AN INDIE AUTHOR’S JOURNEY – Page 2 – Story Catcher Publishing

AN INDIE AUTHOR’S JOURNEY: Book Marketing, Phase Two

October 1, 2018October 1, 2018Donna L

I’m delving into the world of indie publishing. Some authors go the quicker route and use a source like CreateSpace or Kindle Direct to immediately get their books out there.
There’s nothing wrong going that route, but I’ve decided to take a different path.

**************

I’ve had a number of accomplishments this past week. Here are a few:

I reached the magical double-digit book reviews on Amazon for LUNADAR: Homeward Bound. This allows me to work on rolling out Phase Two of my book marketing. Many of the low-cost book promotion sites I plan on using require at least ten Amazon reviews before participation is allowed.
My ebook can now be found all over the web in places like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million and Google books, but also on Itsi.com (an educational store), Book Shout, Booktopia, Goodreads, Basic Books, TygPress, and dozens of international online retailers. It’s kind of amusing to see LUNADAR: Homeward Bound listed in so many other languages.
With the official print release set for October 15th, my book is available for pre-order right now through most online retailers.
My LUNADAR Pay It Forward FREE Giveaway for educators and librarians is in full swing with a number of schools around the country already participating, with a chance of their schools winning one of five autographed copies of my book as well as maybe one of my FREE school visits! To learn more, click on the link.
It’s week two of my TWELVE WEEKS OF LUNADAR. Last week’s winner of a set of cool bookmarks is Ariel (aka author R M Archer). She will be receiving her prize sometime next week. This week’s FREEBIE giveaway is a faerie house. To enter the TWELVE WEEKS OF LUNADAR giveaway, just click on the pile of presents to the right of this post.
I have a few author events in the works such as a costume themed book signing at the Book Market in Sevierville, Tn on Saturday, October 27th from 11-4 pm; McKay’s Bookstore on Tuesday, October 30th from 9-11:30; and I’m finalizing a possible book signing at Barnes & Noble in December by partnering with one of my local elementary schools.

Next week I will share my list of 25 free or low-cost book promotion and marketing sites any poor gal should use when trying to get the word out about her latest book…

LUNADAR cover jpg

Ruler by day, a reluctant pirate by night, 18-year-old Princess Ariana fights for her subjects in the waterfall city of Lunadar. In a kingdom surrounded by fairies and mermaids, and ravaged by deadly Drundles, only a chosen few are trusted to guard her daughter, Candra, as the secret heir to the throne.

But it only takes one ill-fated meeting for Ariana to suddenly be plunged into an escalating web of secrets found in her father’s journal, a deadly kidnapping, and an ever-weakening resolve to turn her back on the call of the merman’s song.

With Ariana’s world falling apart and the future of Lunadar at stake, how will she bring her father’s murderer to justice and fulfill a deathbed promise to protect Lunadar’s legacy?

donna

International best selling, award-winning author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books, and the host of WRITERLY WISDOM, a resource series for writers. Donna is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and Children’s Book Insider. She is a lover of dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection. Donna’s latest book, LUNADAR: Homeward Bound (a YA fantasy), ebook edition, is now available from Amazon, with the print edition coming October 15, 2018.

AN INDIE AUTHOR’S JOURNEY: Who Likes FREEBIES?

September 24, 2018September 23, 2018Donna L

free

I’m delving into the world of indie publishing. Some authors go the quicker route and use a source like CreateSpace or Kindle Direct to immediately get their books out there.

There’s nothing wrong going that route, but I’ve decided to take a different path.

****************

With just three weeks before the print release of LUNADAR: Homeward Bound, my FREE giveaways are really ramping up and YOU get all the goodies!

lunadar

I’m currently in the middle of my LUNADAR Pay It Forward giveaway. It’s open to all educators in the continental US serving middle through high school, as well as any school librarian who would like a FREE ebook copy of my young adult fantasy novel in exchange for leaving an honest Amazon review by Friday, November 2nd. Anyone leaving a review by the deadline will be entered into a FREE giveaway for a chance to win one of five autographed copies of my book and maybe even a FREE author visit to their school!

Week One

TODAY also starts my TWELVE WEEKS OF LUNADAR. Based on the Twelve Days of Christmas, each week there will be chances for anyone to win the weekly prize. Just click on the picture of the gifts to the right of this post and choose how you want to enter. The more ways you enter, the more chances to win one of the weekly prizes. By the twelfth week, just before Christmas, ALL entries from the previous weeks will be eligible for the GRAND PRIZE…twelve fantasy novels, including two autographed copies…one from me. and another from an author friend of mine.

book market.png

And for anyone in the area of Tanger Outlet in Sevierville, Tennessee on Saturday, October 27th, 2018, I will be participating in a TEN AUTHOR book signing event from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the Book Market Warehouse. They will be giving away a large basket of goodies, including autographed copies of books from the participating authors. I will also be giving away some swag goodies at my author table and will autograph any purchased copy of LUNADAR: Homeward Bound.

Be sure to enter as many giveaways as you can, and keep checking back for more goody giveaways as the holidays roll in, including a tentative book signing at Barnes & Nobles in December!

donna

An Indie Author’s Journey: Paying It Forward

September 17, 2018Donna L

I’m delving into the world of indie publishing. Some authors go the quicker route and use a source like CreateSpace or Kindle Direct to immediately get their books out there.

There’s nothing wrong going that route, but I’ve decided to take a different path.

****************

As the days count down to the print edition release of LUNADAR: Homeward Bound on Monday, October 15, 2018, I’m up to my eyeballs in marketing. I spend all of my free time trying to think of ways to promote my book. On one of my other posts I talked about mailing out 142 postcards to school libraries, public libraries, as well as chain and indie bookstores. Of the 142 cards sent out, 17 were returned. Fifteen of those business have either moved with no forwarding address or have closed down for good. Two of the returned envelopes were due to errors on my part and can be resent shortly.

Now to the next phase.

I knew when I wrote Lunadar that the reality is I probably won’t make much money (if any) off this book.

I’m okay with that and here’s why.

I have a vision for this new publishing company I’ve created and these first few years will see me spending more money than I will receive in overall revenue. There is a strong mission behind Story Catcher Publishing and this current book is just the beginning.

With that in mind, this weekend I got to thinking about how else can I spread the word about my writing? If you missed it, last week’s post talked about my TWELVE DAYS OF LUNADAR starting next Monday. There will be weekly giveaways and lots of opportunities for everyone to start off the holidays a little early with a chance to win some cool prizes. Here’s the link telling you all about it:

http://storycatcherpublishing.com/2018/09/10/an-indie-authors-journey-the-twelve-weeks-of-lunadar-contest/

The next thing I’m doing is giving away hundreds…if not thousands…of copies of LUNADAR: Homeward Bound to any teacher or school librarian who asks for it.

IT’S THAT EASY!

As part of my LUNADAR Pay It Forward Program, any educator or school librarian who requests it can receive my book for FREE. All I ask is for them to share it with their students and for anyone reading my young adult fantasy novel, to leave a short, but honest review on Amazon when they are done. There will also be prizes.

WHAT? MORE FREEBIES?

Yep! When a teacher or school librarian requests a copy of LUNADAR: Homeward Bound, their school will go into a drawing to win an autographed copy of my novel as well as the possibility of receiving a FREE author visit from me as well!

There will be five winning schools. The deadline to leave a review and enter the drawing is Friday, November 2nd, 2018.

If you have any questions, just leave a comment on this post or send me an email to donasdays (at) gmail (dot) com.

Be sure and tell any of your friends who are educators or school librarians anywhere in the continental US about this chance to receive FREE copies of my young adult fantasy novel as well as their chance to win an autographed copy of LUNADAR: Homeward Bound for their school.

Did I also mention there’s even some group discussion questions at the back of the book for literature classrooms and book clubs?

Can you help a poor gal out so I can pay some writerly love forward?

***********

lunadar

Ruler by day, a reluctant pirate by night, 18-year-old Princess Ariana fights for her subjects in the waterfall city of Lunadar. In a kingdom surrounded by fairies and mermaids, and ravaged by deadly Drundles, only a chosen few are trusted to guard her daughter, Candra, as the secret heir to the throne.

With Ariana’s world falling apart and the future of Lunadar at stake, how will she bring her father’s murderer to justice and fulfill a deathbed promise to protect Lunadar’s legacy?

donna

International best selling, award winning author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books, and the host of WRITERLY WISDOM, a resource series for writers. Donna is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and Children’s Book Insider. She is a lover of dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection. Donna’s latest book, LUNADAR: Homeward Bound (a YA fantasy), ebook edition, is now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, Goodreads, and other online retailers.

AN INDIE AUTHOR’S JOURNEY: Book Marketing Phase Two (Book Reviews)

September 3, 2018September 3, 2018Donna L

I’m delving into the world of indie publishing. Some authors go the quicker route and use a source like CreateSpace or Kindle Direct to immediately get their books out there.

There’s nothing wrong going that route, but I’ve decided to take a different path.

****************

Last week I talked about phase one of my book marketing plan. If you missed it, you can read about it here.

In phase two, I’m focusing on creating a list of potential online book reviewers to add to the other reviewers currently reading my book. While I hope to never receive a negative review, the reality is that not everyone who may read my book will like it. If it is an honest review then I welcome ALL reviews because it legitimizes my work. If I get a negative review and it’s just a spammer, then no matter what I would say or do, the spammer will still have put that negative review out there for the world to see and I give my future readers credit for not being taken in by spambot reviews.

With just a little bit of target research, I came across over 300 book reviewers covering everything from children’s picture books to adult genres. I’ve listed a few below and if you only have a little bit of time, make sure to check out the first two as The Indie Review blog lists 294 book reviewers in all genres and Urban Epics lists tons of young adult fantasy book reviewers that I can pitch LUNADAR: Homeward Bound to.

http://www.theindieview.com/indie-reviewers/

http://urbanepics.com/best-ya-blogs-bookreviewers/

http://www.twochicksonbooks.com/p/review-policy.html

http://darkfaerietales.com/review-policy

http://www.forestofwordsandpages.com/review-policy-2/

http://eaterofbooks.blogspot.com/p/review-policy.html

http://www.thebookrat.com/

http://www.dowiesplace.com/p/review-policy.html

http://www.yabookscentral.com/

http://booksandpals.blogspot.com/

http://www.indiereader.com/indie-book-reviews/

I’m still working on the Twelve Days of Lunadar (based on the Twelve Days of Christmas, but on a poor gal’s budget) contest and hopefully I will be able to reveal all the wonderful details shortly. In the mean time, check out this funny version of the Twelve Days of Christmas to help get you in an early holiday mood.

LUNADAR cover jpg

With Ariana’s world falling apart and the future of Lunadar at stake, how will she bring her father’s murderer to justice and fulfill a deathbed promise to protect Lunadar’s legacy?

AN INDIE AUTHOR’S JOURNEY: Book Marketing, Phase One (Snail Mail)

August 27, 2018September 3, 2018Donna L

LUNADAR snailmail campaign

I’m delving into the world of indie publishing. Some authors go the quicker route and use a source like CreateSpace or Kindle Direct to immediately get their books out there.

There’s nothing wrong going that route, but I’ve decided to take a different path.

*************

Now that the finishing touches on the actual production of LUNADAR: Homeward Bound is finalized, I can turn my attention to the marketing side of things. I know a lot of authors who really dread this part of the publishing business for various reasons. Either its too expensive or it’s too time consuming or the authors just aren’t skilled enough to put together a smart marketing plan.

In various jobs I’ve held over the years, I’ve always managed to dip my toes into the marketing side of things as I looked for ways to help promote whatever business I was working for. I am NOT a marketing expert but I LOVE researching and learning so when I was waiting for the release date of my LUNADAR print edition to be determined, I took the time to give some serious thought to how am I going to promote this new book of mine on a poor gal’s budget?

I have come up with several marketing ideas…some little, some big, some FABULOUS…that I will be trying out over the next 90 days to help get the word out and will then look at my results to see what worked and what bombed.

The first thing I did was create a book trailer and had it uploaded to YouTube:

lunadar book trailer.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVUOuctv3WI

Today I’m going to talk about my SnailMail Campaign.

Yeah, EVERYONE is on the internet and phone with texting, instant messaging, chatting, and posting. But part of me is “old school” and nothing says it better than a hand delivered letter with a postcard, business card, and mini “sell sheet” inside, hand addressed to the receiver.

As a writer, you are supposed to know your audience and for LUNADAR: Homeward Bound, I had many targets to look at :

Teenagers 13-18 years old
Book Clubs who read YA fantasy
Middle Schools
High Schools
Bookstores
Libraries
Video Game Stores
Comic Book Stores
Trading Card Stores
Homeschool Groups

That was a good start. I then started making an actual mailing list of names and addresses covering individuals or businesses in any of these categories within a 50 mile radius of my home. I came up with 142 different locations to send my book info to. They break up into these various groups:

Bookstores 36
Specialty stores 4
Libraries 33
Newspapers 8
Middle Schools 21
High Schools 22
Private Schools 18

If I go with the “six degrees of separation” theory, then just think of all the possible future readers of my book being created by sending these little packages of book love out into the world?

book love

Crossing my fingers while I work on the next phase of marketing, I like to call “The Twelve Weeks of LUNADAR”…based on the theme “The Twelve Days of Christmas”…

**************

lunadar

(Amazon)

With Ariana’s world falling apart and the future of Lunadar at stake, how will she bring her father’s murderer to justice and fulfill a deathbed promise to protect Lunadar’s legacy?

donna

International best selling, award winning author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books, and the host of WRITERLY WISDOM, a resource series for writers. Donna is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and Children’s Book Insider. She is a lover of dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection. Donna’s latest book, LUNADAR: Homeward Bound (a YA fantasy), ebook edition, is now available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, Goodreads, and other online retailers.

AN INDIE AUTHOR’S JOURNEY: Labor Pains

August 20, 2018August 20, 2018Donna L

I’m delving into the world of indie publishing. Some authors go the quicker route and use a source like CreateSpace or Kindle Direct to immediately get their books out there.

There’s nothing wrong going that route, but I’ve decided to take a different path.

***********

If you’ve been following my indie journey so far, you will know about my struggles getting my young adult fantasy novel, LUNADAR: Homeward Bound, set up through IngramSpark.

What you may not realize is that it’s been an almost eight month journey to get this far.

Almost like waiting for a baby, especially since the writing industry calls it a “book birth” when a labor of writerly love is finally delivered.

My publishing company, Story Catcher Publishing, was originally set to release this book back in March, but book cover issues prevented that from happening. It was pushed back to May until my continued struggle with the book cover forced the release date to be pushed back again to the middle of July.

The summer rolled in and I thought my book would be released by my birthday, but new interior file issues forced the release date to be changed a fourth time. Time was running out to create a decent marketing plan, and I began to wonder if becoming an indie author was an impossible dream for me.

When I was pregnant with my son, I had labor pains for almost 60 straight hours. The pain was very real.

Not unlike the pain involved in trying to “birth” a book when constant production problems prevent the birth from actually happening. But I’m happy to report I FINALLY broke through all the production problems and have a firm book “birthdate” of OCTOBER 15, 2018!

Now I can actually plan for the welcoming party…

lunadar

With Ariana’s world falling apart and the future of Lunadar at stake, how will she bring her father’s murderer to justice and fulfill a deathbed promise to protect Lunadar’s legacy?

donna

AN INDIE AUTHOR’S JOURNEY: Who Would Have Thunk It?

August 14, 2018August 14, 2018Donna L

I’m delving into the world of indie publishing. Some authors go the quicker route and use a source like CreateSpace or Kindle Direct to immediately get their books out there.

There’s nothing wrong going that route, but I’ve decided to take a different path.

************

I’ve spent the past six months caught in a huge learning curve when it comes to publishing. As file after file is kicked back from IngramSpark due to different issues, I have been forced to learn the finer points of indie publishing. It’s been challenging and at times frustrating, but I’m proud of myself for not giving up. I finally thought I had everything straightened out as of last week.

My book cover looked good, except for the fact it was a bit darker than I would have liked. I made some corrections to the interior file and sent it off
Friday, thinking easy peasy…a quick approval from IngramSpark and I’d be on my way.

But of course I should have remembered we are talking about MY life and nothing ever comes easy…

Apparently now my interior file is secretly reverting BACK to 8.5 X 11 even when I’m saving it as a 6 X 9 file.

On its own.

Behind the scenes.

Without my knowledge.

So, here I am back as square one trying to figure out how to change my Word document to a PDF file that will convert to a 6 X 9 PDF file and STAY THAT WAY!!

God help me, I’ve had the patience of Job these past six months, but boy, do I need a break! Anyone out there that can help me?

IngramSpark customer service is fabulous (thanks for all your help, Theresa), but they don’t handle this type of issue on a day by day basis so she really couldn’t help me much.

So it’s back to the drawing board.

I’m soooo stressed over this!

Yep, that’s how I feel…lol…

With Ariana’s world falling apart and the future of Lunadar at stake, how will she bring her father’s murderer to justice and fulfill a deathbed promise to protect Lunadar’s legacy?

AN INDIE AUTHOR’S JOURNEY: Eight Vital Areas of Book Marketing

August 6, 2018August 6, 2018Donna L

book marketing.jpg

I’m delving into the world of indie publishing. Some authors go the quicker route and use a source like CreateSpace or Kindle Direct to immediately get their books out there.

There’s nothing wrong going that route, but I’ve decided to take a different path.

************

Now that my book, LUNADAR: Homeward Bound is now out as an ebook on Amazon and other online retailers, I need to focus on finalizing my marketing plan before my print edition releases later this Fall.

Here are some things to consider when a writer wants a plan to promote their latest book:

1. POSTCARD LIST

I am creating a list of 140 bookstores, libraries, schools, etc. locally and a little bit beyond the local to mail out postcards to, along with my business card and a short note inviting people to take a chance on my book.

2. BUSINESS CARDS

There any companies around making business cards. I found these through Vista Print & I will include them with my postcards. I want to be viewed as a professional so I must provide the best quality swag and promo items I can.

3. BOOK PROMOTION WEBSITES

Research uncovered a number of book promotion websites willing to help authors get info about their books in the hands of my target audience of young adult readers. I will select a few and make sure all the pertinent info is loaded for anyone to view.

4. BOOK REVIEWERS

I already have my LUNADAR Street Team in place. I sent them a link to the ebook and the reviews are beginning to come in. There are also a number of online reviewers who can be found through a Google search. These reviewers will help share a little writerly love and honest opinions about my book.

5. BOOK PARTIES

Some people call them book signings, but the word “party” implies the possibilities of fun times and goodwill. I will contact the usual bookstores, but will also try to be a bit more creative and search out venues like speciality gift shops, book clubs, or social groups who might be looking for a guest speaker.

6. CONTESTS & GIVEAWAYS

I will run a contest for anyone joining my street team and leaving a book review on places like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Goodreads. I will also run giveaways in Amazon, Goodreads, and closer to the holidays I’m planning on running a special TWELVE DAYS OF LUNADAR where there will be a lucky winner every day for the first twelve days of December.

7. FESTIVALS & BOOK FAIRS

There are numerous festivals and book fairs running all year long and I will be contacting several of them to see if I can include a booth during the festivities.

8. BLOG TOUR

I’ve reached out to some of my online friends and will do some blog posts and interviews promoting LUNADAR. I was even approached recently by a lovely lady who provides book information to Latin American teachers and she is planning on including my interview in her article coming out within the next two weeks.

These are just some of the things I will be doing to include in my marketing plan for LUNADAR: Homeward Bound. This is in addition to the daily posts on my own blog and the numerous Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn groups I’m a part of.

If all of this is done right, come Christmas time I will have a little time to finally do some relaxing. I can only wish!

***********

only takes one ill-fated meeting for Ariana to suddenly be plunged into an escalating web of secrets found in her father’s journal, a deadly kidnapping, and an ever-weakening resolve to turn her back on the call of the merman’s song.

With Ariana’s world falling apart and the future of Lunadar at stake, how will she bring her father’s murderer to justice and fulfill a deathbed promise to protect Lunadar’s legacy?

AN INDIE AUTHOR’S JOURNEY: How To Eat An Elephant

July 30, 2018July 30, 2018Donna L

I’m delving into the world of indie publishing. Some authors go the quicker route and use a source like CreateSpace or Kindle Direct to immediately get their books out there.

There’s nothing wrong going that route, but I’ve decided to take a different path.

***************

So, the old time joke goes like this…

HOW DO YOU EAT AN ELEPHANT?

And the punch line?

ONE BITE AT A TIME!

That’s how I feel about the next step in my publishing journey. I think I have the printing issues solved (I’ll know this week) so now I can move on to the next phase.

Marketing.

For some authors…and publishers…there is nothing more terrifying than trying to promote one’s book after all the blood, sweat, and tears a writer puts into the story itself. And it can seem overwhelming what direction to start.

I’ve chosen to look into potential book awards to see if LUNADAR: Homeward Bound qualifies for any of them. There are tons of sites out there but I’ve only listed a few below. Maybe I’ll get lucky and be able to announce later of yet another accomplishment to add to this author’s writerly resume…

Authors Talk About It Book Contest
http://authorstalkaboutit.com/book-award-contest/

BookLife Prize in Fiction
http://booklife.com/about-us/the-booklife-prize-in-fiction.html

CIPA EVVY Awards
http://cipabooks.com/cipa-evvy-awards/

eLit Book Awards
http://www.elitawards.com/

EPIC eBook Competition
http://epicorg.org/competitions/epic-s-ebook-competition.html

Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Awards
http://www.forewordreviews.com/services/book-awards/botya/

Global eBook Awards
http://globalebookawards.com/

Independent Press Award
http://www.independentpressaward.com

IndieReader Discovery Awards
http://indiereader.com/enter-discovery-awards/

International Beverly Hills Book Awards
http://www.beverlyhillsbookawards.com/

International Book Awards
http://www.internationalbookawards.com/home.html

International Excellence Body, Mind, Spirit Book Awards
http://www.bmsbookawards.com/index.html

IPPY Awards
http://www.independentpublisher.com/ipland/ipawards.php

Kindle Book Awards
http://www.thekindlebookreview.net/2016-kindle-book-awards/

Midwest Book Awards
http://www.mipa.org/

National Indie Excellence Book Awards
http://www.indieexcellence.com/

Nautilus Book Awards
http://www.nautilusbookawards.com/

Next Generation Indie Book Awards
http://www.indiebookawards.com/

Publishing Innovation Awards
http://www.publishinginnovationawards.com/

Reader Views Literary Awards
http://readerviews.com/literaryawards/

Readers Favorite Contest
http://readersfavorite.com/annual-book-award-contest.htm

SELF-e
http://library-journal.biblioboard.com/?promotionId=a88e92ef-35ac-496f-9d9c-396d8c734d93

The Ben Franklin Awards
http://ibpabenjaminfranklinawards.com/

The Eric Hoffer Award
http://www.hofferaward.com/

The Firecracker Awards
http://www.clmp.org/readers/programs/firecracker/

The International Rubery Book Award
http://www.ruberybookaward.com/index.html

The Living Now Book Awards
http://www.livingnowawards.com/index.php

The Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards
http://www.moonbeamawards.com/

Shelf Unbound Writing Competition for Best Self-Published Book
http://www.shelfmediagroup.com/pages/competition.html

USA “Best Books” Awards
http://www.usabooknews.com/2017bestbookawards.html

The WISHING SHELF Independent Book Awards [UK]
http://www.thewsa.co.uk/

With Ariana’s world falling apart and the future of Lunadar at stake, how will she bring her father’s murderer to justice and fulfill a deathbed promise to protect Lunadar’s legacy?

International best selling, award winning author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books, and the host of WRITERLY WISDOM, a resource series for writers. Donna is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and Children’s Book Insider. She is a lover of dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection. Donna’s latest book, LUNADAR: Homeward Bound (a YA fantasy) from Story Catcher Publishing ebook edition is now available at Amazon and other online retailers, with the print edition coming out late fall 2018.

An Indie Author’s Journey: Book Trailer Time

July 24, 2018Donna L

I’m delving into the world of indie publishing. Some authors go the quicker route and use a source like CreateSpace or Kindle Direct to immediately get their books out there.

There’s nothing wrong going that route, but I’ve decided to take a different path.

***********

I have been sitting on this video for months…waiting for the time when I could share this gorgeous book trailer for LUNADAR: Homeward Bound with the world.

I’m quite pleased with the finished product, but it was a constant battle to try to upload to YouTube. I never could do it and began to wonder if every step of this publishing process was going to be fraught with overwhelming struggles.

Then I realized I was looking at things wrong.

It takes a village to birth a book and I was trying to do it all by myself, so FATE decided to put a few obstacles in my way to help me appreciate all the effort and teamwork that goes into the artful making of a book.

Finally, with the help of an old Taekwondo student (thank you bunches Malik!) this lovely book trailer is now uploaded for the whole world to enjoy.

So….

What do you think? Do you like it? Will you help me get the word out and share this video with your friends?

LUNADAR cover jpg

With Ariana’s world falling apart and the future of Lunadar at stake, how will she bring her father’s murderer to justice and fulfill a deathbed promise to protect Lunadar’s legacy?

donna

International best selling, award winning author, Donna L Martin, has been writing since she was eight years old. She is a 4th Degree Black Belt in TaeKwonDo by day and a ‘ninja’ writer of children’s picture books, chapter books, young adult novels and inspirational essays by night. Donna is a BOOK NOOK REVIEWS host providing the latest book reviews on all genres of children’s books, and the host of WRITERLY WISDOM, a resource series for writers. Donna is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators and Children’s Book Insider. She is a lover of dark chocolate, going to the beach and adding to her growing book collection. Donna’s latest book, LUNADAR: Homeward Bound (a YA fantasy) from Story Catcher Publishing ebook edition is now available at Amazon and other online retailers, with the print edition coming out late fall 2018.