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

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.

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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:

LUNADAR postcard

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.

 

SCP business card front

 

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!

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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.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?

 

Author Profile Pic

 

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.

 

CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL OF READING

 

 

Children's Festival

 

Every year, right before school lets out and summer begins, my city celebrates the written word in a big, big way.

The Children’s Festival of Reading has been going on for more than fifteen years and every year 12,000 or more people crowd into World’s Fair Park to laugh, dance, sing, and weave their way through a number of booths honoring books of all genres.

 

tents

 

I arrived at Word’s Fair Park at around 8:30 to find my tent and start setting up. STORY CATCHER PUBLISHING and TAEKWONDO YOUTH ALLIANCE had teamed up to give away free self defense lessons and a bevy of books!

 

student

 

A number of my Taekwondo students had signed up to help at my booth today. This is one of my black belts doing a little “community service” work. If you look closely at the tablecloth, you will discover my little yard sale treasure when I came across someone selling a bolt of “book” designed cloth that was a perfect fit for my display table! My sister doesn’t like being photographed so don’t tell her I snuck this picture in when she wasn’t looking…;~)

 

booths two

 

It threatened to rain all day but never did, so many people braved the potential thunderstorms to come out and have a little fun.

 

panel

names

 

They even had a panel of authors from around the country speaking about their work and the art of writing well enough to become published.

As always, I LOVED all the excitement of this festival and I got a chance to share my two passions…writing and taekwondo…with the many children who stopped by my booth. Now, it’s time to recover from my day in the sun and get ready for my next adventure into the indie world of publishing.

Be sure to check back next week when I talk about the next step in setting up STORY CATCHER PUBLISHING and counting down the days until the ebook release of LUNADAR: Homeward Bound!

 

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, My Journey, My Journal, is scheduled to be released by Expert Insights Publishing in the Fall 2018.