It is nice for you to reach out. Self-publishing is a scary thing, and honestly, I am still learning.
My first book, The Bloody Shoe Affair, was a process of trial and errors. At the time I actually paid a marketing company. They sent my book to several reviewers who did very positive reviews, but it didn't net in books sells. They got me radio and blog interviews. Frankly, it was a waste of money. The most effective marketing has been Facebook, Twitter and joining a literary club that has a catalogue and a community of fellow writers who help support and market your book. The club is Rave Reviews Book Club.
Writing is my second career, so I use my LinkedIn account too. The one thing the marketing company did was set up my Twitter account and encourage me to set up a website. I am currently setting up a blog. Although I had a personal FB account, I set up a public one. The most effective tool for marketing I have learned is Facebook boost. Or you can do a FB ad. They are relatively inexpensive, and you can target your audience by gender, location (general by country or specific by state or city), interest, etc. It will go to thousands of people. You can set your length of time. budget, and pause or delete it at any time if you don't feel it is effective. You can pull up results instantly.
I have found the writing community to be very supportive. I would encourage you to join a literary club.
Hi Joy, thank you so much for your thoughtful and comprehensive reply. You endorsed what I have been told about hiring third party sales and marketing companies. I like what you said about FB boost and ads and will certainly investigate and pursue those two options. You the option of an established LinkedIn account but maybe that absence from my arsenal is not so crucial. I shall also look into the Rave Reviews Book Club. Oh, by the way, Mathew is the main protagonist of my book, I'm Stephen. Kind regards
Just an fyi. Since Genuine Deceit is exclusively on Amazon and is on Kindle Unlimited, I call pull the reports up on KDP and see the sales in real time. I ran a FB boost last Friday. I pull up the reports frequently to see if it is effective. If so, I can extend it if I want or delete it. I can also change the target audience and try again. I ran it for a day and a half. It reached 3188 people and had 285 clicks (8.9%) clicks. I have read that 4% is a normal number of clicks, so over time I have been able to narrow my target audience to who is actually buying. I sold 11 ebook or printed books and 18 books on KU. I have found the KU sales often continue for up to 2 weeks after the boost has ended. Every book is different and has different appeals to different audiences, but I wanted to give you an idea of what it actually meant to me. I have been so in the dark through this process that if I can give any information to any independent author, I am more than happy to do so.
Let me know if you are on FB and I will like your page. Also on Twitter. I would be happy to RT your tweets. FB Joy York Author and Twitter @joyyorkauthor
Have a great week!
Joy
Hi Joy, sorry that my reply took a month but I had a little made of two operations to remove stage one cancer in my left lung and colon. Amazingly lucky that It was detected very, very early and 100% clear. On the long road to recovery now. I am still trying to get my head round this social media marketing idea. I do have a FB page under the book's title, Matthew and the Front Room Railway. It was set up by a guy I was introduced to who then promptly disappeared and it is rubbish!! I am also on Twitter but as with FB make no progress. Stephen P. Jeffries @ night_romancer (don't ask!) BTW do you really read all the books whose authors you recommend?
I am so sorry to hear about your cancer surgery. I'm sure it has been a scary time. It is good news to hear you are 100% clear. I will keep you in my prayers for a speedy recovery.
Social media can be a pain, but a necessary evil in marketing. I went in and liked you FB page. I have two different accounts. One personal and one public, Joy York Author. I checked your Twitter account, but it says it is private, so that isn't really a good marketing place if people can't follow you.
The writing community on Twitter is very supportive. No, I do not read all the authors I retweet without comment. All I'm doing is giving them exposure to my Twitter followers. A lot of people retweet my posts and I return the favor. I filter this to make sure it is not questionable material. There are lots of people I don't follow back. I have never bought followers. It's up to the individual to decide if they want to read their work.
I read a lot. I have read many of the authors I give specific recommendations for. If I specifically recommend someone I have not read, I have researched their reviews and work or know another author who I respect that has read and reviewed their work. If I add a 5-star review to the recommendation, I have actually read and reviewed it. Sometimes authors want to trade reviews, hoping to get a 5 star review automatically. I don't do that. I have read novels upon request, but I am very honest in my review. If I can't give them at least a 3 star, I won't review it at all.
Most authors retweet other authors work because they want to help support other indie authors. I have made friends all over the world. I recently read and gave feedback on a final draft to an author from Mumbai. Its a welcoming community.
I hope you are feeling better soon. Take care and God bless.
Hi Joy, thank you so much for taking the time and trouble in replying and for your good wishes. It just shows how useless I am with the likes of Twitter that I did not know/realize my account was private!!! I shall deal with that poste haste. You really have a wealth of experience in the field of social media marking and I will actively study your comprehensive replies and learn what I can.
In the meantime I can report a definite uptick in my recovery.
One last question, if you don't mind, I started another novel and enjoyed a frenetic pace of creating plot lines, writing copious notes and and drafting the first chapters but then suddenly stopped. I can say, with some certainty, that it is not writers block because I can invisage the way the story unfolds. The question is, why the resistance to restarting the process and is this a familiar scenario?
Regards,
Stephen
I think what you are going through is common to all authors. It is to me for sure. I love the creative part, but sometimes it becomes daunting when I look at what is ahead of me in the process. The first step to getting over it is to make yourself sit down and type whatever comes in my head. I don't have an outline process. I have a character or characters in mind and an idea of where I want to go. I add other characters as my story begins to flow. Just try to write a few words. If it doesn't work, read something you enjoy or do something you enjoy and try again the next day. Don't give up. I am a terrible procrastinator sometimes. Once I get going and my muse takes over, I begin to create.
Just remember. It doesn't have to be right the first time. You will probably go back and make changes multiple times. You can't be intimidated that you'll get it wrong. You are the creator of your story. You can change anything you want at any time. It's your world.
I have gone months not touching a story I wanted to work on. Fear is usually my blocker. I don't want do get it wrong. As long as you enjoy doing it, that's all that matters. I don't write to get rich. I decided if I enjoy writing and can add entertainment to one person, then I'm okay with that.
I hope I helped in some way. Feel free to reach out anytime.
Hi Joy, I seriously appreciate your thought provoking reply. I can relate to so much of what you say. Although financial gain was and is never my motivation, it nevertheless signifies you are reaching people. However, as I recently tweeted, with over two million books published annually worldwide and more than a quarter of a million of those in the US, it is no wonder us novices struggle to be heard!!
Onwards and upwards.
Regards, Stephen
