When Opportunity Knocks

I am about to have an opportunity that will put my name into a LOT of people's hands. I won't get any $ for it and frankly, don't see how it will help me with my next book because this opportunity comes at a time when I won't have anything out... BUT I am working on a project that has been getting wonderful responses from major editors (who hold onto it, even talk to my agent about how they love it, want to buy, etc then....) so I have decided that I will focus on that project because no matter what it will be published, even if it's by me in ebook form.


SOOO - I started a blog in character's name a while back, just for fun. Really not well planned. Then stumbled into a network of similar blogs and realized they can have BIG followers. Brain whirring. Joined an SEO group, have tons of access to promo stuff and plan to retool the blog, add a webpage and promote the character as if she is a real.... (Okay I haven't decided what she is - in the book she's a woman's advice columnist (the year is 1970, these abounded is abounded a word?) ) Anyway, once I decide what will be the most keywordable I plan to do THAT.

I would also like to pull together a cookbook (the book is about women writing an officer's wives club cookbook) via createspace (it gives me another place to show up on the web - if people do look my name on Amazon I want there to be something current there)

Whew - okay that's my plan. My question is - what would YOU do if you were part of a big push at a bad career time? Any advice is so welcome.

Oh, also, if you know the perfect word for a social advice diva (in the book she is a mix of Ann Landers, Erma Bombeck and Emily Post

annie
http://anniejonesjoywritingthroughlife.blogspot.com/
Character centered blog as it is now:
http://dearhelenhartman.blogspot.com/

Stacia -can't say what the opportunity is until it's happening, just learned the hard way about chickens and eggs Its something my publisher is doing over the summer but after this year's book in May I won't have a book out until next March. So that's how the timing is off.

The character website WAS just for fun until I realized there is a huge vintage blog/website community online that I could have been connecting with to build a "platform" contract or no contract (because even if I have to, I'll self pub the thing one day).

So I thought with that, that since my name may be promoted heavily should be capitalizing on the bounce I should get online by having things that I can drive traffic from Amazon to the character blog with - a basic, vintage style fun cookbook - the cookbook is just a fun gimmickand that will be clear if I do it.
I guess that's what I'm saying - what easy stuff can I be doing to get some traction out of this opportunity?
Annie
http://anniejonesjoywritingthroughlife.blogspot.com/
http://dearhelenhartman.blogspot.com/

ps -I have never had a clause about paper merchandising in 37 book with 5 publishers (in fact, with some I've been told, hey do something and we'll see if we want to take it over) but that's a really good point.