Adventures in Writing

8) Advertising

Advertising

Advertising your story is how you get people to read your story. Of course, some people tend to completely misinterpret the meaning of proper advertising for something like "psycho war cry". You know what I'm talking about. The "READ MY STORY PLZ" is not advertising. It's screaming in someone's face while they're trying to do their own thing.

So here are some don'ts, when it comes to advertising:

Do not friggin' advertise on an author's story. I cannot stress this enough. It is rude and obnoxious. My stories are NOT a bulletin board for your advertisments. No one's is. An author has poured their heart and soul into their story and are more than eager to run and read the comments to get some feedback on the story, only to find out it's just people advertising their own story.

And adding cute little things like "lol nice story<3 read mine" does not make it any better and actually just makes it worse. So. Do. Not. Do. This.

Do not advertise on an author's message board. Unless you have prior permission. An author's message board is for them to keep contact with readers or make announcements to broadcast to all their readers, or even just chat it up. It's not your billboard for advertising. There's no 1-800 number. So don't advertise there.

If you want readers, there are forums in which you can advertise your writing. If you want to ask a popular writer to share your story, that's fine, but be polite about it and accept rejection with grace no matter how much it makes you groan and bash your head into the desk.

If your story is well-written, has an attractive cover and summary and title, then it will be read. You don't need to go plastering it on every single message board or story you run into.

I have not advertised any of my works. I write. I post. I write. I post. And the word gets around. It's a slow process that requires patience, but it's worth it.

If you don't have the patience to wait, that's totally fine. Again, there are forums willing to advertise your story (You HAVE to find the right one. Some forums do NOT allow you to advertise, so don't just go randomly posting without reading the rules). And some authors have libraries here on Wattpad in which you can share your story. There's even a share button where you can share your stories with people on other social networking websites.

Just remember not to advertise on another story or message board.

Your story is beautiful and awesome and kickass, and when you know that, then the readers will know that and come to read.