First Book Promo Advice

Neil Aitken, poet and editor of the Boxcar Poetry Review, is offering a new blog dedicated to guiding poets through the first-book promotion hullabaloo.

Aitken's new blog, Boxcar Station, so far has discussed the topics of general overview of publicity, getting blurbs, and writing compelling bios. With so much (if not all) of promotion falling to the poet these days, first-book authors generally have little to no experience in this area and scant guidance to follow. More topics, such as interviewing techniques, scheduling events at universities and other venues, applying for grants, and looking for residencies, are on a list of what Aitken hopes to cover in the future. Furthermore, there may be guest bloggers with views and experiences of their own that they can share, to diversify the info offered.

This is a blog for the uninitiated (and those with a few books under their belt) to keep in their line of sight.