Anna Staniszewski

Last week, I had the pleasure of meeting my publicist for lunch. We chatted about all sorts of things, but one of the topics we discussed was the difference between promoting a first book in a series and promoting a sequel. So let’s break it down.

Online Promotion

My publicist wisely pointed out that with first books, there’s more excitement because it’s something new, so more people are willing to feature the book on blogs, etc. With a sequel, you tend to get less online attention, so you have to get crafty.

She suggested focusing more on giving people content: doing guest posts, writing articles on certain topics, etc. That way I’m putting myself out there, giving people something of value, and–oh yeah–casually mentioning that I have a sequel coming out.

In-Person Promotion

The good news is that while online promoting can be more difficult with a sequel, in-person promotion can be a little easier. Bookstores, libraries, conferences, etc. tend to be more enthusiastic about authors who have more than one book out, probably because those authors tend to have a slightly bigger following.

So it’s a good idea to set up in-person events if possible. I’ve been focusing on doing local events, ones that are low-stress and easy to get to, to help keep some momentum going. I imagine I’ll do even more of those types of events once the sequel comes out.

Anyone else have tips on promoting a sequel? How do you see it differing from promoting a first book?