What about getting together with other writers who live locally and supporting each other? This can range from meeting for a coffee, forming a critique group, sharing book events or even forming a type of cooperative. Can working together like this help you to increase sales? Can it lead to you sharing readers?
Anything you do in this way need not be limited to working
with Bridge House authors. But there is the thought that we already have a network
here with over 600 people receiving the monthly newsletter.
I can’t give you other people’s addresses and unless you’ve actually
bought books from us I don’t even know where you are based. Even where I do
know addresses it would be against GDPR rules for me to give them out. I can
ask people let me know that they’re interested in this and sort you into areas.
And it might be nice if we could have some volunteers to act as area organisers.
I can certainly put you in contact with such people. The easiest way of all would
be if you joined the Scribblers Group and you could find your tribe there. I
have to invite you to the group. Let me
know if you would like to be invited.
Here are some further ideas of how you might work together.
These are based on things I’ve done myself that I know have succeeded or are
actions that other writer have taken that I also know have been successful.
Book events
Organise a joint book event with readings, Q & A and
give your audience the opportunity to buy books. If six or so share this you are
sharing each other’s friends, family, fans and followers.
Joint stalls at book fairs
Share the cost of the stall and the manning of it.
Mobile shop
Keep a stocked up quantity of books that you take it in turns
taking to market places such as school fetes, shop until you drop events, craft
fairs etc. You all get to know each other’s work. It takes some organising but
it can be very helpful: again, you’re sharing a readership.
Shared promotional material
Produce a leaflet with you all in it. You might like to give
yourselves a name – like the Bloomsbury Group,
though you can’t use that one as someone has used it already. Each of you
takes that leaflet to any individual events you attend. Again, you’re sharing a readership.
There are some things you can do where you don’t need to be
geographically near.
Have an other writers’ news section
in your newsletters
You could form a group of writers similar to you. You pass
on your news to each other each month and include it in each other’s
newsletter.
Book bundles
Can you create some book bundles with writers similar to
you?
Again a good starting point for this sort of work might be
the Scribblers Group. Also look for writers who have similar work to yours in
the Bridgetown Café
Bookshop
How Bridge
house can help
We at Bridge House often create bundles of similar books in
our bookshop or in the promotional email we send out each Friday. It’s a good
idea to keep an eye on both of those. It may also help you to find your tribe.
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