Prepped and almost ready to go.

January 9^th. 2015

I’ve just about finished my book jacket and expect to be publishing the book within the next couple of weeks. I will be preparing a Facebook advert and fine tuning it until I’m happy with the result. Then it’s a case of dove-tailing the announcements and directing them to the right people and the right places to “maximise” (love that word) the book’s potential. There are many tricks to this advertising game, many of which I don’t know, but it’s all about key words, categories, targeting the right audience and picking the right global spot to find the market. Sounds like I’m doing some corporate thinking, right? No, just using the buzz words I come across in all the advice I see on forums and elsewhere. I’ve never been a marketing man, so it’s about to get interesting.

I tried an experiment the other day: changed some keywords for my book, Hell’s Gate. Against the conventional wisdom I aimed the book at the high end market where competition is fierce in the African Adventure category. The book can’t do any worse than it has done over the last year, so I’ve nothing to lose and maybe I’ll learn something. I’ll have a better idea on sales for that particular title later in the month.

I watched a video on book jacket design yesterday. It had two experts picking over the jacket designs bravely submitted to them by half a dozen indie authors. The books were all available on-line. All I learned from that 25 minute video was that it’s all a matter of personal taste: what one person likes, another may not. It helped me firm up my decision to go with the jacket I had designed and produced using PhotoShop, so at least I did get something from it.

Last week I sent a short message out to my subscribers telling them that I expected to have my book ready fairly soon. I lost three subscribers. Not many, I know, but every time I send out an e-mail (I don’t send out many) I think I jog some people’s memories and they realise they had signed up to get my freebie, but no longer wish to be involved. Perhaps I should stop sending e-mails to them. My next will be the main announcement. Hopefully people will buy and not unsubscribe.

On the domestic front, I had a pre-assessment check for eye surgery this morning at Worthing hospital. It’s that time of the passing years that means a cataract needs to be removed. Shouldn’t take long but I’ll have to buy new glasses. If I sell a lot of books I’ll be able to afford designer specs. Maybe not. Wish me luck!