PROMOTING, PROMOTING, PROMOTING!!!!

     You spend months, years writing your book.  Finally, the time comes to publish.  You weigh your options, send your manuscript out to publishers in hopes of being picked up or you decide to self publish.  After, editing, formatting, and picking a cover the time arrives, you click submit pushing your book to publish.  You get an email, your book is live!  You did it, so you think the hard part is over.

     Nope, its not, the hard part is just beginning.  Promoting................ahhhhhhhh.

     So lesson learned from these indie authors, promote before you publish!!!!!!!!  Yep, there is it, I admit to our biggest mistake as an indie author.  Are you working on your first book?  Then take heed to this advice, promote before you publish.

Twitter- follow legitimate people that will teach you, inspire you, show you, and help you.  Don't just follow for an automatic follow back.  You want followers that will actually read your tweets, retweet them or go to whatever you are tweeting about. 


Bloggers- They are your best friend!!!!!!!  Respect their time and schedules.  Find blogs that have an interest in your genre........don't waste your time or theirs by sending them emails with books that don't meet what they would be interested in.  That would be setting yourself up for rejection.  Understand that they are busy and get review requests daily, they may not be able to fit yours in, the rejection isn't personal, its just not possible for that site.  There are tons of blogs, more than enough for you to find the right match.  RESPECT THE REVIEW SUBMISSION RULES, read them carefully.  This is again about wasting your time and theirs.  You wrote a 30k word novella, the sight doesn't review short stories and doesn't accept submissions under 40k.  Its not fair to that blogger for you to submit everything, they spend time preparing to read your material and review it, just to find out it falls short.  They have built their following, the fan base expects when a book is up for review that it will meet the minimum criteria listed in the submission rules.  Don't put yourself or the blogger in the position to disappoint anyones fans.

Understand the bloggers schedule, don't expect your book to be reviewed and posted right away.  When you are a month away from release day, set up some ARCs with a few blogs and do a release day blitz.  Give the blogger time to fit you in their schedule to be able to give proper time and attention to your work and review.  Don't let one blogs rejection to being able to review your book at this time deter you, there are more, keep at it.



Facebook- make a fan page for yourself and/or your book.  Use teasers and giveaways to get your following up.  Build your audience.  Once you have a release date, have a Facebook event with giveaways, Q&A sessions, and other authors visiting for guest spots.  Make friends with other indie authors.  Its a great community!!!!!!


Goodreads- this is important to start early.  To be able to add books, you have to have so many books currently on your shelves and ratings given by you.  So get yourself set up to get author status and profile long before your book releases.  This is a great site, once your book is up, to connect with your fans linking them to your works.


A few more promotional sites you can use:

Creating a blog of your own for your works
Linkedin
Shelfari
If you use kdp.......make sure to make an Amazon Author Central page
Facebook Groups that allow you to promote on the page
Bookblogs.ning.com- this is a great community with helpful forums and discussions
Goodreads Groups

I am sure they are tons more but this should get you started.  Don't be discouraged as you embark on this journey.  Be confident in the story you have to tell.  Keep your pen to paper, fingers to keyboards, always keep writing!!!!!!