The First 6.5 Steps for Self-Publishers
Thank the laaawwwd November is over. That thing I did – with the 50,000 words in amonth – I don't even want to say the name anymore, well – it's over. And I won. I think I get a certificate and the neato badge over there on theleft.
After the high of knowing I accomplished my goal, I hit avery low, well…low. I had just spent amonth doing nothing to market my books already published, and my sales numberssuffered – big time. I am finding ithard to get back into the whole sales aspect, not to mention one of the mostdifficult parts of writing (for me, anyway) – editing. And the crap I churned out in November needsa lot of it.
But in retrospect, November was good for me. I learned what writing habits work, and whatdon't, and most importantly, I was able to set a writing schedule and stick toit. Now, back to the daily grind. For all of you Twain Wannabes and new self-publishers,I want to share what your first steps should be:
1 – Write a good book: Already you're thinking I know, Iknow. But if your book hasn't beenedited, by a professional, or at least a critique group – it's not ready. My book has been through both, and peoplestill find a few mistakes here and there. Wow – did I just admit that? And don't forget to spare the expense forgood cover art – a note about my experience with cover art here.
2 – Get on Goodreads. This can be done even before you self-publish. Write reviews, join groups, make friends thatare interested in the same genre as you. These people will eventually be your followers and fans; some of yourfirst buyers, even. That is after yourgrandma and best friends bought all their copies. There is a great podcast by Freisen Pressintroducing you to the basics of Goodreads, and an awesome blog series aboutGoodreads by Robin Sullivan, small-press publisher.
3 – Follow some people. Twitter is a good place to do this. My favorite, most helpful tweeters for self-publishers include @tonyeldridge,@novelpublicity, @elizabethscraig, @annerallen, and @bookbuzzr.
4 – Do some giveaways. A good place to start is with I am a Reader, Not a Writer, who almostconstantly has a blog hop giveaway happening, and makes it very easy on you tosign up (quick note – you will need a blog or website to do this….ok sobacktrack – step 3.5 build a blog or website). Giveaways are a great way to get the word out and to get some reviewsunder your belt. My giveaways usuallypromise the second book in my series for free if the reader posts a review and sendme a link by a certain date. I have hadgreat responses to this tactic. Andeither I wrote a very, very awesome book – or the reviewers are kind becausethey are grateful they received a free copy – or both. Yes, Idid just admit that. Oh, by the way,Goodreads has an ebooks giveaway group run by the great Coral Russell.
5 – Send out review requests. See the post by yours truly about queryingbook bloggers. This is an all-importantstep to boosting the visibility of your product.
6 – Write another good book. Just remember: series sell, singles – not so well. Totally made that up just now. It probably won't seem so clever when Ire-read this post in the morning. But itis true. Multiple books out on themarket all promote each other.
7 - ??? If I couldfigure out how to insert a bigger question mark, I would, but it is gettinglate. This is the step in which Icurrently reside. Welcome. During the next few months, in addition tothe time I spend editing, of course, I plan on doing some research. Finding out what works with Amazonalgorithms, exploring Goodreads more in depth, strengthening my authorplatform, buzzword, buzzword, buzzword – and I will post all about it. Stay tuned!
After the high of knowing I accomplished my goal, I hit avery low, well…low. I had just spent amonth doing nothing to market my books already published, and my sales numberssuffered – big time. I am finding ithard to get back into the whole sales aspect, not to mention one of the mostdifficult parts of writing (for me, anyway) – editing. And the crap I churned out in November needsa lot of it.
But in retrospect, November was good for me. I learned what writing habits work, and whatdon't, and most importantly, I was able to set a writing schedule and stick toit. Now, back to the daily grind. For all of you Twain Wannabes and new self-publishers,I want to share what your first steps should be:
1 – Write a good book: Already you're thinking I know, Iknow. But if your book hasn't beenedited, by a professional, or at least a critique group – it's not ready. My book has been through both, and peoplestill find a few mistakes here and there. Wow – did I just admit that? And don't forget to spare the expense forgood cover art – a note about my experience with cover art here.
2 – Get on Goodreads. This can be done even before you self-publish. Write reviews, join groups, make friends thatare interested in the same genre as you. These people will eventually be your followers and fans; some of yourfirst buyers, even. That is after yourgrandma and best friends bought all their copies. There is a great podcast by Freisen Pressintroducing you to the basics of Goodreads, and an awesome blog series aboutGoodreads by Robin Sullivan, small-press publisher.
3 – Follow some people. Twitter is a good place to do this. My favorite, most helpful tweeters for self-publishers include @tonyeldridge,@novelpublicity, @elizabethscraig, @annerallen, and @bookbuzzr.
4 – Do some giveaways. A good place to start is with I am a Reader, Not a Writer, who almostconstantly has a blog hop giveaway happening, and makes it very easy on you tosign up (quick note – you will need a blog or website to do this….ok sobacktrack – step 3.5 build a blog or website). Giveaways are a great way to get the word out and to get some reviewsunder your belt. My giveaways usuallypromise the second book in my series for free if the reader posts a review and sendme a link by a certain date. I have hadgreat responses to this tactic. Andeither I wrote a very, very awesome book – or the reviewers are kind becausethey are grateful they received a free copy – or both. Yes, Idid just admit that. Oh, by the way,Goodreads has an ebooks giveaway group run by the great Coral Russell.
5 – Send out review requests. See the post by yours truly about queryingbook bloggers. This is an all-importantstep to boosting the visibility of your product.
6 – Write another good book. Just remember: series sell, singles – not so well. Totally made that up just now. It probably won't seem so clever when Ire-read this post in the morning. But itis true. Multiple books out on themarket all promote each other.
7 - ??? If I couldfigure out how to insert a bigger question mark, I would, but it is gettinglate. This is the step in which Icurrently reside. Welcome. During the next few months, in addition tothe time I spend editing, of course, I plan on doing some research. Finding out what works with Amazonalgorithms, exploring Goodreads more in depth, strengthening my authorplatform, buzzword, buzzword, buzzword – and I will post all about it. Stay tuned!
No comments have been added yet.
