18 November 2011

ARE YOU OBSESSED WITH YOUR BOOK SALES?

Once your book is published there is the tendency to become obsessed with its sale.  Particularly if you have self published your book and you are able to check and recheck its progress on a daily basis.  While the traditionally published author might think this is great, it can actually drive you to distraction.  It can also take your attention off your main task which is to write another book.  Not only that.  If your sales are not doing as well as you expect, it can cause you a lot of angst.

If this is happening to you, don’t despair.  Being an author is a long term commitment because books take a great deal of time and effort to write before they are the best they can be, and publishable.  In the same way, the sale of those books does not happen overnight.  Just think, your book(s) will be one of thousands on offer whether it is on Amazon, Smashwords etc., or in a traditional bookshop.

You don’t want to ignore your sales altogether, but you don’t want to slip into this sales obsession either.  So what can you do about it?  I can see a number of things.

·        If you were anything like me, you were obsessed with writing your now published book.  So my advice is to get interested in your new project.  After all, your readers are waiting for your next book!

·        Now that you are published, you will need to build up your reputation as an author.  There are a lots of ways you can do this, and I’m sure you will find the one(s) that you are most comfortable with.  Some suggestions are creating a Facebook Fan Page, joining the Goodreads Author Program, joining Twitter, creating a blog.  You might also consider participating in forums, book signings, talking to groups, conducting Giveaways.  The possibilities are many and varied.

·        Communication is the operative word and with social networking particularly, you have the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people.  So enjoy yourself.  Write another book, publish it and watch your readership grow.  But remember, it will not happen overnight.

Most importantly, don’t lose sight of the one thing you love to do, and that is to create wonderful stories for people to read.

Do you agree with this philosophy?

10 November 2011

A SPECIAL POST FOR VETERANS DAY - BLOG TOUR DE TROOPS


Welcome to The Perfect Plot and to Blog Tour de Troops organised by the Indie Book Collective for Veterans Day.

If you are following this Tour you will have just come from Augusto Pinaud site.  After you leave here, you will be going on to Melissa Foster.  But, before you run off, remember that by commenting on this post you not only win a free eBook of Murder At The Rocks, but also a copy for a soldier of your choice or, alternatively, you can have a soldier randomly chosen from the list of troops who have requested eBooks.

Please remember to leave your email address with your comment so that you can receive the Smashwords Code for Murder At The Rocks.

If you'd like to donate money toward those Kindles for our soldiers, simply use Paypal and ibcprograms@gmail.com as the address to send money to. Please note on your payment that it's a Troops donation.

November 11 is Veterans Day, in the United States of America, the day we honor military veterans for their service and their sacrifice.  In Australia, it is known as Remembrance Day where at the eleventh hour there is a minute’s silence.  At the Australian War Memorial, in Canberra, a wreath is laid at the Tomb of the Unknown Australian Soldier.



In Australia November 11 is also known as Poppy Day.  The red remembrance poppy has become a familiar emblem of Remembrance Day because they bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I.

The Roll of Honour dotted with red poppies
Whether it is called Veterans Day, Remembrance Day, or Armistice Day, it is a day that we all stop to remember.  As the wife and the sister of two Vietnam veterans, I extend my good wishes and gratitude to all those serving in the military and to their families for your sacrifice.

Blog Tour de Troops continues until 14 November so there is a great opportunity for you to win quite a few eBooks for yourself and for the soldiers.  I’m so pleased you visited The Perfect Plot.  Please remember to leave a comment along with your email address so that you can receive your eBook.  Your next stop on the Tour is Melissa Foster site.

REVIEW SPONSORS
Babs - Babs Book Bistro http://babsbookbistro.net/
Diamond - Reading is my cheap addiction http://wp.me/p1HaSL-3k

Review of Murder At The Rocks -  8 November 2011
By Vidocq (Vidster) See all my reviews at Defrosting Cold Cases


 

8 November 2011

BLOG TOUR DE TROOPS - VETERAN'S DAY WEEKEND

Join us Veteran's Day Weekend when we have a blast blog hop to dozens of authors sites where each is giving away not only an eBook to every commenter, but another one to a soldier!  Blog Tour de Troops

November 11th - 14th