The most important thing I did this year, book-wise, was to publish “Secrets in the Fairy Chimneys”. And the most important lesson I learned was that you can’t fool around when it comes to editing. One of the low marks self-published books receive is for the quality of the editing.
There is an industry standard. The Chicago Manual of Style is what book editors use. Your friend who worked as a magazine editor, or your English teacher buddy probably won’t produce the clean results you want. You need someone working in the industry NOW. I used the editor provided by my publishing house . The proof is in the pudding.
My next goal was to showcase that I had a new book. Although I have arranged a live book launch at the most prestigious Indy Book Store on Long Island, I know the larger audience is on the Internet through Social Media. I had a well established page for my books on FACEBOOK. Don’t use your personal page. Then I set up a TWITTER account. Whenever I post an item on facebook or write a press release, I tweet it. Twitter is very easy, and a wealth of sources. For example, I wanted to find Indy book stores. I did a search, and came up with a number of establishments. When you click on their twitter address, a profile comes up and you can look at their website, and contact them directly using more than 140 characters.
Tweets reach out to a community, so you need to offer something as well as requesting that someone read your wonderful book. Since I offer lesson plans and book discussion questions on my website, and do programs for kids and adults, this makes a useful tool for TWEETS. I also offer my TV show, The Writer’s Dream, to authors. Make sure you can offer something to the community you follow. Some folks offer a quote of the day.
New Annie Tillery Mystery
Take the magic carpet ride of your imagination to Turkey. Join Annie and Ty in the caves of mysterious Cappadocia for another thrilling adventure.
I decided that I would surf the Internet for free and cheap stuff. LinkedIn offers a number of “groups” where you can talk about your books. Since my book is now published, I finally have time to look into those organizations I joined like IBPA. There are a number of useful services offered to members including getting your books on lists librarians use to search for books. Review services are another route to follow.