June 2nd, 2008: I made what will hopefully be my last few changes to the book on Friday. The spine has been my biggest concern. I reloaded the cover probably 3 or 4 times on Friday, making a slight move to the words on the spine each time. I went ahead and ordered 2 copies this time after making the changes. Add another $28.84 to my running total.
That will be 4 copies I own now, not counting the very first one with the old cover and the interior which I marked up with a red pen. Two of these will become my own personal copies. One is being mailed to that Amazon.com reviewer I mentioned, and the other will probably be mailed to Rick Reed, the author who was generous enough to provide my blurb. I do plan on ordering some more though for marketing kits and other things. Carolyn Howard-Johnson says to be careful with how many free copies you give away. Make your friends and relatives buy a copy! Read who you SHOULD give a book to here!
This weekend was spent continuing with my online marketing campaign which will hopefully pay off in the end. I’ve had a blog on Amazon since my first book came out. For those of you who might not know, Amazon has a program called Amazon Connect where authors can blog right on their book page and connect with their readers.
You can post things about your book, post pictures from book signings, and even let readers know what you are working on now. I haven’t received too many comments there, but that’s okay. You never know who is reading it! Here’s a link to my Amazon blog. And I’ve linked that page back to my own blog at www.shannonyarbrough.com, so I can at least keep track of incoming clicks and there have been a few from Amazon, so I know the Amazon blog is being seen. Oh, you can also add friends and connect with other authors, so I think it’s a valuable resource.
I won’t comment on the Amazon/POD drama here right now. I have already voiced my concern about that in a post on the review blog. But let’s face it, Amazon isn’t going away anytime soon. As much as I would like to join the boycott (if there is still one), if I don’t use it now to my potential then I could be throwing possible sales in the trash. ‘Nuff said.
As much as I hated MySpace when I was on their before, I went ahead and signed up again and created a page just for my book. Again, you can add friends and post bulletins. I’ve made it a point to search out indie bookstores and add them to my friends’ list. Also, here’s a good tip. When someone adds you as a friend, leave a comment on their profile page “thanking them for adding you” and include a picture of your book and a blurb about it. You have to post the picture in html for it to appear, so get a photobucket account or something to help you with this. Again, it’s free advertising for the people who might visit that person’s page but may not yet be on your own friend list. I also added my Book Trailer to the MySpace videos section.
Speaking of indie bookstores, not only have I been connecting with them on MySpace, but I also spent a lot of time yesterday just Googling them and finding their websites. I then looked for contact email addresses or community relations contacts and started creating a list of them. I plan to email them press releases of the book once it’s available for distribution. I know this works too! It’s a long story, but a reader of my first book emailed me a few months ago and I asked him where he’d bought my book. Expecting to learn he’d bought it online, he had actually picked it up off a table in an indie bookstore who I had mailed a postcard to long ago.
Speaking of snail mail, I haven’t even begun that campaign. I did find a ton of bookstores with no websites or emails, so it may be worth it for me to mail postcards to them. Right now, I’m really trying to tap into my free opportunities on the www. Let’s hope it pays off!
Total investment on this project to date: $378.98
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