So…I pressed the button…now what?

[Kristine]

Hello everyone,

Happy Thursday! Ok, so you all were with me on the journey to press the publish button. I pressed it and it felt great. I have noticed that it is easier to press that button for other sites too. LOL! I am working on other sites to sell my book.

I am now finding that I am so focused on trying to make this book a hit that I am not writing like I want to. How do you balance marketing one book, while trying to start another?

I am wondering if I did not do enough in the beginning of my first book and now I am playing catch up. Do you have a checklist for what you do before publishing your book?

~Kris

[Jane]

Don't stress it's quite normal to have the colleywobbles at this stage. Wiser heads than mine will tell you about marketing et al. I am worse hpthan useless. All I will say is enjoy.

Writing is the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

[Amie]

Jane wrote: "Don't stress it's quite normal to have the colleywobbles at this stage. Wiser heads than mine will tell you about marketing et al. I am worse hpthan useless. All I will say is enjoy.

Writing is th..."

Ha ha...I like how you described that, Jane ;) Although my hubby would say it's riding a dirtbike!

A huge congrats to you , Kristine!!!!

[Christina]

Kristine wrote: "How do you balance marketing one book, while trying to start another?"

The simple answer for me is, I didn't. Marketing is something that I didn't feel would be helpful until I completed a series at the least. However, nonfiction is a completely different animal, so I've moved this to the Marketing folder. You'll find a whole mess of advice here. Just remember that everyone's experience is different.

[R.]

Well done! Open the Bollinger, then get back to writing.

[Dwayne, Head of Lettuce]

Best of luck and deep wishes that you have a hit on your hands. If not, it's okay. About 99.44 % of us didn't have a hit on our first books, either. To be honest? I haven't had much luck with any marketing. Some do, some do not. And so, I put nearly all my focus on writing. I do specials now and then, offer a free short story once in a while, but the response is usually mild. Try things. Try a lot of things. If something works for you, keep at it. Meanwhile, make the time to write!

[Justin]

They say its good to have early reviews and have your book on sites for exposure before its released but many forget or just hit publish but you can still make an impact while the book is fresh and new.

[M.K.]

I find that when my writer's block flares up I use my designated writing time to market my current books. When I run out of fresh ideas for marketing I usually have enough new ideas for my current work-in-progress.

Congratulations on your book!

[Angela]

Have your book on different sites before it's published. That's something I haven't thought of. Great idea!

[Lynn]

One of the best parts of being an indie author is you can set your own pace--your book isn't going to be pulled from shelves if it doesn't sell right off the bat.

I usually try to do some kind of marketing once every 4-6 weeks, whether it's an online promo or a physical book fair, and that helps keep me from burning out.

Congrats and good luck! :)

[Lee]

So. Tell me. When you publish as an Indie it is not likely the same book will be published by a company? In other words, they don't want it because it has previously been published?

[Lee]

Kristine wrote: "Hello everyone,

Happy Thursday! Ok, so you all were with me on the journey to press the publish button. I pressed it and it felt great. I have noticed that it is easier to press that button for ot..."

Do you work at another job full time? It's hard to be so focused in marketing if you are because it's also hard to do it being retired like I am. I do something everyday. I set up a schedule on my calendar finally to focus on one marketing strategy each day of the week and not try to do everything at once. Good luck!