How do I Advertise my novel for young adults?

Question

I wrote a book called "George's Pond," thats 196 pages. I am an English Teacher and really dont have any experience at advertising. It is at Amazon.com but no one knows its there and it is a really good book. I tried to make two blogs already and I am really lost now. Im afraid I wandered into uncharted territory for me. Any good ideas would be greatly appreciated, thanks,
SW

Answer 1

Advertising is EXPENSIVE. I know, I self-published a book in February, 2006 and I'm still working on getting it out there. The best most inexpensive thing is to joining sites where readers tend to frequent. One thing I've done is created a myspace page to get word out (watch out myspace is an addictive thing), but you have to be very careful not to alienate people by being too pushy about your book. I hear that livejournal is another great place to go and get word about your book out there. Also, talk to your local book stores and see if they will carry your book or even let you do a book signing.

For online, Amazon is much easier to submit to than Barnes and Noble but are a bit more costly to work with. With Amazon I find that reviews are a wonderful thing and they lead to greater traffic for your book.

On the review front I've sent review copies of my books to a number of librarians and they have been great about their reviews. For another site that does young adult book reviews try TeensReadToo.com is a great place to get your book reviewed, they now have a huge staff of reviewers but it still takes time for them to get to your book.

Being a teacher maybe you could try selling your book in conjunction with some sort of school related fundraiser. It will raise awareness of your book and get the word out in your local community. Sometimes local newspapers will even give you free press for the fundraisers which is always helpful.

These are just a few lower cost alternatives to traditional advertising that you might want give a try.

Answer 2

Contact Barnes and Noble.com and get their guidelines for carrying your book. Make the submission to them. Schedule author appearances at local bookstores, then advertise it in the local papers. Contact radio stations nationwide, as they can interview you by phone. Approach conventional children's publishers and let them know that your book is out there and selling. They can buy you out for a hefty price, then they pay for all the costs and you reap the benefits as the author.

Answer 3

The best way to spread the word about a book is probably through word of mouth--consider sending a few review copies of your book out to sites or blogs that review children's books.

Answer 4

Did you self publish? If so, can you email me, cause I'm thinking about doing it and would love to ask someone that has done it. As far as advertising, I would go to your local bookstores and see if any of them can help you out.