There are some pretty savvy and smart people doing some interesting things on their blogs/sites. You should check them out and consider how you might apply what they're doing to your own site or creative endeavors.
"Tobias Buckell is a Caribbean-born speculative fiction writer who grew up in Grenada, the British Virgin Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He has published stories in various magazines and anthologies. He is a Clarion graduate, Writers of The Future winner, and Campbell Award for Best New SF Writer Finalist."
Buckell writes some neat stuff. He's also got some interesting and informative stuff to say about writing, self-publishing, and traditional publishing on his blog. You can download a sample of Crystal Rain (among others) right from his site.
Long ago the old-fathers came to Nanagada through a “worms hole” in the sky, looking for a new world to call their own. But that was many generations ago, and what was once known has long been lost. Steamboats and gas-filled blimps now traverse the planet, where people once looked up to see great silver cities in the sky.
Like his world, John deBrun has forgotten more than he remembers. Twenty-seven years ago, he washed up onto the shore with no memory of his past. These mysteries take on new urgency when the fearsome Azteca storm over the mountains, in search of fresh blood and hearts to feed their cruel inhuman gods.
Nanagada’s only hope lies in a mythical artifact said to be hidden in the frozen north. And only John deBrun knows the device’s secrets, even if he can’t remember why or how!
A free sample of your book is a great way to hook new readers! He provides RTF and .pdf format, so you don't even need a unique device.
Holly Black's The Curse Workers series is teencentric and simply awesome.
Cassel comes from a family of curse workers — people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail — he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.
I'm linking to the site becasue of the video about the book. Does it make you want to read the book? Viviane Hebel made jewelry and accessories based on the books, which you can find on this site. So consider these different types of marketing for your book.
Eric Nylund has written a bunch of science fiction including a super popular prequel based on the super popular HALO video game (which is a pretty darn good game). He's also written a bunch of other sf novels, too, and a fantasy novel. All while holding down a full-time day job. The Resisters is his latest.
Twelve-year-old Ethan Blackwood has always known exactly what he wanted—to win the state soccer championship, get into the best high school, and become an astronaut. Then he meets Madison and Felix, who tell him something . . . insane. They claim that 50 years ago, aliens took over the Earth, and everyone past puberty is under their mind control. Ethan doesn’t believe it. But then he sees for himself the aliens’ monster bug robots and the incredible way that Madison and Felix have learned to fight them. So Ethan Blackwood has a choice: he can go back to his normal, suburban, protected lie of a life—or he can become a Resister. This is science fiction on the lines of Scott Westerfield and Cory Doctorow for middle graders.
He had a book giveaway contest. He gave away a copy of all his books to the winner who blogged about the release of his latest novel. Now that's using the "He told two friends, and he told two friends" method. When it comes to marketing, getting your fans to spread the word can't hurt.
There are all kinds of different ways to get the word out about your book, but it seems obvious that having a web presence of some kind is pretty darn easy. So tuck this away in your noodle for when the time comes and keep your eyes open for other attention-grabbing ideas on your favorite authors' blogs.
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