The Struggle is Real, Y’all

Top of the mornin’ to ya, good people! No, I’m not in a good mood. I’m delirious. It’s a wonderful place to be when you need a break from reality. What’s wrong with my reality? Is my life falling apart? No, nothing quite so extreme. I’m just coming to terms with the plight of the Indie Author. This shit is not easy.

I’ve been doing this for almost two years, which I realize isn’t so long. Some people take two years (or more) to even write a book. Side note: if you’re new to “me” then you might not know I write romantic comedy and erotic romance under the pen name of Cass Alexander. But in that two years, I’ve read a bazillion articles and books, researched for hours, watched videos, and even spoke to other authors, all in an effort to figure out how to “do all the things.” Now I’m tired. Also, I didn’t sleep well last night so this post is likely going to give you a headache–it may very well take a turn to another subject, like pythons, which are what woke me up. Stupid snakes trying to eat me. Go ahead, psychoanalyze that one.

Anyway, most of us self-publishers do not have the funds to pay for promotion. So we use our time trying to connect on social media, trying to find free websites to promote ourselves, trying to figure out the damned mysteries of the publishing world. It’s time consuming and I don’t know how people who work full time manage their time. Do they sleep? I’m guessing no, not really. They probably dream of pythons swallowing them whole. That happens, right?

I have found some good places (like AskDavid.com) that are free and can reach a lot of people, and I (Cass, actually) have had over 6k downloads (mostly for my two free books). Theoretically, this should have landed me a good amount of reviews and/or ratings. It did not. The reviews I’ve gotten have almost all been great (looking at you little miss 1-star who didn’t leave a review to say why you ranked it so low). I (again, Cass) average pretty high on the rating scale, I just can’t get very many.

So now, with this release of The Wolf King’s Bride, I’ve decided to pay someone to handle the release tour. I need something taken off my plate. I need help, especially since I’m releasing under a different name AND because this is a fantasy romance without humor. It’s a new genre for me and I’m terrified to release it. Everything about this one is different, from the author name to the content to how I’m releasing.

I found someone who wouldn’t charge me an arm and a leg. Bewitching Book Tours, who specializes in releasing paranormal romance (hence the name), will handle things for me for the low price of $55. That’s an amazing deal for what I’m getting. There’s no guarantee it will generate reviews, but it will help get my book onto sites that I wouldn’t be able to get onto on my own. And that’s worth way more that $55.

If you’re an author and have found some great ways to market, or sites that are super helpful, leave me a comment. I’d love to hear from you.