How To Promote Your Novel With Short Stories By M.L. Poncelet

A few months ago, I came across the short story site, Ocean Blue Press. I contacted the person behind Ocean Blue and invited her to be a guest on my blog. Today, M.L. Poncelet will talk about short stories and how they can help authors promote a novel.

I have one quick in-house announcement to make before we get to today's post. If you are an author with a Kindle title, take a look at our new Sunday Kindle Book Giveaway that's starting next month. This can be a great way for you to market your book.

Now, on to today's post...

How To Promote Your Novel With Short Stories
By M.L. Poncelet


What are the advantages of short stories as a selling tool?

Show off your style: readers want to know your style of writing. Short stories are an excellent way to showcase your style.

It's the hook: short stories create the hook that will drive more interest to your novel. Use short stories to build synergy with your novel.

Keeping it fresh: readers will want to come back to your site because there will always be something new for them. Short stories allow you to have limitless commercials that will promote your novel.

What is the ideal short story?
The ideal short story is one that is between 1000 to 2000 words long. It's longer than a piece of flash fiction but it's just as compact. With short stories the emphasis can be either on plot and structure or if you want it can be about a few specific details. The easiest approach is to focus on just one or two characters.

Where to start?
There are so many ideas for short stories:

Characters
Stir your readers' interest by writing short stories about the secondary characters in your novel. Write about their past histories. What was their background prior to appearing in your novel? You can also choose to write about some of your lesser known cameo characters.

Settings
If you're writing a fantasy novel, you have also spent a lot of time mapping out your imaginary world. Your characters might only occupy a corner of that place, so it would be interesting to share more details of the setting with your readers. Or perhaps your story takes place in the past during a time that is long forgotten.

One of your scenes in your novel could have taken place in a restaurant. In a short story you could take a closer look at the restaurant, the politics of the kitchen, or another diner who observed your character eating. There are endless possibilities.

Backstory
Before your characters convene in your novel there is a backstory. Your readers want to know what went on before page one.

Research
Think of all the research you did so that your characters could talk like experts in their field. How much of this research did you discard in the process? Take one aspect of an area you have studied or researched and let your character tell the story.

Grow a fan base even while completing your novel
If you're in the midst of writing your novel, you can use short stories to gauge your readers’ interest in a new idea.

For example, you've been thinking about three possible endings and each one finishes with a different effect on the main character. Why not write a short story on each? You can get your readers’ reaction to each short story and find the most popular conclusion.

Get repeat readers
Short stories can build interest in your novel; they can keep the readers coming back for more. With short stories you can go into further depth into the lives and minds of your characters, the settings and even the conflict.

Short Stories: the new appetizer that will grab your readers interest for your upcoming or current novel
There are many ways to promote your novel and short stories should definitely be included in your marketing tool kit.


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M.L. Poncelet is a westcoast short story writer at Ocean Blue Press




 -------- Tony Eldridge is the author of The Samson Effect, an action/adventure novel that Clive Cussler calls a "first rate thriller brimming with intrigue and adventure." He is also the author of the Twitter marketing book, Conducting Effective Twitter Contests.