Shameless Self Promotion

Terry Fallis couldn't find a publisher for his novel, The Best Laid Plans, so he self published, broadcast it as a podcast and then won the Stephen Leacock Medal for humour in 2008. Only then did he land an agent and a publisher.

At the start of his workshop, Fallis emphasized that the promotion starts only when the book is well and truly finished.

He encourages writers to blog and tag the posts so Google can find them. His weekly pod casts were a hit. He was basically giving away his book for free.  He assured us that pod casting is easy and relatively cheap, showing us the microphone he uses and his up scale digital recorder.  He likes face book and showed us his YouTube video.  Twitter rounded out this arsenal of new media to spread the word.

But more than that, he encouraged confidence.  Look for speaking and reading gigs, send your stuff out to contests, a cheery Fallis urges.  You can do it. It's easy.