Special Agent Emily Dahill and Dakota are on a much needed vacation this week so I’ve invited my dear friend Mary Martinez to be my guest today. Mary’s going to be talking to us about using social networks for promoting our books. But don’t worry Emily et al will be back in a week or two.
So without further ado I give you Mary Martinez.
Thanks, Lindsay, for hosting the ninth day of my blog tour on Murders and Mysteries. Anyone who would like to know the schedule can check it out here. http://www.marymartinez.com/news.html#events Each blog a different question from the host. Sort of like a continuing interview. I will also have two giveaways at the end of the blog tour. At the bottom, I’ll tell you how you can participate.
Lindsay: How vital do you think using the social networks-blogs, Facebook, twitter etc. is for promoting new authors?
Mary: You know, I honestly don’t know. Because when I first began, Yahoo groups were all the rage, there was no ‘my space’ or ‘Facebook’, there certainly wasn’t anything like Twitter. I had barely heard of a blog.
When I wrote my first book, the recommendation was that you have a web presence. I gerryrigged my own web site up. It worked perfectly for me. But then I had people saying it was a weird format. The problem is; if you do not know what you’re doing there is no way for you to know how it will look in everyone’s different browsers, size monitor, etc. After awhile I became a bit more proficient. Now I have a wonderful web mistress that worries about all of that. AND I do not mind paying the money to get rid of that headache.
I always have promoted my work on Yahoo groups. Then along came My space and I set up one of those, which I no longer have because it wasn’t user friendly. I now have several blogs I participate on, a Facebook and I play on twitter.
Do they help promote authors? Yes they do. But then think about it, in the 80’s what was there? Yet if you read historical romance, you knew who Kathleen E. Woodiwiss was. Did she have a blog? A My space? Facebook or Twitter? Hey , I don’t even know if she had a web site. But I knew I loved her stories.
Back then, your biggest promoter was a brick and mortar bookstore.
Now there are so many formats to read from, a book, your iPhone, iPad, iPod, Nook, Kindle, Sony eReader and the list goes on. You need to get your name out there. I think the best promotion is a web presence with a professional web site and yes, you need social networks!
Thanks again, Lindsay for having me as your guest today.
Here is a blurb for my new release Classic Murder: Mr. Romance
Adam enjoys a lifestyle most men only dream of. Then one day he wakes up to find the morning headlines blaring, “Another victim falls prey to Mr. Romance. Who is next?” He suddenly realizes his way of life is not only frivolous, but deadly.
Dubbed Mr. Romance by New York society for his romantic adventures, Adam Fernando Russo loves women. But lately he realizes how lonely it is coming home to an empty house. Can he settle for only one woman? After he makes a list of qualities worthy enough to merit giving up his desirable existence, suddenly recipients of his coveted attention mysteriously fall prey to a murderer. The murders seem unrelated with one exception–all the victims have recently returned from a fabulous weekend rendezvous with Mr. Romance.
Adam’s assistant, Katie Sinclair, knows Adam is innocent with airtight alibis. The police are at a loss so Adam and Katie work together to discover the link between the murders. As luck would have it, their plan to prove the murderer is copying classic Cary Grant movies goes astray just as Adam realizes his perfect woman has been by his side all along.
Available from BookStrand Publishing (Electronic Format, Print coming in spring 2011) http://www.bookstrand.com/classic-murder-mr-romance
For an excerpt and to see the trailer visit my web site: http://www.marymartinez.com/mrromance.html
Now to the giveaways, everyone one who participates by commenting on each day of the tour will have their name placed in a drawing for a Photo Album and a signed copy of Watching Jenny.
Everyone who participates and comments on half of the days will have their name in a drawing for a download of Classic Murder: Mr. Romance (or they can wait until it’s in print for a signed copy)
Murders and Mysteries 