As you know, I will be MIA for the next month or so. But have no fear, dear reader, I have brought in a wonderful collection of awesome authors to fill in the gaps. They'll be sharing their wisdom and expertise on a wide variety of writing and publishing-related topics. So, sit back, relax, and make sure to take notes... There will be a test when I get back.
Today's guest post is by Best Selling author Gabrielle Bisset
Bio: By day, Gabrielle Bisset is a history faculty member at a campus of a major university, but by night and weekends, she writes erotic romance. She recently published her first novella, Vampire Dreams, and her first novel, Stolen Destiny, is out from Siren Publishing. Her second novella, Love’s Master, and her third novella, Masquerade, are also due out this summer. Readers can find out more about her writing at her blog at http://gbisset.blogspot.com/ and at her website at http://www.gabriellebisset.com/
Thank you, Katie, for having me here today to talk about the wonderful world of indie publishing. That’s not meant to sound facetious, either. My experience with indie publishing has been overwhelmingly positive. That doesn’t mean, however, that there haven’t been some huge things to learn along the way.
I think the biggest thing I’ve learned is promotion is so very important. I’ve had so many people ask me if promotion would have been as important if I went the traditional publishing route. I answer them with the answer I’ve read a hundred times over in the past few months since I decided to indie publish: only if I wanted to sell my book. There is some collective delusion among people that the publishing world is still like it was many years ago when publishers handled authors and developed their talents. Those days are long gone. Handling authors and developing talent takes money. These days, authors are often left on their own for promotion, unless they’re the big dogs.
And I can say with certainty that it isn’t any different for e-publisher authors either. My first novel, Stolen Destiny, was published by Siren Publishing, and while they did provide me with an advertising banner I can use anywhere online if I link back to the book’s buy page, there was little else so far in the way of promotional help. Any promo for that book has been done by me, exactly as the promo for my indie published novella, Vampire Dreams, and exactly as the promo will be for the next two novellas in the erotic novella trilogy, Love’s Master and Masquerade.
I admit it takes a lot of time arranging guest blogging dates on other author’s blogs and on review blogs, in addition to having people agree to review the book. I chose to go with a book tour business, Bewitching Book Tours, and the experience was a good one. But it’s not like you pay someone and then the tour happens. Guest posts, interviews, character interviews all have to be written and shined within an inch of their lives, just as any of my writing must. It takes a lot of time, and I haven’t been able to write as much lately.
In the end, promotion is key to an indie writer’s success. I’m by my nature a very introverted person, but to get my book out there, I’ve had to shed my shy girl act and put on my big girl fearless pants. Has it paid off? So far, I’d say yes. I’m selling more and more books each day, and people are getting to know my name and my writing. And it hasn’t cost a lot of money either. It has taken time, but building a base for anything takes time. And it’s the base, the foundation, of any effort that sustains everything else built on top.
Happy writing!