Thoughts on Promotion by Avril Ashton

I'm very pleased and thrilled to welcome Avril Ashton to my Blog today.  She is one of the founders of 'Wickedly Sexy Writers, a site geared to helping authors get their word out there.  I asked how the site came about. She said "We’re new authors, fresh on the scene, with no viable ways to promote ourselves and our books without spending an arm and a leg. After much brainstorming, and a million emails back and forth, this idea was born. A promotional site for authors, by authors, free of charge." She explained that the site caters for writers of all heat levels, and I must admit I had to fan myself a little after visiting *grin* but I understand that writers of 'sweet' stories would be just as welcome!

A Caribbean transplant, Avril now lives in Brooklyn, N.Y with a Spousal Equivalent of almost eight years. Together they raise a 6 y/o daughter who loves reading and school (wonder how long that will last). Avril’s earliest memories of reading revolve around discussing plot points of The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew with a very encouraging mother 

Always in love with the written words, Avril finally decided to do the writing in August of ’09 and never looked back. Spicy love scenes, delicious heroes, and wicked women burn up the pages of Avril’s stories, but there’ll always be a happy ending; Avril remains a believer of love in all its forms. 

Without more ado, I'll let Avril tell you more about the site and what promotion means to her, in her own words.

Thoughts on Promotion

I freely admit to not even considering the promo aspects of being a writer. That was never on my radar. I figured I just had to write the damn thing. Naïve, I know. My complete and total wake-up call came when I focused on epublishing. I began researching the various epublishers, reviewing their contracts, really decipher the gibberish and understand what they were willing to do as far as promoting authors’ work.

The bulk of promotion remains squarely on the newbie author’s shoulders. A layperson—like myself—who had no idea what the business fully entailed. I felt completely hopeless. What do I do? Where should I even begin with this? Fortunately, this community that we’re in, the writing community, is amazingly helpful. I asked, many authors answered. I got the blogs, the social networking, the yahoo loops. All great. All things I participate in.

Then came the questions about placing my book cover somewhere, my banner. Most places I found on the net cost money. Sure five dollars to have you put my banner on your site sounds cheap, but what if I have to choose between that and sending the money to the offspring’s school for a class trip? Guess which one loses out. And since your site has a high traffic volume, there goes a good promo op. Same thing with the book covers. To have it up on your site for say a month, I pay you what? Twenty-thirty dollars. But this month the offspring’s winter jacket has decided not to zip. Guess where that money is going? And all this is happening in my release month. Good promo op lost. Again.

The idea of WickedlySexyWriters came from these very happenings. I can’t afford to pay, no matter how small it may be. I know there are many out there who can’t. So here we are. Authors helping authors. One week a month is dedicated to covers/blubs and excerpts only. You simply send me your info in an attachment and it goes up that week. We automatically add your banner to our Author Alley with your links. The rest of the month is SexySpotlight; an author gets a week on the site all to themselves. All the works: interviews, guest blog, excerpts and cover and blurb. Yours.

All free. Our only requirement is you post our banner on your websites/blogs. Tell your friends. Mention us on Facebook, twit us on Twitter. We’re pretty small, still growing as far as traffic, but we’re getting there. It’s a lot of work, but it is worth it when an author, new like me says ‘thank you, this is a godsend.’ There are, I’m sure, promo sites out there who don’t cost a thing. I couldn’t find them when I was tearing my hair out wondering what to do, what to do. Still can’t find them.
Avril Ashton


http://www.wickedlysexywriters.wordpress.com/



Sasha Forde has hung up her thieving stilettos, but a visit from a mobster sends her right back to her old life. In order to save her family-and herself-from jail, she must steal evidence hidden in a lawyer's office. She sets out to do what she considers a simple B and E, but someone else has arrived first. And he holds her life in his tattooed hands. Not for long.

Niko Davaris is all about revenge on the man who tried to kill him. The evidence he stole is the first step in that direction. He's not thrilled to wake up with a gun to his head. The woman on the other end is cocky, smug, and too damn hot for her own good. He wants her, she wants the evidence. When she takes it and disappears, he gives chase. Battle lines are blurred as they give in to temptation, but on a ride like this someone has to come out on top. Who will it be?

http://www.avril-ashton.blogspot.com/
http://www.avrilashton.weebly.com/
avril.ashton@yahoo.com
Facebook