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Kaitlyn Rice
Please join me in a big Word Museum and PromoBeats welcome to Kaitlyn Rice. Moe: Please tell us what name(s) you write under, the name of your book(s), the genre of your book(s), and the formats.
Moe: What do you do to promote your book(s)? Kaitlyn Rice: Not enough, I'm certain. I've never been good at selling, and I'm probably less so when it comes to my writing. I have a website and I try to maintain an online presence on several groups. When I have something coming out I include a tag line with that information. I do some 'drive-by' signings at local book shops. Usually I'll ask the manager if I can sticker and sign the books while I'm there, but I've never sat for a signing. I've spoken at my own local writer's group, and for my January release I intend to do a goody-giveaway which I will publish via several online sources. I send press releases out for my last book, but got no response. I intend to try again for my third book (Table for Five) because it is set in a small town where I used to live, and I've recreated a flood which I lived through in that town. Since the town and circumstance are mentioned, perhaps the news outlets will be more interested. Moe: What method or methods of promotion have you used which work well? Kaitlyn Rice: Let's see. I listed my website, online groups, drive-by signings (stopping by the book vendor, meeting the manager and asking if you can sign the books and/or add a 'signed by author' sticker), speaking, goody giveaways and press releases. Some of these things I've done before, others I'm only trying for the first time. Here's what I think so far: 1. Online groups Moe: What method or methods of promotion have you used that have not worked well? Kaitlyn Rice: I'd say that the press release didn't work well for me, only because in a town of some size the editors aren't interested in my book release news. Perhaps I'll have better luck with this in the future. Moe: Where did you learn how to promote your books? Is there a special place or places where you find good promotion information? Kaitlyn
Rice: Harlequin sends new authors a packet with many
ideas for promotion, only a few of which I've tried. (As I've
said, I'm not particularly good at this. I'm also a mother
with children at home who are still young enough to need my
attention, so I divide my time between writing and caring
for them and my extended family. I fear that the business
side of my writing career is the most neglected. This is the
way I'm geared. Someday, I'll have more time to Moe: Do you like to promote? Or do you find it frustrating? Kaitlyn Rice: I find a lot of it just plain difficult. I had a particularly awful time one afternoon when I went into my local grocer to ask if I could sign and sticker my current release. The manager acted as if I was some crazy person, asking to sticker and sign books which weren't mine. She wanted to see my ID, and when I showed it to her she started informing me that I needed to get a new driver's license. (We'd recently moved, and in the town where I live you don't get a new photo ID -- just a change of address form.) Anyway, she made me feel so awful that I left without signing. And then my husband filed a complaint with the company and I didn't shop there for the next year. Later, I learned that that particular manager is extremely cranky most of the time, but it colored my thoughts about the whole process. I feel that I must store up my courage to go out talking to bookstore managers. Still, I will make the effort the next time I have something come out. I am proud of my career. Moe: Do you have any good promotion tips for your fellow authors that you would like to share? Kaitlyn Rice: Do what you can with what you've got. Some authors are great at public speaking, and can probably gain readership by conducting workshops. Others sparkle in print interviews, and might show off their talents in that venue. You know what you are good at, and if you can promote your work that way I'd say go for it. I hope to develop my speaking talents, and also get better at hitting the pavement to promote myself locally. Moe: Please add anything else here you'd like to say. Kaitlyn Rice: To me, writing is always the reward. Everything else that comes with it is the real work in my writing career, and promotion is something that I feel I must do. Perhaps that will change as my career develops. I've heard authors say that they got better at things they avoided early in their careers. For now, I'm grateful for my writing buddies and the wide-world of Internet connections that have enabled me to meet people and discover new opportunities for getting my name out there. (Thanks, Maureen.) Moe: Please add a short bio, your personal website url, and your publisher(s) url for your book's page(s). Kaitlyn Rice: As a child, Kaitlyn Rice loved to lie on the floor of her bedroom and draw pencil sketches of characters. She remembers assigning each one a name and personality, and imagining what their lives might be like. This study of people and relationships both real and made up has always fascinated her. By her midteens she was drawn into the world of romance fiction. Through the years, Kaitlyn's most enduring pasttime has been to curl up with a good romance novel, and her fondest dream has been to create full-fledged versions of those character sketches in book form. She's thrilled to have finally realized that goal. Kaitlyn lives in Kansas with her husband, two daughters, two miniature schnauzers and two fancy rats. Visit Kaitlyn's official website or her page at Harlequin.
11/04 |
Kaitlyn
Rice: I write under the pen name Kaitlyn Rice. My
next release, due out in January from Harlequin American Romance,
is titled Table for Five: In the Family. Two previous releases
are Ten Acres and Twins (5/03) and The Renegade (3/04) from
Harlequin American Romance. I write contemporary romance,
and have published so far with Harlequin in mass merchandise
paperback format.
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