"The End" Ain't the End; You Have to Ballyhoo Your Book!

Since self-publishing Spunk, a Fable, I have been on an incredible learning journey. Actually, even before I self-published the novel, I learned to apply the knowledge I've gained from a long career in publishing to the tasks of typesetting and layout, and coordinating with an artist/designer for the aspects I couldn't do myself.

 

I had a very limited budget, and so one of the first things I did was start an indiegogo fundraising campaign to raise money to create a book trailer, which is running on YouTube now. It has been seen thousands of times. I created a giveaway on Goodreads, which collected more than 800 entries to win five books! Those are being shipped now, also.

 

I had no funds to hire a publicist, so I researched everything on self-publishing I could find for free online. One common refrain: "Get the word out by any means you can!"

 

So following that advice, today at 2 pm Las Vegas time, I will appear on a local AM radio show, "Aspects of Writing," to discuss Spunk, a Fable. How did I get booked onto this show? I "googled" terms like "local" "talk" "radio" and "books," and, screwing up my courage, I contacted the shows I found via email and asked if I could be a guest. (Dial 12:30 am if you are in Vegas, or listen online at the link above.)

 

All these things are fun and exciting, if time-consuming, but they need to be done if the book is to stand a chance of selling. In my next post, I'll talk about some of the other marketing ideas I've tried, including organizing a Book Launch Party in downtown Las Vegas! It's tiring, as you can see from my photo, but at the same time, it's very enjoyable!

 

 

My hair has turned quite gold from exhaustion! (Apologies to Oscar Wilde!)