So if you’ve been following my posts, you already know that book 2 of the Legends of the Pale Series is in the hands of my editor. Yes, she is a friend, but more importantly, she’s been an editor for over thirty years and knows her stuff. She also hates to see me post anything without her giving it a passing glance. And though I trust her completely, there is no way she can pre-check every blog post or Medium story I put out there.
With that said, she hasn’t seen this.
Anyway…
Book 2’s cover has also been designed. New covers always make me happy! If you’ve missed it, here it is again.
Knowing that it takes April eight weeks to edit a full-length book, I can begin to look at a release date. For now, I’ve chosen November 1st. That should give me time to generate some hype, line up reviewers, and book a few signings. And of course, make a kick-ass poster! Which I did yesterday.
Ta-da! I’ve been wanting to use these claw marks ever since I saw them.
And since The Fate of Wolves is getting its own poster, I worked up a poster for The Love of Gods based on the Facebook Group posts I’d been doing over the last several months.
Okay, so what’s the point of this post? Well, I guess I’m feeling a lot more comfortable with the marketing aspect of self-publishing.
For those who don’t know my backstory, there was nearly a seven-year gap between the release of Surrendered Darkly and the final Darkly book. So much had changed and I discovered that I had to play catch up.
Indie authors as a whole had raised the bar. Most of the self-published books on the market were now as professionally produced as any traditionally published one. There were new publishing services available and promotional sites. Simply uploading your book to Amazon wouldn’t guarantee you sales anymore. There were advertising, web presence, and review services to consider.
But unlike when I released The Love of Gods and Resurrected Darkly, I am definitely more prepared this time. I’ve discovered review services I can trust and that are a good value for my limited dollars; Readers’ Favorites, Literary Titan, and Dog-Eared Reviews. I have a working list of Facebook Groups on which I can promote. You can find a sample of them on my marketing page. And, I’ve got Whizbuzz Books to help generate excitement.
There’s my twitter feed, a Facebook page just for the books, and I’m now writing on Medium so I can share a different side of me. Also, my website is awesome!
Take that Social Media! I have a presence again. Whoot-Woot!
Lastly, The Fate of Wolves is just a gosh-darn good book in a new series that I love and I’m truly excited to be able to offer it to readers.
Look for it November 1st!