How Kevin Anderson cultivates his fan base

[FictionMuse]

"A writer is nothing without readers, and I try to pay attention to—and show my appreciation for—the many fans who have made me a successful author and who have allowed me to pursue this career that I love. One of my biggest advantages as a writer is that I am prolific and I write several different types of books; therefore, it is worthwhile for me to encourage the fans of, say, my Star Wars novels to check out The Saga of Seven Suns, or for the Dune readers to look at Terra Incognita. Some of the Dune fans might not be interested in Batman and Superman, but they may have friends who would like to pick up Enemies and Allies. I want to make sure they know about the things I’m working on. I have three MySpace pages and nearly 35,000 friends signed up there; I have a Facebook page, a Twitter account, an official Fan Club with about 5500 members in more than 20 countries, and there are fan groups on various social networking sites. I answer all my fan mail; Rebecca and I do numerous convention appearances, book signings, library talks, school talks. Last year we donated over 2000 signed hardcovers to charity auctions, libraries, and community organizations. You can’t just hide in a hole and write books; I believe you need to give something back."

http://www.tor.com/blogs/2009/06/interv ... j-anderson