I finished my final edit last night. I have spent the past two weeks painstakingly going through all 36 chapters, changing the font and fixing (hopefully) all the errors. One of the chief complaints (and deservedly so) about self-published books is the number of typos and grammatical errors in them. Hiring an editor can easily cost around $1000, which a lot of money for a first time author to invest in something that may fly or may tank. I was extremely lucky to have several friends who are teachers and who are trained to look for copy errors. I was also blessed with a volunteer beta reader who has a passion for helping self-published authors create the best story possible.
Today I shift gears. I stop creating and start marketing. I have found 47 blogs that review NA (New Adult) books like mine. As far as I am concerned, they all need to know about mine, and hopefully review it. I've also created some flyers to post locally and I've created a FB page. Starting today I'm trolling for people to like my new FB page. If you search Burnouts, Geeks and Jesus Freaks: a love story on Facebook, you will find my new page. PLEASE LIKE IT! This is where I will be directing anyone interested in finding out more about the book. I will be posting things like photos that tie into the story, updates on getting it to market and sales (fingers crossed), when it will be available free for a few days, glowing reviews, and some excerpts (the first of which I will post next week.)
Right now I am planning to continue to blog here as well as promote my book. The two will cross sometimes, especially now as I am preparing to publish, but I will still post on other subjects, like TFS Wednesdays, jumping out an airplane next month, getting my first tattoo.
I questioned writing about my book again today. I feel like I am starting to sound like some sort of crazy Mary Kay sales woman, turning every conversation into a sales pitch. But, I reasoned, it is my blog, my way to communicate with others who are interested in my words of wisdom(?) and my trials and errors. I also reasoned that I am doing something different, something others might be interested in trying themselves. I'm truly glad each and every one of you is here. If you want to come along with me, I am more than happy to have you along for the ride.
Labels: editing, facebook