Ready For Launch

Anyone who has a book for sale knows that getting the book published is only the first step in a very long, winding, ever-changing and sometimes costly, road. Marketing of your book is something you don't really think about when you're writing it and trying to find a publisher. But it's a vital part of any author's duties, regardless of whether you're an independent publisher, with a small press, or with one of the big boys.

My eighth historical in my series comes out on September 7. By now, I've learned a few things about what works and what doesn't. One of the things I'm cutting back on is the guest blogs. They all take time to write and post, and it's time that could be better spent. I'll appear on a handful, but I will no longer appear on three a day during release week, as I've done in the past. It's hard to tell what works and what doesn't in the best of circumstances, but if you start muddying the waters with multiple blog posts, you'll never know where those sales are coming from.

In addition to blog sites, there are review sites. I've got my favorites, those who have reviewed me in the past and were complimentary, so I go back to them each time. But review sites are a constantly evolving business, so I always try to find one or two new ones to solicit.

My checklist is pretty well in order for the upcoming release. My guest posts are written, my Advance Review Copies (ARCs) are out there now, being devoured (hopefully) by my reviewers, my website is being updated, I've started putting out announcements on Facebook about A Widow's Salvation now being available for pre-orders. I'm still contemplating doing some advertising specific to readers of historical fiction, so there's work yet to do. But especially when money is involved, I prefer to take my time.

In between doing all this, I can start to obsess over my numbers on Amazon. And work on Book 9, The Forgotten Debutante. A writer's work is never done, regardless of where you're at in the journey or how high you are in the charts.

So I'll keep my nose to the grindstone and see what happens this go-round. Happy Release Day!

Complicating Things

Now that I've been at this blogging thing for a couple years, I thought it was time to introduce some new things into my life. It's taken me that long to get used to the mechanics of posting, scheduling, properly tagging, guest spots, etc, and I think I've gotten the basics down now. Time to up my game.

If you'll notice the column on the right now has a gadget for collecting followers. There's one follower so far. I've had the "Follow By E-mail" gadget for awhile, and I know many of you are signed up that way. But, unfortunately, my blogger account doesn't want to show me those figures, so I truly don't know how many followers I have. I can see the number of daily visitors and am pleased by those numbers, but I need more than one follower. Please, if you aren't already, click to follow me. Thank you.

Guest blogging is something I like to do. Give me a topic and I'm off. But some of the blogs I'd like to be on make posting so difficult for someone like me, who still needs help navigating my way through my own blog, that I've had to drop out. I'm not going to point any fingers, but I can say I'm disappointed, and think there's got to be an easier way. Life, and technology, is getting more complicated by the day.

One of my good friends, and a fellow author, has decided to navigate the self-publishing waters for her debut novel. I've been watching from the sidelines as she sorts through possible editors, cover artists, formatters, and the myriad of other details that go into the production side of publishing a book. I'm not saying I'll never follow in her footsteps, but right now, I know when to cry "Uncle!" I'd rather stick with what I'm comfortable with, and what I think are the most pressing issues for me at this stage in my career--building a backlist and developing a following. 

One thing that hasn't changed since the era of Jane Austen is the basic one--write a good book and promote the hell out of it for the next few years. Book Five in my Cotillion Ball Series will be out March 3, and I'm working away on Book Six--Rosemary's story. I've still got a ways to go on that one, as editing for those books about to release has taken precedence. Deadlines and guest posts have gotten in the way of what must remain my primary goal--writing a good book. Yes, a captivating cover and a good blurb may get you noticed, but if you don't have a good book once people turn the page, you won't get anyone coming back to buy your second book. Or your seventh.

Write On!

The Times, They Are A'Changin'

Bob Dylan didn't have the publishing industry in mind when he wrote that song in 1964, but he could have. In the past five years, the publishing industry has been set on its ear. The entire manner in

which one can publish has evolved in a giant leap and we authors have an abundance of opportunity available. No longer does the Big Six rule from their lofty, impenetrable glass towers. But all this flexibility comes at a price. Authors are now responsible, more than ever, for their own promotion, including blog sites such as this one.

Over the past few years, I have visited more blog sites than I ever knew were out there, causing a serious learning curve about what I wanted my blog to be about. I have given thought to my brand, and what I want people to expect when they come to my site for a visit. At a recent talk on blogging, my message was very simple: be consistent, both with content and with the scheduling of your new posts. People who have read my books will hopefully know that I have a healthy respect for history, that I love sassy contemporaries, and that I try to tie all my plot lines together with a dash of humor. I want my blog to continue to convey that branding message.

I feel the message has been getting muddied of late, so I've instituted some changes. While I still want to feature my fellow authors, I need to limit the amount of time they get and who they are. So, I'm cutting back to only one or two very special guests each month. The rest of the time will be just me, sitting down for a chat with just you. I'm setting up my own blog tours, and my appearances for each book will now appear in a block on the right hand side of this blog. I'll try to provide links to the various sites where I'll have a post, but I usually don't get that information until the day of the post.

Since I was reminded yesterday that I blog a lot about Mary, my puppy-mill rescue dog, I want to share her latest doings. I took her to my sister's on Friday to spend the night and the next day, since I wasn't going to be home much on Saturday. She loves her cousin Harry and, according to my sister, the two of them acted like teenagers at a slumber party. They had pizza delivered at 930, they took every toy out of the toy basket and threw them all over the house, they ran up and down the hallway, barking and growling at each other until 330 in the morning, when they finally fell asleep. And didn't wake up until 11am!

And finally, I'm pleased to announce that, for the entire month of February, all Crimson books published in 2012 and 2013 will be available for $1.99 each. Crimson's Valentine gift to their fans. Go snag some copies. Visit Crimson's site at www.crimsonromance.com to view all the titles available, and head over to my Amazon page at http://www.amazon.com/Becky-Lower/e/B008DTC15C/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_ to load up on any of my books that you've missed. Happy reading in 2014!