[anjal]

Hello! My name is Anjalique, I am going to (Self) publish my first children's book next month. This book is going to be a first in a 12 book series that I have planned. So, I have the outlines for the entire series penned down however as I move forward towards publishing my first book, I am getting a bit overwhelmed by all the stuff that I need to do to market and promote this first book. I have been reading blogs, articles etc by authors who have gained some experience in self publishing and it appears that twitter, facebook and a website / blog are the most efficient and effective ways to establish author credentials. So, I have set up my facebook page, an instagram account and working on the website / blog but I wanted to ask if anyone has gained marketing and promoting success through any other (out of the box) means?

I was just reading a post where an author suggested that he published his first book and then completely focused on writing the next book in the series. I am just worried that I am focusing so much on marketing and promoting and not so much on starting work on the next book. I know there has to be a balance - write, market, write, market but self publishing is an industry in itself and I would like to be able to try and get things right from the start.

Please do comment, guide and share your experiences!!

 

[Carol Davis]

Hi Anjalique!  Congratulations on finishing your first book -- that's a terrific feeling, for sure!

I agree with the advice to focus on writing the second book, and the third.  The point of marketing isn't so much to sell that one product, but to create a loyal customer who will come back again and again.  Say they buy your first book and just love it to death.  What else can they buy?  If they can't immediately snap up the second book, the third, the fourth -- they're likely to forget about you completely and move on to another author.

As far as setting up social media platforms -- I've got a website, Facebook pages (personal and author), and a Twitter account.  I can't say that any of them do much to attract readers.  What worked the best for me was simply to publish a story and put it out there, and move on to the next thing.

Good luck with your series!

 

[Chris Fox]

Congratulations on making it this far! I felt the same overwhelming pressure when I released my first one. There are so many things to know, and it feels like you'll never be able to pick it all up. It helped me to keep these two things in mind:

1- Mistakes are okay
2- This is my first launch and every launch will be better based on what I learn here.

Just get your book out there and learn things as time permits =)

 

[anjal]

Congratulations on making it this far! I felt the same overwhelming pressure when I released my first one. There are so many things to know, and it feels like you'll never be able to pick it all up. It helped me to keep these two things in mind:

1- Mistakes are okay
2- This is my first launch and every launch will be better based on what I learn here.

Just get your book out there and learn things as time permits =)

Hi Chris!

Thank you so much for your advice. It is overwhelming, there is just so much information out there on self publishing and there is no right or wrong way. You just have to find what works for you. I know I will stumble and learn a lot of things along the way. I guess, self publishing really is an adventure!

 

[anjal]

Hi Anjalique! Congratulations on finishing your first book -- that's a terrific feeling, for sure!

I agree with the advice to focus on writing the second book, and the third. The point of marketing isn't so much to sell that one product, but to create a loyal customer who will come back again and again. Say they buy your first book and just love it to death. What else can they buy? If they can't immediately snap up the second book, the third, the fourth -- they're likely to forget about you completely and move on to another author.

As far as setting up social media platforms -- I've got a website, Facebook pages (personal and author), and a Twitter account. I can't say that any of them do much to attract readers. What worked the best for me was simply to publish a story and put it out there, and move on to the next thing.

Good luck with your series!

Hi Carol,

Thank you so much for your advice. I am going to follow your guidance and focus on the next story. You know, come to think about it, if I was a reader, I would only visit an author's website / blog, facebook, twitter, instagram etc if I was hooked on his /her book! I am not populating my website too much at the moment rather sticking with Instagram and facebook. As I mentioned to Chris, there are so many ways you can market or promote your book, just have to find what works for you! Once again, thank you for taking the time to reply