I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how we writers market ourselves…or don’t.  The more I write and publish the more I understand that we do have to take matters into our own hands.  We have to get out there however we can, force our ways into the reading public’s consciousness. The bad news is that we can no longer (if we ever could) depend on the publishing industry to do it all for us.  The good news is that we are now in a new technological age where it is easier (and more affordable) than ever for us to do it ourselves.  When I see a writer being creative about their marketing and pr, I am not only impressed, but it makes me want to be a part of their efforts…to read what they’ve written, to support their work.  Fiona Robyn is a writer who has impressed me in just this way.  She knows that it is not enough to be creative on the page anymore.  You have to also be creative in your business.

Fiona Robyn has written a new novel, Thaw. The novel follows 32-year-old Ruth’s diary over three months as she decides whether or not to carry on living. Starting on the 1st of March next year she is going to blog about it in an unusual way. To help spread the word she’s organising a Blogsplash, where blogs will publish the first page of Ruth’s diary simultaneously, along with a link to the blog.

She’s aiming to get 1000 blogs involved and I’m happy to say that I’ll be right there, one of them.  If you’d be interested in joining in, email her at [email protected] or find out more information here.

It’s now time for me to take off my fiction coat and put on my poetry wooly jumper and head over to Royal Festival Hall to help celebrate National Poetry Day.  More on the poetry events of this week a bit later.  But I will say one thing for poets — they know how to get out there and strut their stuff.  We are not a shy and retiring bunch as some would believe.  Maybe because we all know that there isn’t even the fantasty of a pot of gold out there waiting for us.  Maybe because our publishers don’t even hint at the possibility of making the big splash from our books. Poetry is all about love, and I love that I, in my own little way, am part of that world, too.