Wait, you pay for that?

When I talk about releasing my books, inevitably the conversation turns to promotion. “Well, since it’s your day job, you must be great at promoting your own books! That saves you money.”

Wrong! 

I have a publicist set up my blog tours! (The wonderful Roxanne at Bewitching Book Tours.) 

I know that book bloggers are important. They are a wonderful, dedicated group of people who sincerely love books. And I also know that there are a lot of them. And I just don’t have time to track down the ones who read urban fantasy and do outreach to each one (believe me, I tried). So I rely on Roxanne to get my shit into the hands of the book bloggers and, hopefully, they love the book and they do something. 

However, this is where my day job helps: I know that my book is not going to be covered by the NY Times. Or the NY Review of Books. Or People Magazine. Or Oprah magazine. So there is no point in Roxanne, or myself for that matter, pitching it. If I can find a compelling reason why one of these outlets should cover it, I may pitch it myself. But honestly, there is no compelling reason. I am one of a zillion authors writing Urban Fantasy. I have been fairly successful at it, but in no way am I able to make my living solely from my books. I am not an Amanda Hocking or a Hugh Howey outlier. However,  I am earning enough to give me hope that one day I could live solely off my writing. To me, that’s kind of exciting.

To the NY Times, not so much.

But here’s the important point. I don't think their audience is interested in my books. They have never once reviewed Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse books. The Times profiled her a year or two into True Blood, but never once did she get one of those coveted reviews. So, urban fantasy and paranormal romance is clearly not their jam. 

What does matter to me are the bloggers Roxanne knows. They are readers and they reach readers, and they are the rabid fans or urban fantasy and paranormal romance. Those are the outlets that matter to me.