Two Weeks And Counting

When I started my journey toward publication several years ago, I already knew my sales background  had groomed me for becoming a published writer. After all, when you're out on the streets all day, every day, attempting to convince people to buy an advertisement in your magazine, newspaper, phone book, whatever, you expect rejection. In fact, nine out of ten of my calls ended up with me walking away empty-handed. A good sales person has to shrug off the rejection, go back out into the jungle again, and try a different tactic to make that sale.

The same holds true for an author. Rejection upon rejection is a way of life for us. Even the biggies, like Nora Roberts and J. K. Rowling, were initially rejected. Christie Craig carries her rejection letters with her, to make a point not to ever give up. Eventually, if you hone your craft, keep putting your work out there, and get lucky, some wise person is going to give you a chance. Then, it's up to you to make yourself a success.

Yes, that's the harsh reality of the publishing world today. Some of the larger houses still have active PR departments who take fledgling authors under their wings and figure out a marketing plan. But those are the exceptions, not the rule, anymore. Regardless of whether you're traditionally published, small press published, or self-published, it's up to you, the author, to build your following. You do that by finding review sites to read your book, by being a guest on blogs that people who read your kind of book are looking at, by trying new things. Right now, I'm trying to get as many people as possible to sign onto my Thunderclap campaign. This is something new for me, and unless I get 100 people to agree to have my tweet appear on their sites, it won't run and I won't be able to judge whether it's worth doing again. So, please if you haven't already signed up, click on the right side of the page. Let's see if this thing works.

I'm also busy writing guest blogs for my September 1 release. I have a few more ideas up my sleeve to try, and I'll post my schedule on this page as I get the information. The Duplicitous Debutante was so much fun to write, since I got to write a dime novel along with my book. It was so over-the-top, and who hasn't yearned at some point in their career, to write a potboiler?

Anyway, it's only two weeks until release day for the latest book in my Cotillion Ball Series. In addition to the dime novel, there's a genealogical chart of the Fitzpatrick family, so you can keep up with all those babies being born! The book is available for pre-orders now. Click on the cover and you'll be redirected to the Amazon page where you can order your kindle copy.