Second Time’s the Charm

It’s been almost a year since DIAMONDS FOR THE DEAD came out, and I’m ramping up for the release of KILLER ROUTINE in April.

Here are five things I’ve learned promoting that second book:

1) It gets easier. You’ve been through the process once, so you know the time requirements and the effort needed to accomplish all those “nebulous” marketing tasks. You’ve made a ton of mistakes the first time around that you’ve, ahem, learned from.

2) It doesn’t get any easier. Sure, you’ve learned from all the mistakes you made the first time, but there are plenty of opportunities to make more mistakes. Those contacts you made last year have moved on to different jobs and you’re stuck trying to grovel your way onto conference panels and bookstore shelves.

3) The “debut” blush has worn off. Instead of smelling like that prized rose, you just smell. The added interest that seems to surround debut authors has waned. People like to discover the next great thing, and after your first book didn’t hit the bestseller list, you’re simply another writer hawking his latest release.

4) You’ve said it all before. Or at least much of it. So you need to find different—fresh—ways to say it all over again. Who wants to sound like a broken record (for those of you who don’t know what a broken record is, try Wikipedia)?

5) Promotion can be a bottomless pit, a giant sucking black hole that will swallow every last bit of your time, energy, and money if you let it. Just sayin’

 

So, what other tips and tidbits do you have when it comes to promoting your second (or subsequent) books?

 

Alan