When I finished my first novel, I foolishly believed that my work was over. I’d get it published, sit back and wait for the sales and no doubt, the film offer from a top director to turn it into a box office success.
The reality is somewhat different as many of us indie authors and indeed traditionally published authors have discovered.
But just how do we keep people interested in our work, long after it has been published and is gathering virtual dust on Amazon Kindle virtual shelves, or indeed in the garage where there are several cardboard boxes filled with the said novel, next to the barbecue set that comes out once a year?
You may be tempted to try any one of a number of sites to have a ‘professional’ help promote you. Don’t be too disheartened but I have discovered, to my cost, that many of these sites that offer to promote your works are actually pointless. I’ll confess that in my exuberance to become an established and well-recognised writer I have blown my son’s inheritance and tried a lot (yes, I mean a lot) of these sites which promise to get you and your novels exposure.
Now, these guys aren’t exactly ripping you off. They do what they say they will do. They do a decent job of displaying your wares and write nice words about you. They ‘shout out’ about your work on Twitter to their legions of followers or facebook. They promote you as best they can, however, think about it…who are they promoting this stuff to? Probably other muppets like me who signed up to be promoted! Continue reading “To pay or not to pay, that is the question”