Once upon a time, there was a writer who wanted to become a published author. But not just any type of author – she wanted to publish a short story anthology. So, she turned to Dorrance Publishing to turn that dream into a reality.

After working so hard on this book, the day finally came when the writer, now a published author, looked down and saw a beautifully bound short story collection ready for readers to embrace. The newly minted author felt so much pride in her work and wanted to share her writing with the world! But the question arose: “How do I spread the word about my new book?” All of a sudden, a light bulb moment happened, and she realized that the next step in the process would be promotion!

Not really knowing where to begin, she looked at her book with fresh eyes: on the surface, the stories were different, but the same theme was woven throughout her book. So she asked herself, “Who is most likely to be interested in a book focused on this theme?”

That simple exercise helped her identify her target audience. She then started looking into community events that would appeal to this group. Once she identified a few events, she jumped for joy and got in touch with the events’ coordinators in the hopes of securing a table.

On the day of the first event, she made sure to go over the checklist of things she needed to bring: A few copies of the book…check! Leave behinds, so that even when she wasn’t manning the table, a potential reader will still have their information …check! Practice her elevator pitch in case she got a little tongue-tied…check!

The checklist was complete, and when the event day came, she was ready to put her best foot forward to leave an impression on those in attendance. In the midst of the excitement of the event, she realized that this was a fantastic promotional tactic that put her and her book face-to-face with potential readers!

The event was over and she wanted to let everyone know that it was a great success, and to reach out to others who hadn’t been able to make it. So, she sat down in front of the computer and began writing a blog post all about the day. Once she was done, she turned her attention to her social media profiles.

As she was writing, she kept in mind a few pieces of advice she’d learned along the way: She kept her posts short, sweet, and to the point, posted relevant content that helped strengthen her credibility to both other authors and potential readers!

After a long day of promoting her new short story anthology, she took some time to sit back, relax and reflect. All in all, she realized that events, preparedness, and regular communication through her blog and social media were all crucial factors in the promotion process. She was pleased in how well she communicated with her audience to entice potential readers to embark on the short story journey she’d created.

Happily ever after? Perhaps. But definitely happy promoting!