My Goodreads giveaway has ended. 1,588 people entered, not too shabby. Thanks so much to all who entered, and congrats to the three winners.
My giveaway went so well that I think I’ll have another one starting again in the next week or two.
I now have 29 followers here on Goodreads. Doesn’t sound like a lot, but those 29 followers make me happy.
And for a limited time, the pre-order for the e-book version of A Fabrication of the Truth is on sale for $0.99. Get it now if you want to save a couple of bucks. http://goo.gl/QK4h6u
Depending on how my final proof looks, the paperback version will be up for sale before the e-book. I want to get my book out into the world!
I’m really considering writing a novella to go with A Fabrication of the Truth. A follow up of sorts, and if I do, it’s going to be from Dalton’s POV.
And if anybody wants to support my Thunderclap campaign here’s the link: http://goo.gl/JYWV3Z
It’s cover reveal day, you guys! And I want to thank Xpresso Book Tours and all the fine book bloggers and folks who are participating in the cover reveal. I was so happy when I found out how many people signed up. You’re all the best!
I’ve been so excited for this, couldn’t wait until the world saw my book. And it’s not just the front of the cover I’m excited about; it’s also about the back because I think the back cover of my book is super cute, so without further ado here is the cover of A Fabrication of the Truth by me, Katie Kaleski.
The front!
and the back!
So yes! There it is, my friends. Pre-order A Fabrication of the Truth now on Amazon, or wait until Sept. 20th. It will be available in e-book and print formats
Yes, when you upload your book there’s an about the author section, but there’s a whole separate site for the author called Author Central. It uses you Amazon password and login. There you can add more bio info, alter the description (like make words bold and stuff), and add your books. So then, when someone clicks on your name on your book’s Amazon page, it will pull up your author page, and they’ll see all the other books you’ve written and then maybe buy a copy of every single one of them.
Let people know you wrote a book!
Seriously, you can’t be all shy about it and go, “Well, I’ll just upload it and see what happens.” More likely than not, nothing will happen. People need to know it’s there. And announce it beforehand. Don’t be all, “Hey, my book is for sale,” the day you upload it. And I know this from experience. I did that once under my actual name years ago, and guess what? Nobody bought my book. You need to own the fact that you are a writer, and you write books for others to read. Shout it out to the world.
Run a Goodreads giveaway.
I have no experience in this yet; mine starts on Aug. 22nd , but it makes sense. Sure you might only get a review or two out of it if any, but it raises awareness of your book. Most people who enter a giveaway don’t uncheck the Add to the To-Be-Read shelf box. So before your giveaway, your book might only be on a few shelves. Only like 16 or 17 people have added my book A Fabrication of the Truth to their TBR shelves on Goodreads, but hopefully, after the giveaway, it’ll be on hundreds of shelves. So if 652 people enter your giveaway, just think of all those virtual Goodreads bookshelves your book could end up on and all those extra eyeballs to see it.
There’s my few tips and helpful advice for the day.
A big thing I’ve learned so far self-publishing (well, working my way toward it) is that lots of planning goes into it. Even as you’re writing the book, you still have to plan. You have to plan your next book; you have to plan for editing, release dates, and bunches of other things. I’ve read plenty of articles where people argue for traditional publishing for this reason. They say it takes up so much time, time that could be used writing. You know what? It’s called time management. And you also know what? I don’t spend every minute of my day writing. I just don’t. Nor do I spend all day planning stuff, but some things you do have to plan for:
Your next book
You want that thing almost ready to go as soon as the first one releases. You can’t wait too long to release your next book because you want to stay fresh in people’s minds.
Editing
Lots of editors fill up months in advance. If you want your book to release on time, make sure you have your editing lined up. And once it’s edited still make sure you have some time to read through it again and get yourself a printed proof copy (if you’re planning for print).
Cover Release/Blog Tour/Book Blitz
Many of the blog tour sites also fill up in advance. I waited a bit too long to schedule my blog tour, so it’s taking place 20 days after my release, but that’s okay because you still have to keep word out about your book even after the initial release.
Advertising
Same thing. Depending on where you plan to advertise, make sure you book it in advance. I booked my banner for a popular YA site a couple of months in advance, and some of the other ad locations on the site were already sold out until the beginning of next year.
The Cover
I almost forgot the cover! I make all my own covers, so mine are done well in advance, but still, I go back like five hundred times and make small changes. But plan for an awesome cover and time if you need any revisions to it. Don’t settle on some cheap looking thing. If you don’t have the skills, seek someone out, and make sure that someone you seek has the skills. Also remember, if you’re doing a cover reveal or blog tour or anything, your cover needs to be done in advance.
I think I covered a good chunk of all the things you have to plan when you’re self-publishing. Even if you’re publishing traditionally you still have to plan some things too (marketing, your next book), so it’s not just us indie folk.
