Writing is just one of the critical parts when it comes to Naturist Fiction and books in general. Once the book has been written, a person has to let the rest of the world know that it exists. No one can buy and/or read a book if they don’t know that the book exists and where they can get a copy of the book. Traditionally, that was always the concern of a publisher or an author’s literary agent. In the past, finding a publisher willing to take on an unknown author, especially one who is outside of the mainstream published books, was a problem. Unknown authors and their works languished and then perished for lack of an audience.
Things aren’t much different today for authors wanting to follow the traditional model of publishing their works. Trying to find an agent is difficult as they don’t want to risk investing too much time in an author if the book(s) the author has written are unlikely to become big sellers. Trying to go it alone without an agent, makes it even more difficult to get a book published. For a long time, only Vanity Press approaches gave any author the slightest bit of hope. You pay significantly for all the services, including the printing of a set number of books and then hope that somehow people will find out about your books which get delivered to your home and stored in a spare room.
For authors who want to maintain more control of their work, the independent [indie] route makes more sense. One can still hire others as editors to make sure that the book is error free, and cover artists to create a compelling book cover that entices readers to buy and read the book. But, the issue still remains of how to get people to see the book cover. This is where social media becomes a significant tool for any writer, including writers of naturist fiction.
According to the article “How to Use Social Media to Sell Your Book,” there are three social media platforms that any author should consider as tools to spread the message about your book. Ranked first is Instagram, then Twitter, and in third place [and dropping] is Facebook. Of course, just to create these accounts aren’t enough, one has to do the work of building up a following on each platform. In addition to these social media platforms, a wise thing to do is to create and author website, business cards, and join a number of groups that help you promote your books, pay for advertising, and booking book-signing events at local bookstores.
I realise that this all sounds so daunting to an author who simply wants to write and have people read what has been written. But, as I said above, no one can read a book they don’t know exists. I met both Will and Paul through social media. Because of social media, I found their books and realised that I wasn’t the only one writing naturist fiction. Now, I have my Instagram account, my Twitter account, and a Facebook account working for me to spread the word of my books, as well as finding new friends who share the same interests as a bonus.