Day 12 - Becoming More Visible

You can write the greatest book on Earth. It can be powerful, moving and emotionally fulfilling to anyone that reads it. You could be an unsung hero of a movement or an expert that flies under the radar and just wants to share your view on a subject close to your heart. The problem is that no matter how qualified or talented you are, no matter how incredible your work is, if no one can find you or knows you exist than your book will never get into the hands of those that need or would want it.

There are a number of ways to grow your visibility in the writing world, I am working on implementing several in the next month or so. The number one way to be seen of course is to attend live events. I attend as many as by budget and work schedule will allow. However if you want to be seen there you must let people know you will be attending. This is where the first two parts I am implementing come into play, newsletters and a website.

I recently (about a week ago) finally launched the website I have been toying with for almost a year, writingforces.com. It is simple at the moment with a basic contact page, calendar for any upcoming events, my social media contacts and links to the two books I currently have available. More books will be added when the time comes and events will be updated as I sign up to attend but at the moment it has all active information. On the contact page there is even a place to sign up for my newsletter.

I have never sent out a newsletter so I am in the learning process of that as well. I have recently subscribed to a few in order to get a feel for what other authors include as well as the style and layouts they use. I do not want to copy them so much as learn and then use my own personal style when making my own. It is similar to my previous post about learning the craft. You can wade through the water only so far before you ask someone to help you learn how to swim. Splashing around isn't good enough for me anymore, I want to have a strong technique.

Once you are at the events and have let people know you are coming it is important for them to be able to find you. Table banners and signs that designate your table become imperative when someone is looking for you. You want something professional and represents you and your brand. It helps you stand out from the crowd which can be difficult when you are attending a large event with a number of authors. We all have our ways of standing out but the better you do it the easier it will be for your fans and readers to find you as well as new ones to discover your work.