Promoting Self-Published Books

I don't know about other authors, but promoting my books is not one of my favorite activities. I was very naive when I published my first brick and mortar book - the publishing company was very easy to work with, but it came as a complete surprise to me that I had to do the promotional work along with my pubisher! What the heck? 

I self-publish now, so I know that I have to do the promotional work myself (or hire a company/individual to do it for me). I don't have a lot of money to devote to this, so I do the promotions myself. They really aren't doing all that well. I know more about what I don't want to do than what I do want to do. Number one on my "Don't want to do this" list is blog hopping, or being featured on someone else's blog. 

My biggest quibble about posting on another author's blog is the time involved - you need to vet the blog, see what he style of writing is, who their audience is, and write for them. You will need to interact - i.e. respond to any comments left on your article. There are pro's to working with other authors and their blogs, though, including placing your book as part of a "swag" pack, allowing other authors to gift their followers with ARC's (Advanced Reader Copies) of your book, participating in a joint give-away, enhancing your reputation through association with another well known author, and gaining access to a larger audience for your work.

Next week I am going to talk about author interviews, and why they are important.

(c) May 2018 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited iwthout written permission of he author.

Indie Authors

I just finished reading an article by Joanna Penn on the rise of Indie authors (from her keynote speech at the Publishing Innovation conference), and how this helps the publishing industry. Since I am, and plan to continue to be, an Indie author, the title alone caught my eye! How cool if some little thing that I can do will help an industry that I would like to see stay healthy!

You can see Joanna’s article here - http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2012/03/22/rise-of-indie/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+TheCreativePenn+(The+Creative+Penn)&utm_content=Google+Reader.

I loved her comment that on sites like Amazon.com that customers are now the gatekeepers via their ability to review.

(Side note: There evidently is a small scale war going on in the Amazon.com forums over whether “friends and family” should be doing reviews, and whether they are too biased. There also seems to be an issue with noting whether material was actually purchased, or was promotional copy. I review on both – I actually prefer to purchase, so there is no question hat my reviews are based on my thoughts, and not some hidden (or not so hidden) agenda. Amazon now has a little button that reviews can click if they are reviewing something purchased from Amazon.com. I imagine that this is meant to give some kind of credibility to the review – I am not sure that I agree with this.)

Joanna lists several positive things about independent publishing, including a higher percentage of royalties going to the author, ability to follow sales figures daily on the back end (a HUGE bonus, IMHO), and the ability to achieve global sales.

Included in this article were Joanna’s notes on the talk given by Anthony Forbes Watson, MD, of Pan Mac Millan, on self-publishing. Food for thought here.

Take a look at Joanna’s article, and see what you think.

© April 2012 Bonnie Cehovet

Is Digital Self-Publishing Viable?

I have one book up on lulu.com , and another up on Amazon.com - both books are self-published. I am in the process of writing a mystery book, which I will also self-publish (most likely through Smashwords). One of the biggest benefits in getting my work out there in this manner, IMHO, is that I don't need a publisher. I can self-publish in the digital market and distribute on my own.

I am evidently joining a very impressive group of people! Author J. K. Rowling (author of the Harry Potter series) is at this moment bringing up a new site called "Pottermore". This is a literal Harry Potter universe, and will be the only place that she will market e-book versions of her Harry Potter works. Will other big name authors follow her lead?

I am not only excited about self-publishing, but I am excited about the "Pottermore" site! We don't need to copy exactly what she has done, but it does show us what can be done. We can create a place for our work that consists of more than a book cover and a "Buy Now" button!

Off to join the world of J.K. Rowling!

(c) June 2011 Bonnie Cehovet