One thing I'm hearing more and more about as a publicity tool is to have a newsletter. I think this can be both good and bad--I've seen newsletters that are little more than organized blogs; some that are All About Me; and some the pretend to be useful but are all a big ad. (They give you a tease of a topic then tell you to buy the book, buy the class, etc. in order to get real information.)
It's also harder for the fiction writer. I really don't think a newsletter is useful unless you are either wildly popular--in which case, why are you putting that work into a newsletter instead of your next novel?--or you don't have enough material to sustain a newsletter; in which case it's the All About Me/Ads thing again.
However, I have a universe that I call DragonEye, PI. the main characters are a dragon detective, Vern, and his mage/nun partner, Sister Grace. They solve mysteries, battle evil, save the universes... It's a ton of fun to write in, so I have several stories and two novels coming out so far. However, I am working with a small press, so the chances of my being "discovered" and becoming a smash hit without a lot of effort are slim to none. I'll need to develop my following, and I have a well-established enduring world to pull from. I think I have the right ingredients for a newsletter.
Thus, I've started a newsletter about my DragonEye, PI universe that I love to write about. A Dragon's Eye View comes out bi-monthly and includes a short article from me, a rant from Vern, Faerie Facts and special offers. It's available to DragonEye, PI members, so sign up today.
In the inaugural issue:
* How Karina came up with the idea for DragonEye, PI
* Vern rants about human misconceptions regarding dragons
* Vern's explanation of the Faerie World (from Magic, Mensa and Mayhem, coming March 2009 from Swimming Kangaroo)
* Special offers and events
Sneak Peak:
* I am not a fire hazard. I can control my fire better than you can control your bowels, thank you very much. Also, it took me over 800 years of service to earn my fire back--I am not going to lose it because you annoyed me, forgot the title of my book, called me a dinosaur, whatever. I can deal with you in other ways.
I'll try to let you know how successful the newsletter is in drawing readers, generating feedback, etc. In the meantime, I hope you'll check it out.
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