Tag: fans
Lucky Seven!
Seven is a lucky number—or so the tradition holds. I am a woman who believes STRONGLY in making her own luck. And I am going to ask you all to help me. Here are seven things you, my much appreciated fans, can do to generate good fortune for Médicis Daughter in its seventh week on sale:
1 & 2 (not cheating! This one is THAT important): Recommend the novel to someone, in person or on social media. Word of mouth is still the most powerful force in lifting a book from mid-pack to hit!
3: Write a short review somewhere (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Goodreads, your blog) so that people looking for a book with passion, intrigue and history will find Médicis Daughter in their search. 
4) Ask your library if they have a copy. By requesting a copy from your librarian you put the book on the radar of your library system, making it more likely they will buy and shelve the book and thus making it possible for those who cannot afford to spend money on book-buying to have a chance to read Médicis Daughter.
5) Suggest Médicis Daughter to your book club. Did you know I DO book clubs! If you are in the Washington DC Metro area I will actually trot out and see you in person if my schedule permits. If you live elsewhere I am generally able to participate in your discussion by Skype.
6) Reign fan? Hiatus is a painful time but you can help your fellow Reign aficionados by sharing this blog post with them: “5 Books Reign Fans Should be Reading Right Now.” And by mentioning that Médicis Daughter offers them Valois intrigue and that “Catherine shows up, of course, in all her devilish glory.”
7) Let me know you enjoyed Médicis Daughter. Writing can be an isolated business—and not just when you are snowed in as I am now. Facebook messages, emails and notes from readers are such a treat. I am always interested to hear how people react to characters that I spent many months of my life with. And I am fascinated by the tremendously varied feelings and opinions Margot and Catherine in particular have raised in Médicis Daughter readers. So what was yours?
Fans Matter
Fans matter. I know I’ve said this before, but I am saying it again.
First and foremost you bring the characters to life. True, I write them, but if characters speak or acts on a page but nobody reads it they remain vision, vapor, not living and breathing flesh. Writing is solitary enough in the doing, the thought of the results going unread—that would turn solitude into loneliness. So THANK YOU for not letting that happen to my words.
But if fans provide a reason to write they also give writers the ability to continue. Because this is a business, make no mistake about that. Our publishers are not just putting our books out there on charitable impulse. We measure up to whatever their goals for us are, or they move on. So when fans do a few simple things they support us in important ways. What simple things? Ha, aren’t you glad I asked for you?
1) Add the books of your favorite authors to your goodreads TBR pile. This is one click. Please click. Here is the link for Médicis Daughter
2) If you want to wait to pick up a book at a library that’s great. My first paid job was shelving non-fiction books at my local library. I love libraries. If, however, you are inclined to buy a book and you have the means to do so, pre-orders or purchases immediately after a book releases pack a whallop. Here’s my famous (infamous) blog on that subject.
3) Review. It doesn’t have to be two paragraphs. It can be two lines. You don’t need to post everywhere. But sharing what you thought of my work—or any author’s work—at a couple of locations if you have an on-line presence . . . no greater gift my friends.
4) Recommend. Readers talk books. We can’t help it. And we should not try to. Word of mouth remains the most powerful tool for helping good books to do well. Reader enthusiasm is contagious. So mention books you like to other bibliophiles. Your author friends will bless you.