So, you have decided that becoming an author of children's literature is something that you are very interested in doing and it is certainly an admirable career choice. However, there is a problem. That problem is the knowledge that there are so many other people out there that have also decided the exact same thing making this an extremely difficult industry to break into.The good news is that, as with virtually every problem that exists, there is an answer and a solution that will indeed help to improve your prospects as an author. That solution involves networking and self-promotion and we should examine exactly how it can improve your chances of making a success of this brand new career.
The Advantages Of Networking And Self-Promotion.
First, let us begin by exploring what is actually involved in networking and self-promotion and the advantages that this will bring you.
Clearly the main idea here is to get your name out there so that people can start to become aware of who you are and what it is that you do. There is no point in writing a book if nobody knows that it exists and if you do not have a massive marketing budget, which is probably the case, then your book will just sink into obscurity.
You have to remember that you are competing against a huge number of people and when you are just starting out you have nothing to back up your claims of being a wonderful author. It is not as if they have read another book you have written and then automatically feel drawn into reading another as you have nothing to base it on. Networking and promoting yourself helps to resolve that particular problem and it does so in a way that you yourself can control.
With networking, you have to get right in the middle of your potential customers. You have to find where they exist on the Internet, as well as offline, and make sure that they know you have written a book for children. Remember that it is the parent that will ultimately decide if they are willing to purchase it for their child, so you need to make sure that your book is an attractive proposition to them.
Be prepared to offer them a synopsis of what the book is about or perhaps even a snippet of the book for them to read themselves. Tell them the age range, the basics of what is involved, what kind of lessons will their child even learn from reading it? Will they learn about morals, or kindness? How will they benefit from it? These are all things that a parent would love to know in advance and it certainly makes your book stand out from the crowd.
The chances of anybody just coming across your book on their own without any kind of promotion or networking are slim to none. Do not be afraid to give some books away to some of your market in order to get reviews by them, but also accept that perhaps they will not like it and that the reviews may not always be as positive as you may have liked. However, there is no doubt that even in this digital age that reviews are something that people love to read especially with a brand new author.
Finally, you have to consider this when promoting yourself as an author of children's literature. If you sell yourself in a positive light, then it will also sell your book in the same positive way and that can only bode well for your future. Parents want to know that the books that have been written by an individual have indeed been writing by somebody that is nice. They want to know that you have invested the time in understanding what children want in a book. They want to know that you understand how to put certain ideas across so that the book will hold the attention of their child. They want to know so much before they then go and purchase it and what better way to do this than to network with the actual author.
By doing this, you can build a following who will then look to other books that you then go on to write and at least you have a starting point for the future, although it is still in your best interests to always do the same networking and self-promoting with every book to further increase your fan base.
In other words, networking and self-promotion has to involve you mainly focusing on parents, but never be afraid to get the advice of their kids because, after all, they are going to be your harshest critics.
The Dangers To Be Aware Of.
This all sounds very positive, but we also need to stress that it is important to be aware of the dangers associated with networking or self-promotion as there are one or two pitfalls that could work against you.
The first danger is to avoid overselling yourself. People can easily become irritated if all you have to say is how amazing your book is and how they should go and purchase it for their children. You need to come across as a real person and not just a marketing machine because, in the eyes of some customers, too much promotion can feel like desperation and that is not exactly a positive feeling for them to have.
The next danger is that you waste your time promoting yourself and trying to network in the wrong areas. This is where your own research becomes vital because that will allow you to correctly identify the best areas to focus on and at least then you will not be wasting your time or effort. Do not just go out there and blast yourself across every type of media and instead remain focused and you will get a better return on your efforts.
So, there you have it. There has to be no doubt that if you wish to become an author and focus on literature for children, then due to the competition that is out there it is important that you do get involved in networking and promoting yourself. A failure to do this will only lead to the failure of your book and after all of the hard work that you have put into it surely this is the last thing that you want to happen?