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For book/ebook authors, publishers, & self-publishers

October 24, 2009...... Don't forget this date !!!!!!!!

My first book is scheduled for release through Amazon.com, on October 24, 2009; and as a
Self publisher I haven’t the distribution channels or capital for a major marketing campaign.
I am pounding the pavement and asking my few fans, and anyone interested, to tell a
friend about the upcoming release of “The Novella Series Red Paradise: First Father”.
Direct them towards my modest website (www.redparadise.net). Buy a book yourself, and don’t hesitate to remark.

Please, Please, feel free to give advise on anything that I can do to better my website or
add to my marketing efforts in general.

Finally, Vampires are more than blood suckers of the innocent. They have enemies greater
than mere werewolves, and they know the bitter reality of immortality is no more than
putting off death until a later time.

The truth of it all waits for you to discover. If you possess the courage, you will not be
Disappointed. You may even find yourself bitten….

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Good luck with the book, Don! But, my true advice is not to self-publish, but you already have. I am curious to why you did. Did you seek out agents and publishers? I'm not a fan of self-publishing and I steer writers away from it every chance I get, but I wish you luck with your book.

As for word of mouth, all authors must rely on that no matter how they are published. It's best to decide a marketing plan BEFORE the book is published. This is where a lot of SP authors go wrong. They publish on their own but do not realize they have to go through the same channels as big publishers or else they won't stand a chance. Once you put on that publisher's hat, you're no longer just an author.

Publishers market their titles by sending out advanced copies (before publication and securing reviews). That is where a bulk of traditional published authors get promotion. A book without any reviews is a dead fish. If you didn't make out review copies to send to reviewers, then you need to seek out reviewers now and get as many reviews as you can. Be warned though, a lot of reviewers do not review self-published books so you'll have to do more searching than the average author.

Self-published authors have to take everything on themselves and I find that many of them don't understand this until after they've decided to publish. They self-publish first (most of them), then ask questions later. This doesn't cut it. I also find that a lot of SP authors rush into the decision. That's why I always advise that a writer do their best to go traditional, especially if they are writing fiction.

You will definitely have to pound the pavement. If you haven't gotten one already, you need a contact list. You need to list book clubs, interviewers, blog reviewers, bookstores, literary sites, anything and everything you can to get your book in front of the public. Another thing, don't rely on other authors to buy your books because most times it doesn't happen that way. You need to reach readers and build a fanbase. If you're not on social networks, I suggest you get on them and use them to market your book. What you do is participate on the sites though, not spam or advertise. Let readers find you if they are willing.

I wish you luck. It's hard for all authors when it comes to promoting but self-published authors have a more difficult time because there are more doors closed to them. It may not be fair but it's the truth. The questions about your site, is another thing that should have been paid attention to before your book came out. It's all about being prepared and this is what makes and breaks a book. Traditional pubs send out book notifications and review books at least FOUR months before books are being released. This is a huge part of promotion and self-published authors usually do not know of this step. It's crucial.

If you continue to write fiction, I suggest next time you try to seek out an agent and try to get published by a house for your best bet. It's necessary for a career writer these days. Books have to be visible and being only available online doesn't connect to many sales. You're only selling to folks who know you or your book. You're missing out on people who browse around in stores. This is one of the main disadvantages of self-publishing.

You can try to look up some books, guides or sites that can give you more tips for promotion.

One more thing, an author can promote themselves very well for free. But distribution and marketing is needed for every book to stand a chance. Promotion and marketing are two diferent things. Writers promote, publishers market and by marketing, they provide distribution.

Best Wishes!

http://www.stacy-deanne.net
Stacy,

The length of your response was surprising and appreciated. Thanks.

I suppose our focus could have been on obtaining an agent or publisher. It is not that we did not try, but being a natural entrepreneur, I put more time and energy into self-publishing; and once my wife and son got on board with the concept, there seemed to be no turning back. Honestly, it has been an adventure worth treking with them.

Our marketing strategy is primarily to e market. We have a website (www.redparadise.net). We have a modest social network going which is growing. We plan on using jivox which uses consumer info. off the net to target our audience and to allow us to send them video ads. We will be using "Sponsored Links", which will place us on the right side of high ranking search results.

We have a list of book bloggers who will receive our book. Book reviewers will be a bit of a problem but we are working on that.

On the ground level, my wife will be placing copies of the book in beauty salons to start. We also plan on attacking local small bookstores while our son, who goes to Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, will pound the pavement with his friends who love vampire books. We are working on a word of mouth campaign there.

Ultimately, I know we haven't the big distribution channels but my family and I have the heart of lions.

Please, if after reviewing our website, or peeking at our social network, you have anything to add, I am open minded and tough skinned.

----- Don
Hi Don,

Glad I helped. I checked out the site and to be honest, it's very nice and intriguing. I love the red in it. I also see you're not done with it but once you are I am sure it will be even more enticing.

Don, I wondered mainly about the self-publishing thing in your situation because you wrote a vampire novel. I admit that there is an influx of these but there are tons of agents who are into fantasy and horror who are salivating over a good vampire novel. Also, if you found the agent search daunting, did you try out small pubs? There are a lot of small pubs who fit a niche and many who publish vampire books and fantasy specifically.

I haven't read your book of course, (yet) but if you put as much time into it as you've done your site then I feel you might have sold yourself short. Well, you can always publish the rest of the series with a publisher next time, but of course it's up to you.

I mentioned the small pub thing because a lot of authors seem to forget about them, LOL! Small pubs (the ones where you don't shell out any money), are legitimate. Some people think it's the big pubs and the agents or nothing at all. I say, seek out smaller and independent publishers out too then if an author can't get a bite but truly believes in the work, they might self-publish. But with fiction, there are so many avenues out there that a good writer (who has edited and took real time with their work) will find someone, big or small eventually.

I like the title. Make sure your book is gonna be on Amazon and the online stores at least. You won't be able to get any sales if it isn't at least available from the online stores.

Best Wishes!

http://www.stacy-deanne.net

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