Celebrating Independent Authors
It’s done! Yay! You wrote “The End” in your manuscript. You bask in the glow of accomplishment, of pride, of completion.
Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be? You’ve worked so hard for so long and it’s finally a done deal. Aren’t you allowed to enjoy the fruits of your labours? Haven’t you earned it? Of course you have! Continue reading “Is It Post-Book-Partum Depression?”
I like you, will you like me? Here’s my Facebook author’s page… And you’re all reading that sing-song style like that annoying purple dinosaur, right? Does it irritate you when you log into Facebook and find you have a message from someone who said they liked your page, and will you like theirs? To me, that’s SPAM. If you discovered my page through someone or some outlet (like the back of one of my books), that’s cool. There’s probably not a single author out there that would turn down a “like” on their fan page (unless it’s someone who is an ex, a stalker, or just plain creepy). But to ask for a reciprocal like just because they liked your page—that’s bordering on rude. Continue reading “Social Media and Social Graces”
As a reader, I really don’t like having to wait for a continuing book in a series, especially if it’s a year or so. I get frustrated for two reasons: one – I’m usually desperate to know what’s going to happen and I can’t find out. And two – by the time the second book does come out, I’ve totally forgotten what’s happened in the first. I either have to re-read the first book or I just give up on the series altogether. More often than not, I chose the latter.
One of the beautiful things about being an indie author is that I get to choose when and how I will produce my work. For the two reasons above, I decided that I would go for rapid-fire releases for The Elements Trilogy. I didn’t want readers to have to wait and I thought it would be an intelligent marketing strategy. I made the commitment to release the books June, July and August of 2013, saving up my big marketing campaign for September. I decided it was a wise move to save up the marketing budget of three books and throw it all into one big trilogy campaign. Hopefully my plan will work. Continue reading “Rapid Fire Releases”
Being an indie author can be a very lonely endeavour and I have very quickly learned how important it is to work with other authors.
Since joining a few key Facebook groups, I have noticed chatter about my books increase. It has been so cool to help each other out. Promoting is made easier as they all tell their followers about your stuff and you return the favour. Your audience is instantly mutliplied with very little effort on your part. Promoting another author’s work is a privilege for me and to have them promote mine is an extra bonus. There is power in working together.
We don’t have big publishing companies promoting us. We don’t have bookstores stocking our novels and putting up mammoth posters and advertising. What we do have is the power of mutual promotion. Continue reading “The Power of a Crew”