If you wanna buy a book, pussy cow!

With the release of The Roads to Baldairn Motte, my co-authors and I have been brainstorming new, creative ways to promote the book--everything from fan art contests, book review drives, creating an original song, to giving away exclusive, unreleased content related to the book. During said conversations, I've been experimenting with promotion ideas with Umbral Visions, and I have to say, the whole business really makes me feel like a used car salesman. I'd much rather be writing, but in today's world--where you have to fight hard to convince someone to spend their hard-earned money on books--writers have to be their own biggest cheerleaders.



I'm curious to see what others think. From a reader's perspective. What makes you want take a chance on a new writer and buy their book? Right now, I'm doing a book review drive of Umbral Visions, where I'm giving away a free original song to everyone who leaves a review on Amazon. Does this type of bribery work? Hell, do reviews on Amazon even translate to better sales?

I'm also going to dabble with running some online ads, though honestly, I can only think of a few times where I've ever clicked on an online ad to buy something. Do ads actually work? I guess they must since businesses dump gillions of dollars every year into advertisements, but still, I'm wary.

So, let's hear your thoughts. What grabs your attention and makes you want to buy a new book?

-Garrett Calcaterra