(Though don’t expect Liz and I to get into the ring anytime soon. I prefer the mental beatings…)

Also, you should talk to Stephanie Meyer of Twilight fame. She held a prom for her teen fans!

Marianne

Seems like historical authors get no love when it comes to live-action promotion!

For which I am profoundly and eternally grateful, lol.

I tapped out the hometown I grew up in and raised my kids in–one’s girl scout leader can only come to so many events. My local papers had given me the time of day a few times, and then what?

So now I’ve dabbled in paranormal romance, and the potential for doing something more wild is out there. But I think you have to decide who it is you are and what you are willing to do. I know we all have to sell ourselves, but the level we go to do that is a personal choice. I often feel like a hawker, a bit of a shill at events where I try to lure people in to my books. “Come into my parlor, little girl,” kind of thing.

So I admire flat out the writers who can box their way to readers or carry a ginormous hat on their heads or simply deal with mega-lines. I don’t judge people for this because it is necessary and it seems like those who do the costume thing enjoy it. What really is wrong with that?

What works best for me at this point are services like constantcontact.com, keeping my readers (and people actually do sign up for my list) informed on books and classes that I teach. My web site does a pretty good job, too. I teach for a university that puts out a huge mailer every quarter, and does a wonderful job publicizing its teachers. I pass out business cards, take interviews, write up what my publisher asks for. But I pretty much don’t do the readings any more because my girl scout leader is busy.

Maybe I need to get out my boxing gloves!

Jessica

As for promotion, there seems to be an endless round of different things one can do, if one had the time and some traveling money. If you’re a paranormal author, there are psychic fairs, even at RT, traditionally Sunday when most people are leaving, to promote your books. I saw some authors giving both amateur tarot readings AND passing out bookmarks.

If you’re a fantasy/scifi writer, there’s all the different dress-up conventions that welcome both Dark Hunters and Supernatural fans. I saw some wonderful photos at Marjorie Liu’s site when she was signing at one of them and she met so many kewl cross-genre and scifi authors as well as the Supernatural boys (sigh).

As a romantic suspense/spy-fi author, there are many RWA chapters who are asking for speakers (they pay for the hotel and convention fees, at least) and after talking to Bob Mayer at the Colorado RWA Convention, he convinced me that I really have to save money and hit the Mystery/Suspense conventions as well, to cross-promote to other readers. I would love to do this but since writing isn’t my full time job, it’s difficult to get the time off to go to so many fairs and conventions.

Media-wise, I’ve been more fortunate than most because of my unusual occupation (roofer), so I attracted many newspaper articles which attracted local interest to my signings. Somehow or other, a newspaper from my homeland, Malaysia, heard about me and contacted me for a “Malaysians Abroad” feature they had, and I found a number of new readers that way…all the way from home, which made me smile.

I’m still learning how to get my name out, so any articles about promotion is of interest to me. However, I’m not sure whether I will use Craig’s innovative “fight” publicity. ;-P I mean, who do I take on…hmmm…not Cindy Dees, she’d kick my ass without mercy…definitely not Anne Stuart, she’d send me to a nunnery without mercy…not Lora Leigh, she’d use those scary BDSM maneuvers in her books (and yes, probably without mercy too).

I know, I know, I’m suppose to find a relevant promotional tie-in with the topic in my book. I write about spies and sex…. Huh. Yo, Valerie Plame, you and me, in the ring right now, biotch!

My ideal opponent? An asthmatic, maybe. Run him around the ring, get him puffing, then tip him over with a feather.

LOL. I have to reread the review on this book before the next trip to the bookstore.