decided to stop with six):

Katharine Eliska Kimbriel, NIGHT CALLS (reviewed at SBR on 9/21/2013).  Ms. Kimbriel, a noted author of hard science fiction, wrote a winning historical fantasy in NIGHT CALLS featuring levelheaded farmgirl Alfreda (or “Allie”), who must get a handle on her own magic in order to help her pioneering community, or die trying.

Stephanie Osborn, the Displaced Detective series (books 1 and 2 reviewed at SBR on 7/13/2012; book 3 reviewed at SBR on 7/19/2012).  Ms. Osborn’s Displaced Detective series featuring Sherlock Holmes as brought to the present day by hyperspatial physicist Skye Chadwick is a must-read for anyone who loves hard SF, Sherlock Holmes, or just plain good writing.

Dora Machado, THE CURSE GIVER.  I edited THE CURSE GIVER, and enjoyed every minute of it.  There’s Bren, who’s trying to save his people and has fallen under a curse, and Lusielle, the healer he initially saves, thinks he must kill (but fortunately refrains), and finally ends up falling in love with.  There’s a phenomenally complex plotline twisting through all this that needs to be read and enjoyed . . . all I can say is, don’t miss this complex, epic tale of revenge, romance and redemption.

Aaron Paul Lazar, THE SEACREST (reviewed at SBR on 12/14/2013). Lazar is noted for his mysteries, but THE SEACREST is a straight-up romance (albeit with a few mysterious touches) about Finn and his first love, Libby.  They first have a teenage romance, are riven from each other due to misinformation, then come together in a way that you need to read if you’re any kind of romance reader at all.  In short, if you enjoy Nicholas Sparks, you really owe it to yourself to give Aaron Paul Lazar a try.

Kate Paulk, IMPALER (reviewed at SBR on 4/17/2011).  Ms. Paulk has a gift for historical fantasy; while she is also good at writing funny fantasy (KNIGHTS IN TARNISHED ARMOR), IMPALER shows her full range as a novelist — it’s an exceptional read that combines equal measures of historicity and heart, and makes Vlad Tepes into a sympathetic character despite his flaws — or maybe even because of them.

And finally, I edited Florence Byham Weinberg’s ANSELM: A METAMORPHOSIS last year and was intrigued.  Here’s a story about a rather faithless, feckless young academic, Eric, transported into the much-older Father Anselm’s body.  The original Anselm was and remains an evil man who’s out only for his own pleasures, but Eric grows and changes, becoming far more spiritual and thoughtful in the process.

So there you have it — some SF mysteries, a romance, a couple of historical fantasies, and a literary fantasy.  All exceptionally well-crafted books.  All must-reads in their various ways.

All authors I keep an eye on, to see what they’re going to come up with next.

In that vein, please also go check out Jason Cordova’s novel of near-future suspense, CORRUPTOR . . . let’s hope he writes a sequel one of these years!