How to find an audience without publishing a book

[Atlaxa]

Indeed, how do you do that?

I must have read hundreds of blogs in the past weeks.
Some of them were meant to give you advice how to market a product that doesn't exist yet.
Quite a few of them told the reader (the future author) to build an audience on fb and twitter and then start to figure out what they wanted to write about.
Wow.
Fine, I'm new to writing, but I thought you had to have a story in you. A story you wanted to share. Rather than wake up one day and decide you wanted to be a writer. I guess I'm just old-fashioned or misguided.

I've realised (sorry, I insist on spelling that word with an 's') that I must be somewhat naive, because I've written a book before starting on the marketing tasks.

I might be slightly sarcastic about the whole matter, but I'm really interested how the experienced ones play this game.

Any suggestions and comments are welcome.

Thanks in advance.

 

[TWErvin2]

I guess it depends on the 'audience' that would follow the writer (or would be novelist, once they came up with a project and began to write it).

From start to finish it can take 6 months or a year (or more) to complete a novel. Not just the first draft...
And then to find a publisher can take equally long, or longer, especially if the agent route is taken.
And then once a publisher is found, for the novel to reach print/ebook publication...can take 6 months to a year or more.
Even if one self-publishes, the editing process, layout, cover art and such can take a while.

So trying to garner an audience interested in reading a future novel seems sort of dubious. I guess one could talk about the writing process as they go along, the advances and pitfalls, but there are tons of other writers out there with similar blogs (for example, or FB Fan Pages), and a good number of them already have works published and available.

I do know one writer who did Footsteps of an Unpublished Writer...which eventually became Footsteps of a Published Writer, and she did get a reasonable following, but she also wrote some short stories and also had a crossover blog about Tarot cards/readings, I think. But doing a blog/FB page/twittering or gaining followers/fans/audience/future readers... All of that takes time...a lot of time, that could be spent writing that novel(s).

One could, for example, read and then review novels in the genre the writer intends to have novels published in. That might become enjoyable and productive in making some connections with readers and also some authors...but it takes a lot of time. And it's certainly not a guarantee that such followers of the blog, for example, will translate to readers once a work is published.

Okay, I've sort of rambled a bit, laying out my point of view on this. What I'd say in the end, any 'audience corralling activity' a writer does even before a novel is started, should be one they enjoy and don't mind investing the time and energy in, because they'll be at it for quite some time, without a promise of a payoff in the end--if audience readership of the forthcoming novel is the goal.

 

[Devor]

For the first book you absolutely need your passion. But I think an experienced writer can write about anything.

I think it's weird to talk about finding an audience before you have a book. Sure, there's a few things you can do to get your name out there and make connections that can help later on. And there's a number of things you can do in the lead-up to releasing your book. But if you don't have any written fiction, then you don't have any way of knowing if the followers you're gaining have any interest in the fiction you're writing.

 

[BWFoster78]

I have a blog, but, to be honest, it's not aimed at gaining an audience. Since it's geared to writers, all it does for me is get me in contact with other writers and bloggers.

I think that these connections will come in useful when I'm marketing my book, but I'm not sure, overall, it was worth the effort I put into it. However, I have gotten feedback that it's helped writers make their books better, so, to me, that makes it worth it.

 

[Atlaxa]

Thanks guys. As I mentioned, my book is written. I had it edited and I have found an artist who will do my cover and the maps.

I will keep reading blogs and forums to get as much information as possible.
Marketing, here I come.

 

[Foah]

It's always going to be hard to gain an audience before you publish a book. Published small time authors have enough trouble getting publicity among the hundreds of thousands, even millions of books out there. Imagine the difficulty getting publicity and followers without a book ^^

I know that I'll be publishing the first 2 scenes for free for my novella whenever that's ready for publishing, if for anything it'd be to get my writing out there for free to as many people as possible. If they're hooked and want the story, they're likely to bookmark your website, sign up to your mailing lists or follow you on fb/twitter. Just my two cents, and my plan ^^

 

[Atlaxa]

It's always going to be hard to gain an audience before you publish a book. Published small time authors have enough trouble getting publicity among the hundreds of thousands, even millions of books out there. Imagine the difficulty getting publicity and followers without a book ^^

I know that I'll be publishing the first 2 scenes for free for my novella whenever that's ready for publishing, if for anything it'd be to get my writing out there for free to as many people as possible. If they're hooked and want the story, they're likely to bookmark your website, sign up to your mailing lists or follow you on fb/twitter. Just my two cents, and my plan ^^

Thanks for your two cents

As I mentioned before, my book is ready, edited and hopefully polished enough. In the meantime I have set up my website. In a few days I will start on fb/twitter and the others. We'll see how it goes.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

Just to toss this out there, I ran across this article a while back. It starts off talking about nonfiction writing, but I think it's probably a good indicator for what agents across the board may be looking at and for when they see our names come across their desks. Probably at least a good thing to keep in the backs of our minds before we post that keg-stand pic to FB.

What Does a Literary Agent Want to See When They Google You?

 

[Atlaxa]

Just to toss this out there, I ran across this article a while back. It starts off talking about nonfiction writing, but I think it's probably a good indicator for what agents across the board may be looking at and for when they see our names come across their desks. Probably at least a good thing to keep in the backs of our minds before we post that keg-stand pic to FB.

What Does a Literary Agent Want to See When They Google You?

First of all, thanks for your input.

I must admit, that while I was reading your posted link, I got the same sinking feeling, which I've experienced while I was studying a book about the synopsis requirements that agents expect nowadays.

I think I was about to toss my beloved Kindle into the corner (which I didn't do, as it was just not worth it), when the author listed the seven stages of a romance (which I didn't write, besides, if any man came on to me in the manner that is expected according to her, I would require a bucket).
Then and there it dawned on me why all the soppy movies have exactly the same plot. Because that's what's expected of the wretched writer.
That was the turning point for me.
That and some thorough research, of course.

Yes, I know, according to some you don't count if you self-publish (atm), but I don't care.
I'm aware that it will take a hell of a lot of work to make this work, but I'll do it myself.
I hate divas.

 

[James G Pearson]

I'm currently unpublished and editing my first draft, but building a following at the moment. It takes a lot of hard work, and a bit of luck. Mainly what I find, is that I'm building contacts on Twitter and with them, come their followers. GoodReads is a brilliant place to go, join some communities. You can offer a few sample chapters to groups in your genre to get them interested, see if that works.

All I seem to constantly hear about promoting books is this: Go where the readers are. That's GoodReads.

Have a central hub for them to go to as well, I have my blog. It seems to be working so far.

 

[Atlaxa]

Thanks and you are right. I'm doing those things as well. I have my website up and running and ofc I have FB pages for both the book, and myself (author page). I also joined the 'Books and Writers' group on LinedIn, which I can wholeheartedly recommend.

 

[The Dark One]

Quite frankly, it's hard enough getting a public with a great product already available.

If you're baiting your hook with nothing, you're only going to piss the fish off when they swallow. And they won't come back.

 

[James G Pearson]

I'm thinking of using my blog to showcase new and upcoming authors. People to get excited about, it might be an idea.

 

[Atlaxa]

Dark One,

I'm not quite sure how to interpret your post.

On the one hand it's what I've been saying all the time, on the other hand it sounds a bit accusatory

 

[Atlaxa]

James, that sounds great, but I don't think you can promote other authors before you make a name for yourself. That's just a general remark, I'm not saying that you can't do it.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

I know people say to do this, but it's always seemed sus to me. I just spend my time writing. I have a blog, but its value as a promotional vehicle is negligible. And to try and promote a book I haven't even written would seem foolish at best. It's also a horrible gamble. What if you promote the book, get lots of people interested, and then when the book comes out it's not what people want?

On the other hand I'm no marketing guru, so take what I say with a whole dollup of salt.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

I know people say to do this, but it's always seemed sus to me. I just spend my time writing. I have a blog, but its value as a promotional vehicle is negligible. And to try and promote a book I haven't even written would seem foolish at best. It's also a horrible gamble. What if you promote the book, get lots of people interested, and then when the book comes out it's not what people want?

On the other hand I'm no marketing guru, so take what I say with a whole dollup of salt.

Cheers, Greg.

 

[James G Pearson]

James, that sounds great, but I don't think you can promote other authors before you make a name for yourself. That's just a general remark, I'm not saying that you can't do it.

I didn't mean give them my endorsement, just use my blog as a platform for them to connect to other people. It's hard to find a place that has anything for soon-to-be authors, generating an audience before hand is tough. It doesn't have to be huge, just a general "if you like this, my book might be of interest," kind of thing. I have a blog, a facebook page, a twitter, a goodreads page and waiting for amazon author page when I release. I'd like to think -- when my book is released -- there will be a place to go for my readers, to read the blog and keep up-to-date with the next release.

 

[Chessie]

I deleted my writer's blog. *shrugs* I tried it for a few months but it just wasn't working for me. It cut into my precious writing time--which is already minimal and I hog it fiercely--but I also didn't think I was adding anything productive for my small group of readers. Sure, I could promote my work on there, but I already have a website. For me, that is sufficient. So how do I find an audience for my stories when they become published? Facebook, Twitter, my website. I'm curious to see if I can have decent sales without a blog.

 

[Svrtnsse]

I read somewhere fairly recently that writers usually don't make it until the third book. This may or may not be accurate but it works for me.
I'm in the convenient position where I have a decent daytime job that allows me plenty of time to write in my spare time. I don't need to hurry up and get my book published in order to make money to pay the bills - I can take my time.
When I started out I had no idea how to write a book, but I figured I'd give it a go and estimated it'd take me about a year. I still know very little about writing, but I've had to adjust my estimate up towards eighteen months. I'm writing slowly and I'm trying to learn as much as I can as I go.
I could have tried building some hype for it, but it would have died out long before the book was finished. I feel it would be a waste of time and energy, both for me and for a potential audience. I also think I really only get one shot at it. If I get people excited about my book and then have to push it back and back and back they'll lose interest and it'll be very difficult to get them excited about the very same book again later once it's actually done. - Don't quote me on that, it's just my gut feeling.

Instead, I'll try and get some hype up around my second or third book. If I can get people to read that and get them interested in my writing, they can find my first book and have a look at that.

That's how I'm thinking about it.

EDIT: I'm not finding a source for the "make it big by the third book", so take it with a pinch of salt. I'm just sticking with it because it suits my agenda.