Saturday, July 11, 2009

Becoming A Known Author-It's A Fulltime Job

My book, 101 Author Tips: Creating A Successful Book Campaign, launched about a month ago and I've spent almost every free moment I have promoting and publicizing it. Where am I and what do I have to report?

First, the local press has been receptive and it's building, slowly. I haven't begun to get national publicity, yet.
Second, promotion through Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn is coming along, but still much more to achieve. It takes time to build relationships and trust.
Third, pitching myself as a speaker is proving fruitful and I feel this part of the book campaign will continue to gain momentum.
Fourth, book sales, getting book stores and libraries to consider carrying my book is labor-intensive, but again, it's happening.
Overall, things are good and it's all just going to take a lot more time than I could imagine. Part of the reason, my full-time job is so demanding that by the time I come home I'm beat and I'm lucky to muster enough mind power for an hour or two on the computer and then call it a day. I spend about 20 hours on the weekend doing as much as I can to spread the word.
So, my plan, continue to build my platform, post comments on social media outlets, pitch speaking gigs, build my relationships and so much more.
I have such great respect for anyone who goes through this process and doesn't quit. I think about my life pre-book release; it was simpler, quieter, but heck I've had that life for more years than I care to remember. It's time to be strong and go for it!