Author

by Brian Oldham
15th December 2017

I have a finished novel that I released on 11/11/17 about the struggles combat veterans face when coming home. It is a dark story. I am in the marketing phase and really need a push in the right direction. I have a website, a FaceBook page, a blog. I am on Amazon for the eBook, and in the Ingram Catalogue for the paperback. The book is professionally edited and I hired a professional artist for the cover. I've had a book signing that went well. I paid for a Kirkus Review and got a good one. I have done a month of marketing with Kirkus and I'm on their webpage. I did generate a lot of impressions but have not gotten one book sale or contact from anyone with questions. I would appreciate an idea of where to go next. (The Consequence of War, gritty anti-hero, crime fiction)

Replies

An additional possibility to publicise your work is to request a free interview with on-line broadcaster The Authors Show https://wnbnetworkwest.com/ You are given your questions for the interview in advance & have the interview via something like skype as a recording that they then edit very professionally before it's broadcast (kept on-line for 24 hrs). You also have the option of buying an MP3 copy of your interview at a very reasonable cost, &/or various other marketing options. I've done this and despite being terrified I found the whole thing very well managed with no hard sell after the free interview.

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susan
Russell
330 points
Developing your craft
Poetry
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susan Russell
17/12/2017

I checked your book out on Amazon, Brian. Do you have keyword searching available? When I look at my own book, there is an Amazon ranking under 'Product Details' which is according to the keywords I used when I set it up for sale. How is anyone to find your book from the millions on there without a way of searching the genre?

The Review under 'Product Description' doesn't make sense: it goes from a general comment to one about 'his recurring nightmare'. whose? The author's or the MC's?

The 'Look inside' feature shows good taut prose, and tension and delusion/illusion from the start; but you've got to get people to the page in order for them to see it.

There are FB pages for all kinds of writers/novels; you should do some research there under such keywords as you would apply to you book, and join any that seem appropriate (though do make sure you follow the guidelines on each for how much advertising you're permitted).

I don't know if you have an advertising budget, but you could find magazines in the US which print stories of this kind, and place an ad there.

Can you get local bookshops to stock it? You may have to go in there personally and ask (with copies in hand).

Advertising is about taking your book to the likely reading demographic. That's vital in such a specific world as you have depicted.

Hope this helps.

Lorraine

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Lorraine
Swoboda
1105 points
Practical publishing
Fiction
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Historical
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Lorraine Swoboda
17/12/2017