New thoughts

I don't know how many people read my blog--I have a list of followers but I doubt very much if they all follow me any more. I have noticed that I don't follow other blogs the way I once did. Not enough time and also, even though I was once signed up, they no longer appear in my in-box. I've been remiss in not blogging more often and vow to do better in this regard!

This leads me to marketing, a subject I can't seem to get away from. I placed my first Facebook ad today--they refer to what I did as promoting my page but I assume my ad will show up on the right of the FB page--at least I hope it does. From what I've read 'promote page' is better for what I'm trying to sell than 'boosting posts.'

They wouldn't let me include a link so I hope that the ad itself will link back to my author page--from there one click will get to my books on Amazon. My ad goes for 10 days at 5 dollars a day. At least at the end of it I'll have more information about what works and what doesn't. Trying to choose the target audience is hard, though--the choices they give you seem more geared toward small business trying to sell a pair of shoes. I did the best I could given what I had to work with, entering e-readers, arts and music, environmentalists, dogs, cats, and so on, into the interests area...

I'm sure many of you have experience with this sort of thing--I'm kind of flying blind. Maybe that's good since I don't have any expectations.

Speaking of marketing I've been trying anything and everything these days, tired of my books languishing in KDP. It used to be that I would sometimes see my own titles in my e-mails from Amazon, but that has not happened in a very long while. How does that work, exactly? I wish I knew.

I used Draft2Digital for my newest cozy mystery novel, 'Murder in Plain Sight' in order to place it in Kobo, Nook, I-tunes, Oyster, and several other e-book markets. They offer the service for free but take a nominal percentage when the book sells. I decided to do the same with my other books, incurring the wrath of Amazon in the process. I had heard that offering the first book in a series as permafree is a good marketing tool but I neglected to pay attention to whether the two I chose were still in select. They were and I found out about it tout suite. Select on those two titles (The Moonstone and Gypsy's Quest) has now expired and all is well, at least I hope so! Hate to anger the largest retailer in the world.

I do some form of marketing nearly every day now, taking the time to research sites or going with others advice who have been there before me. My main problem continues to be doing stuff and then forgetting what I've done! I hope this is due to being disorganized and not some form of brain disorder brought on by age...

Thanks for reading!!!

Veering off

I'm changing my tactics when it comes to marketing. Blog tour is out unless I do a very simple one with a few bloggers who are on the same page as I am. Why, you ask? Because when I realized the time and effort involved, I decided I would lose my sanity. And what about my writing? I know marketing is important but I can't let it  take over my life. I'm still doing the online thing but I also have a long list of places in Arizona where I will attempt to consign my books.

My husband is helping me in this regard, and has compiled a list, not of bookstores, but of 'spiritual' stores and Celtic shops that might be a fit.

Since Mercury has been in retrograde, I've put this endeavor off, but as of monday, November 26th, Mercury begins heading forward again--the perfect time for new beginnings. I will start here in Tucson with one Celtic shop and two others: Metaphysics' World and Spirits' Child. After that we'll head to the small hippyish town of Bisbee and and then over to Sedona, where there are at least six possibilities. Now I know I'm making this sound like a breeze--believe me with my introverted personality, it won't be. But one on one I seem to do okay--it's the room full of people that has me quaking in my boots--the mere idea of giving a talk or a reading makes me light-headed!

Since the second book in my series has been released, I considered doing KDP select again--having one book free, one for .99 --but I didn't want to be stuck again for three months, trapped in a contract with Amazon. My sales did not show improvement from the last two...And so my time has been spent going through The Moonstone, AGAIN, in preparation for re-formatting. (It is now the new and improved version--2nd edition?) Smashwords, KOBO and NOOK are on my list. If anyone is thinking about this, check out Rik Hall http://www.facebook.com/RikHall, who is inexpensive and comes highly recommended.

I'm also signed up for a two hour session here in Tucson with real live people exchanging ideas who  have had experience with marketing. I've considered the book festival coming up next year but I think the price is prohibitive..doesn't seem worth it for the possible sale of a few books, although the exposure would be nice.

And so I continue my search, hoping to discover a few things that work and letting go of the ones that don't. I know marketing represents at least 60% of the pie but I need to finish book three, not to mention the sequel, Valley of the Moon. The more books one has out there the better, or so I've heard...

Here is a link to Johann Penn, a marketer who has done a lot of research on this subject: .http://www.thecreativepenn.com/ 

Thanks for reading! and any and all comments are most appreciated.

interview on marketing with self-published author, Harley Sachs

1. Please tell us a bit about yourself--full-time writer?

I've been a freelance writer since 1957 when I sold my first article to Motor Guide magazine whose editor was an old army buddy. When between jobs or addresses I made survival money freelancing for trade magazines. (See my book "Chilly-Chilly-BANG: how we freelanced through Europe's Coldest Winter in a VW with a KId"). I never made a living at freelancing because it demanded constant travel. Once I had a teaching job and a family, there were limited freelance opportunities. I did start writing regular newspaper columns in 1992 and have published hundreds of those. See my collected "Essays and Columns: 1992-2009) at lulu.com and downloadable on the Kindle and Nook. Now that I'm retired and on a couple pf pensions I write a couple of hours a day and produce a book or more a year. I've published more than a thousand items including letters to the editor.

2. What made you decide to self-publish?

I've had several niche publishers. The first paid $1000 advance and virtually nothing after that before the publisher died. The second publisher paid no advance and no royalty but did send a check for $500 before letting the book go out of print. The third niche publisher bought the list of the first publisher but was terrible and was finally persuaded to return the rights. An agent I met here in Portland tried marketing my books by sending out digital disks, but that didn't work, and he then partnered with some folks setting up an ebook publishing venture called "Electric Umbrella." One of the backers was a crook and the business failed. I was introduced to an Australian POD printed, "Digital Print Australia" when the dollar was worth something, but the collapse of US currency made it too expensive, so I shifted to lulu.com.
I have had a number of agents, only one of them any good, but he was in England and exhausted possibilities for my work there, so that faded. We hooked up with Wings ePress and Zumaya, both ebook publishers, but Wings wasn't effective and I cancelled out on them. Zumaya still has two of my titles, but we will withdraw the rights from them in a few months. I want total control of my work. No agent  commissions to pay, and no bookstores to beg for display or sales, no beleagered agents or publishers to send me "not for us" rejections. My company owns the rights, period.  

3. Mostly I would like to focus on your marketing plan since this seems to be where most self-published authors flounder. Can you tell us what you've done to get your book/books to your potential readers?

I advertised for free in newspapers across the country to no result.I have had a few reviews, but those did not generate sales. I have a blog and facebook visibility and a free web site. I carry bookmarks in my pocket at all times and whenever I see someone reading a book I give them a bookmark and a pitch. The advent of the Kindle and Nook as vendors has been a breakthrough.

4. How has that worked for you?

It is amazing. We are not getting rich or even in the black, but sales on the Kindle, which also reaches UK buyers, have grown about 30-50% EVERY MONTH. When my newspaper columns are published the editor is kind enough to include my web site with the byline. Having 25 books on the Kindle and Nook list and at lulu.com (soon also the Authors Den bookstore) is like owning a few shares in a company that pays occasional dividends. With electronic publishing no book need ever go out of print.

5. would you recommend this approach to others? at this point in time?

Absolutely. It takes about 2 years to find an agent and time for the agent to find a publisher, then another two years in production. I am now 80 years old. I am too ill for a $1000 a city book tour. I am not pretty or cute for public readings.  When I complete a book I can publish it myself in half an hour on the Kindle and Nook and other places I haven't even yet explored. I have been turned down by publishers so many times I have an aversion to that groveling business. Face it, until the ebook revolution publishing was a rotten business. Things are looking up for writers now.