Self-Publishing

by Susannah J. Bell
6th October 2014

Has anyone had any success self-publishing? (Not including porn.) I've published three novels and eight novelettes and haven't sold a bean.

Replies

Lorraine's right - promotion is the key...and the really hard part.

My stuff's fairly niche market (Napoleonic cavalry) so apart from the website and blog I joined, and got involved on, a number of vaguely related forums. You can't overtly advertise on most of these - they're not for that - but you can often include a link in your signature and once people get to know you they often ask.

You can often get a new book mentioned n local press if you have an appropriate 'angle', and if you join Goodreads for example, they have 'author' memberships. The problem with all these things is they eat into writing time, but it's something you have to live with. You'll soon find out which are worthwhile and which not.

Oh, and read Steven A McKay's posts in the blog here. He's sold 10,000 copies of his first book 'Wolf's Head' on Kindle by trying out different strategies and working at them. He's on Facebook - ask him a question. He's a decent bloke and very helpful.

Best of luck :)

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Jonathan
Hopkins
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Jonathan Hopkins
06/10/2014

Try this link for advice: http://eliseabram.com/5-sites-to-promote-your-book-on-a-shoestring-budget/

I'm assuming they are valid for both the UK and the US.

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Charlie
Aylett
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Charlie Aylett
06/10/2014

I just had a look on Amazon and you have a five star review for the first of the Fleet trilogy. The 'Look Inside' part that I read was good (though I'm no Sci-Fi expert). A planet called Nigel? Your reviewer wasn't sure about that. A man who moves suddenly in slow motion seems contradictory, but apart from that, it's a good beginning with a complex set of characters. Don't give up hope!

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Lorraine
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Lorraine Swoboda
06/10/2014