Going here, going there...

This might be the last time I try to showcase another author. The text and pictures were sent as a word doc. and should have been easy for me to plug in--all I needed to do was copy and paste, right? WRONG. I spent over an hour trying to bring the photos into the text and finally decided that in order to keep my sanity I would cease and desist. I suppose I could have rewritten the entire thing adding the pictures as I went but...too much stress!!! My sincere apologies to Aoife Sheridan who has written a very interesting fantasy series. I have promised to read and review--that way it WILL be posted on my blog!

And so I am on to a new subject--the one where I have no idea what direction to head. This includes the manuscript I'm working on as well as my marketing 'plan'. Ha! I had hoped to have some kind of an epiphany about the marketing but so far nothing has come to me. I know that to bring people to my books I need to target my audience. My readers are people who relate to the goddess, who are interested in women heroines who have to go through some kind of ordeal to achieve greatness. This could be men in touch with their feminine sides and women of all ages. It's so hard to compete with the zillions of books out there. I also know that I need to keep my titles in front of people--tweeting, facebooking etc...but I also know that it can be a major turn-off to have someone constantly on about their books! So where is the balance?

I get the feeling that most indie authors are way more savvy about all this. Possibly it's my age, or just my reluctance to spend a lot of time on it...and yet I know I have to. What I really want is to have Steven Spielberg call me up and say they want to make a movie out of The Wolf Moon. It would make a wonderful movie.

My friend and astrologer extraordinaire, Emily Trinkaus, has told me that I need to work with the goddess energy instead of wasting my time competing in an arena that includes all fantasy and sci-fi. Think outside the box, she says. She's right but what does that mean?

Have you written a book that doesn't quite fit in the regular genres? What is your marketing strategy?

The Wolf Moon

As you can see here I finally decided on a cover for The Wolf Moon. This third choice represents a lot of angst in bringing the story into focus, which includes a good deal of romance and interesting twists relating to reincarnation...can't say more for fear of giving it away...

So the book is finally up on Amazon but not without a lengthy delay that made no sense.  Right now I'm just ecstatic that the book is for sale! Kindle is lagging but should be up soon...At this moment I am trying very hard to think positively, promoting like crazy. I've even scheduled a blog tour--something I didn't do for book 1 or 2. only doing it now because of a writer friend and a blog tour person who made it seem simple. www.aoifemariesheridan.com/‎

Said tour will start on June 14th lasting a whopping 28 days! I'll be posting about it everywhere. :)

I've done a trailer for The Wolf Moon, which you can view here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CiBJJfdzHVg

My own excitement for this book is brimming over and I just hope this energy will be heading out into the universe to stop people in their tracks! (oh my gosh! I just have to go and buy a copy of The Wolf Moon!)

As far as Createspace goes--when I went with my own cover they refunded me oodles of money--something I was not expecting. Next time around I will have it formatted and a cover in place before I submit--(way cheaper) it only took me three books to figure this out. But I have to sing their praises  for putting it up on Amazon and doing the Kindle conversion...

Check here for giveaways--I plan to do them through Kindle and on Goodreads--it will be worth your while!

And so I await my twenty free copies, hoping they arrive BEFORE my husband and I leave for Portland!

Process in self-publishing

Consultations and filling out of forms on Createspace have begun for 'The Wolf Moon'. So far they do not have the completed manuscript with the inclusion of front matter and back matter, but they have sent me an example of font and fleurons; it was only recently that I discovered that this was the word for the little icons that go between breaks in the narrative and also refer to the decorative features that may surround the chapter numbers. What they sent was identical to book 2, fleurons and all, and so I called and spoke with a person on my project team, explaining that I wanted a more Celtic feel. I should have a sample sheet back from them in a few days and I can make my selections.

This time around I chose the more expensive publishing option because it promised a more artistic cover (signature cover) as well as forty-five free copies of the paperback book instead of twenty. The Kindle conversion is included as well as a library of congress #. This book is twice as long as the others and I've worked really hard to make it as professional and free of mistakes as I could. So far my dealings with the 'team' have been thorough and clear and the two examples of the cover they sent were both interesting and unusual, reflecting the book's themes and in keeping with the first two covers. I chose the darker option, since the landscape and mood of this one is cold and desolate. With one simple color change this cover will certainly be an attention grabber! It will be revealed as soon as the changes are made but for now I'll only say that the main focus is Cernunnos, Celtic god of the forest.

I shouldn't say this in fear of jinxing the process but...maybe 3's the charm? I hope it continues in this vein since I'm very excited about this book and can't wait to see it up on Amazon!

For you self-publishers out there--how has your process been?

Thanks for reading...