So I'm finally a published author

I took the plunge and published a book of poetry, as well as a short story, this past week on Amazon and Smashwords. I am officially a published author. I was totally excited about this all week, but the fervor as dimmed somewhat.

I am a bit concerned with the fact that, as an independently published author, I don't have a marketing department to back me up. So whatever I publish, I have to promote, and I've never done this before. I know of the typical things, such as writing a blog (check), letting my friends know (check), starting a thread about my books in Amazon's discussion forums (check), and adding links to my books on all of my online profiles (check). But I am not sure what else there is I need to do. Also, I'm a bit worried that I'll lose track of something or forget to update things, as there are so many places I have to go on a regular basis now in order to promote my book.

Being mentally ill is not helping me. Having bipolar disorder has never been more of a curse than it is now. True, my meds are helping me immensely; I would not have been able to pull it together enough to compile a book of poetry without them. But my head is feeling totally jumbled and it's hard to focus on what I need to do. It's not unmanageable though.

Now I have to figure out how to use this blog to drive people to my books. I guess I'll start with the links to my book, as well as their descriptions.

Forgotten Forest of the Innocent:

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Forgotten-Fores...

On Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...

…I wrote this short story while in college as an English Undergrad, as a way to escape from the drudgery of research papers and text books. I had an idea: what if the world of fantasy and reality were to intersect? What if, say, a fairy found a telephone ringing in the forest? What would technology mean to the people who populated the fantasy world? Voila: Forgotten Forest of the Innocent was born.

FYI: 1763 words approximately

Lost & Found, a book of poetry:

On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Lost-Found-eboo...

On Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/...

Picture this: a turbulent marriage, four years of college and post-graduate work, single motherhood, a devastating divorce, disabling illness and a debilitating addiction. Anyone else might have just given up. But Violet Yates is a fighter. Embark upon a journey with her as you read thirteen years worth of poetry that comes straight from the heart.

Now I have to figure out how to drive people to this blog! lol

Aloha~

Violet Yates