World building is vital to every nuance of a productive writing life. As a paranormal romance author, I carefully consider the worlds I build for my paranormal romance and urban fantasy characters to venture through. Additionally, I’ve learned (through much trial and error) to carefully manage my time and build my work environment to maintain the quality of my writing.
But then, when the paranormal romance novel is done, it’s time to get busy with the world building necessary for marketing that novel.
As publishing changes and readers clamor for quality, value, and entertainment, it becomes vital for authors to develop a plan. In essence to do some world building for marketing a paranormal romance novel – or any other type of book.
Just like writing, this type of world building takes research, time, effort, and a strong constitution.
Productive writers need to investigate options, learn all they can, and be realistic about the limitations of time and resources. Recently, I’ve read two excellent books on the subject: Smart Self Publishing by Zoe Winters and Dollars and Sense by McCray, Scott, and Thompson.
These books will help authors at any stage or on any publishing path build better worlds for marketing their work.
Bob Mayer’s blog, Konrath’s blog and the Indie Book Collective are also great places to tune in for advice, new options, opinions, and answers. Each site is a world unto itself, sharing the personality of the authors or focus of the group.
Because just as my personal world building for a paranormal novel is a unique process, the marketing of books is a world unique to each author. Sure there are similarities and necessities, but there’s a lot of room to find your niche and learn what works best for you as you reach out to your audience.
These changes in the industry offer up a beautiful opportunity for authors and readers to connect like never before. Do your market research, embrace the process, and do the legwork to build a world for your book and your readers that they’ll want to visit over and over again.
Live the adventure!
