Helen O'Reilly's Spunky Blog
Reading, for me, leads to writing, as day leads into night and night back into day; they are halves of a whole. I was one of those kids who cracked the code early; I've been reading since I was three, and the writing came later once I'd learned to hold a pencil, but when it came, it really burst forth. Everything a working writer does I have done-- I have written and published everything, from corporate annual reports, to radio ads, children's poetry, -fiction and -non-fiction, to memoir and now, my first novel for adults. Spunk, a Fable is a lot like me; "just dirty enough."
When the Book Is Published, That's IT, Right? No. Authors Need to Get the Word out about Their Books
Since self-publishing Spunk, a Fable, I have been on an incredible learning journey. Actually, even before I self-published the book, I learned to apply the knowledge I've gained from a long career in publishing to the tasks of typesetting and layout, and coordinating with an artist/designer for the aspects I couldn't do myself.
I had a very limited budget, and so one of the first things I did was start an indiegogo fundraising campaign to raise money to create a book trailer, which is running on YouTube now. It has been seen thousands of times. I created a giveaway on Goodreads, which collected more than 800 entries to win five books! Those are being shipped now, also.
I had no funds to hire a publicist, so I researched everything on self-publishing I could find for free online. One common refrain: "Get the word out by any means you can!"
So following that advice, today at 2 pm Las Vegas time, I will appear on a local AM radio show, "Aspects of Writing," to discuss Spunk, a Fable. How did I get booked onto this show? I "googled" terms like "local" "talk" "radio" and "books," and, screwing up my courage, I contacted the shows I found via email and asked if I could be a guest. (Dial 12:30 am if you are in Vegas, or listen online at the link above.)
All these things are fun and exciting, if time-consuming, but they need to be done if the book is to stand a chance of selling. In my next post, I'll talk about some of the other marketing ideas I've tried, including organizing a Book Launch Party in downtown Las Vegas! It's tiring, as you can see from my photo, but at the same time, it's very enjoyable!
One tired author!
