As an independent writer and publisher one of the most difficult challenges I’m faced with is how to get the word out about my books. Like most writers, I would prefer to write the books and hand off everything else to someone else. I could lament the reasons why this doesn’t work, but since you’re a science fiction reader, you’re already smarter than the average bear and already have a pretty decent idea why that is. Perhaps the most difficult of the additional duties brought on by independence is getting the word out about my books. This weekend I took three giant swings at getting that word out, and I’m happy to share some of the success.
The best promotion an independent author can do for their books is simple; write another book. As succcessful independent authors and they’ll tell you this is the number 1, most important thing you can do. So I did that. I released Parley (Privateer Tales Book 3) on Friday. It’s exciting to see people’s reaction to this new book and it definitely fires me up to write the next one (which I am).
The second swing I took was something of a boondoggle. That is, it was a chance to take a trip, stay at a nice hotel with my wife, and visit with my sister and her husband. This all came about because a family friend, Susan, owns a book store in Boone, Iowa named The Book Shoppe. Susan and Diane (sister), also a successful, independent writer, talked about doing a book signing for Boone’s Pufferbilly days. We agreed and this all took place last Saturday (Sept 6). It was a beautiful day and we had a great time.
The third swing I took was to temporarily change the price of Rookie Privateer (Privateer Tales Book 1) from $3.99 to FREE. Yup, for a whole weekend I was just giving it away. It’s not as crazy as it sounds. You’re right, I’m not getting paid for these books, and that kind of sucks. The reality, however, is that there are so many books available, as readers we’ve become a bit skeptical. We really need authors to prove that they have the goods before we’ll start plunking down our hard earned cash, even if it is only $3.99.
As part of putting the price to FREE I also asked the company BookBub to send this book in their daily email. If, as a reader, you haven’t found BookBub yet, you should click on the link and give them your email address. This is a very classy organization that screens books and only promotes top-tier books that are already well loved. BookBub does a great job of protecting their reputation, which makes it a great service for readers as well as writers. Can’t say enough great things about these guys.
The lead in on this post is; Rookie Privateer, Best Seller. Prove it you say? I’m excited to share that Rookie Privateer reached the #1 free book in all of Amazon in two categories, and reached the #9 slot for all of Amazon. Seriously, all the books on amazon (some 750,000) and Rookie Privateer reached #9 as a free book. I had to take a picture and share it with you.
Happy Reading!
i love the first installment of the privateer tales. it remines me of a nother time and age when you could just sit down and enjoy a good read to just relax. it’s not heavy into all the ways a ship is built or how it flies, it just does. the story line is fast pace and clean.truly a good and old fashion tale. r.voss
Thank you Ray – Best Regards, Jamie