RELAX, WRITE, POLISH
I am seeing way too many writers scrambling around desperately trying to get their books released and then blogging and tweeting until their fingers are blue with little or no results.
Relax.
For many years now there was nothing I could do to make someone buy my book. I had no choice but to write and submit, write and submit. Nothing has changed. You do NOT want to put your work out there too soon. You'll regret it if you do.
And once you have sent your book to a few reviewers, bought an ad or two, and blogged a few times, sure you can spend a few minutes on FB, Twitter, and Kindle Boards, but don't make the mistake of being frantic about your promo/marketing...feeling as if your book needs to sell today! If you're lucky enough to have a story that appeals to readers, then you need to be patient and wait for word of mouth to do it's job.
Return of the Rose is just now working it's way up the charts after four months. I hope Finding Kate Huntley and Taming Mad Max have the same success in a few more months. I'm blogging tomorrow and next week and then I plan to RELAX while I write.
Who is going to feel better in two months? The writer who has finished another book or the writer who is still frantically searching for that one magical advertisement/blog/review that will make his/her book sell?
Edit and polish an old book. Start a new book. Just write.
If anyone is having trouble commenting on blogger, you have to hit preview 2 or 3 times and then UNCHECK the tiny box that says "stay signed in" and then yay, your comment should go through!
Relax.
For many years now there was nothing I could do to make someone buy my book. I had no choice but to write and submit, write and submit. Nothing has changed. You do NOT want to put your work out there too soon. You'll regret it if you do.
And once you have sent your book to a few reviewers, bought an ad or two, and blogged a few times, sure you can spend a few minutes on FB, Twitter, and Kindle Boards, but don't make the mistake of being frantic about your promo/marketing...feeling as if your book needs to sell today! If you're lucky enough to have a story that appeals to readers, then you need to be patient and wait for word of mouth to do it's job.
Return of the Rose is just now working it's way up the charts after four months. I hope Finding Kate Huntley and Taming Mad Max have the same success in a few more months. I'm blogging tomorrow and next week and then I plan to RELAX while I write.
Who is going to feel better in two months? The writer who has finished another book or the writer who is still frantically searching for that one magical advertisement/blog/review that will make his/her book sell?
Edit and polish an old book. Start a new book. Just write.
If anyone is having trouble commenting on blogger, you have to hit preview 2 or 3 times and then UNCHECK the tiny box that says "stay signed in" and then yay, your comment should go through!