Hi my name is Joe and for the past year I have been writing poems, songs, short stories, philosophy, jokes, and I have six or so novels that will write themselves. Could someone please give me advice in regards to where I should start in getting my work noticed, I've been fortunate so far in having work published but want to take things further. Thanks in advance
As a self publisher, I would suggest you should use your publishing contacts and although not necessarily go straight to print, see what they can advise you on. Self publishing works a hell of a lot better if you already have published work, have a lot of contacts or fans already and are writing something that is easily marketable/trending. Also you have to be ballsy/unashamedly bold and constant with self-promotion so study up on marketing first so as not to alienate potential customers with bombarding them with 'BUY MY BOOK!'.
I wrote mine, put it out there, initially made an impact in the charts but I didn't have a fan base, a promotional plan or any industry contacts to further the cause. (I had close to 1700 twitter followers though, almost 2000 now) The next time I assaulted the Kindle charts and got to number 3 (alien invasion) 8 for general science fiction and 22 for general humour was when I made it free for five days using KDP Select.
I haven't made very much in royalties (At the moment) but I've spread my name out a little bit as I shifted 5 times as many books in the free 5 days than I did selling them over 3 months,
One thing that might work (from what I've read about self publishing since the release) is writing a short story as a promotional side story of one of your main novels and offering it for free. It will at least get your name out there and if it's good quality you might win yourself a couple of fans who will buy your novel when you finally release it. This is a tactic I'm trying to use now. I'm entering short story competitions to hone my skill before I release my next novel which I'll promote with a free short before release. Practicing by entering competitions is pretty much what brought me here!
I hope I haven't turned you off self publishing, it can most certainly work, but it's exceptionally hard to make an impact without being an established author to begin with, which luckily it sounds like you are Joseph, so if you go that route I wish you all the best!
Cheers.
Writing competitions, Blog, Self publishing could also help.
Good luck
Hi Joseph, if indeed you do have "six or so novels that will write themselves" I suggest you let them get on with it! Then you can just sit back and wait for the money to roll in.
Alternatively, if that doesn't work for some strange reason, you may try selecting one that you think has the most commercial appeal, or just the one you like the most, and sit down with either a pen or a computer, and write it yourself. And if, during that process, you're unable to find an agent to represent you, then you may need to self-publish.
You may also try writing short stories and entering them for competitions and literary awards. This can be a good way to get your name known and could lead towards securing a publishing deal.