I’m so sorry it’s been a while since I posted something meaningful. Unfortunately my gorgeous Dad died a couple of weeks ago and everything has been a biz crazy.

The release date for Wishful Thinking had already been set. I know he would have been proud of me, and maybe he is, who knows…

I knew that I needed to get on with things. I could have carried on for years querying agents and although I’m sure the right one would have sat up and taken notice eventually, I wasn’t prepared to wait until I’m fifty to get a deal.

Doing It The Other Way Around

Yes, I still want a deal. People have asked me why I would want that when I can earn as much if not more going it alone. Quite simply, because the work involved in Marketing your own book is phenomenal. I don’t have a problem doing it for this Book. I do it all the time for my clients so it’s nothing new to me. However, I would like some time to write more books, and at the moment, the marketing will be taking up all of my spare hours.

If I can get the numbers up into the hundreds of thousands, then I won’t have an issue finding a publisher. I know that sounds like a crazy amount, but it’s completely doable. A few thousand doesn’t cut it for me. I’m thinking big!

What’s Happened So Far?

I haven’t done any real hard core promotion as yet. I plan to spend this week and next week with Mum, and then I will start with my plan for world domination! That said, I have already had fifty downloads in the 5 days since I launched my book. I get a few every day which is encouraging.

What I did To Maximise My Bookshelf Position

First of all I made the Title and Sub Title search friendly, then I added my key phrases. I had already researched the phrases I wanted to be found with, and I currently rank pretty well given the fact that I am a new author. I think lots of new authors simply don’t understand the way Amazon works. It works in exactly the same way as Google does.

I posted to my author FB page and set a couple of targeted ads. I didn’t spend much at all. You don’t have to spend much on FB ads if you target them correctly. I don’t have a huge marketing budget as I don’t want to take money from my business to fund my books.

What happens To Your Book If You Don’t Promote It?

Um…absolutely nothing. Seriously, you might as well have a shop and stick it in the middle of a field somewhere, then expect people to stumble across it. You might get the odd customer, but they will be few and far between.

You have to be prepared to put in the hard work. The majority of opportunities to promote your work out there are free, so who wouldn’t want to take advantage of that?

Be Prepared For Less Favourable Reviews

I know my book is well written. I know I can write, and I have a crazy imagination so I’m half way there, and I have an editor. However, it will not appeal to everyone. Writing is subjective. You have to put yourself out there to be noticed, but that comes with the chance that some readers will criticise your book and simply won’t like the way you write, or your content. Tough? Yep! But think of it this way; while you may love Beyonce, others will absolutely hate her music. While someone might adore Cliff Richard, you probably do not. Just be happy with your work, and know you did the absolute best job you could.

I’m sure this is where a lot of writers get stuck. They fear criticism. I try to see it as a win, win, whatever people say. If it’s critical then maybe it will be useful to me in the future.

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

I DO…Why not. I was talking to a friend the other day and we both agreed. Why not think big? Most things succeed because of the marketing.

Write A Good Story

That’s the key. write three dimensional characters and have a good story, then you are half way there.  The other half is in the marketing and promotion. Get it both right, then how can you not succeed?

Get An Illustrator

I think this is an absolute no brainer. Try not to rely on template covers. Other books will have the same one as yours otherwise.

Work With An Editor

I found mine to be invaluable. Not least because I am the queen of the typo! Philippa was amazing. She brought things to my attention that I just would not have seen.  A good editor will check for continuity and contradictions. Believe me, no matter how many times you read your own work, there will always be something you don’t see.

I am working on a Youtube channel where I will outline all of the steps to getting your book published and seen. Please bear with me, I am getting there. x

The post Why I Made The Leap And Published appeared first on Rachel Sheridan.