Word of Mouth

As regular readers of this blog will know, I'm plunging deep into the murky waters of marketing books to understand how to sell the book I've written.  Apparently, one of the things I want is word of mouth.  This is the process where one person recommends it is to a few people, who then in turn do the same thing and so on.  A recommendation from Oprah is a classic example of this.

The trouble is how do I get those initially readers to spread the word?  Nothing I've read addresses this.  It is like how do I get experience to land my first job without getting the job first and it is frustrating.

I suppose a few reviews would help and I've got three people reading the book who promise reviews.  Assuming these reviews are good that might be enough to jumpstart the process.  If not, then I'll have to find other people to review the book because without reviews I just don't see how to start acquire any word of mouth.  (Of course, if the reviews are bad, word of mouth could be my enemy, we'll see.)

And even if the reviews are good and people begin recommending my book, I don't think word of mouth alone is enough.

I see a lot of discussion on using the internet to get the word out and very little on authors showing up to a conference or convention and networking.  In my case, there are several science-fiction/fantasy gatherings in my area this year.  I'm thinking this has got to be a piece of the puzzle.  And yet I'm told using the internet is more effective.  I'm not sure I agree with that.

Regardless, I should probably attend the conventions in my area but I'm not sure I will because I don't see this point yet with only one book to my credit.  When more of the series is written, that's another story.  I could go as a fan, of course, and get me feet wet, as it were, and I may do that.

I guess I'll just have to experiment to see how much word of mouth a few reviews will generate.