Thursday Tea Party

Hello there. Today is a green tea sort of day for me. This year has been a strange one, time passes either on fast forward or in slow motion. I am looking forward to the release of both preorder books (Through the Sunshine, and Poetic Reminders.)

There is a deadline coming up for two of Fae Corps calls for submissions in June. Nightmare Whispers and Fae Dreams. There is going to be a call for submissions put out in August for a new anthology as well.

I have been updating keywords on my books… And it was brought to my attention that a few of my covers needed work. It feels like I do this yearly… But I have been updating covers again as well.

The person who made the suggestion is a poet of considerable talents. I had approached her for marketing advice, and what she said was basically that some of my covers lacked the personality of my poems… I immediately understood. There was some of the covers I liked better than others. I started with the covers that I liked least.

Please don’t get me wrong… That does not mean the covers are bad… Or even in need of replacement. It just means that I could see her point. I was not happy with those covers because they did not suit me. I had something similar happen with a logo I had been using… Someone stopped me and said that it did not suit me. When I asked why she simply replied that it was just not colorful enough… It seems that I have a lot of personality and it shows up in my work.

For me these books are my art. Yes I could pay for the “perfect ” cover… I would likely sell more… But it would not be mine… Does that make any sense? I don’t write for the money. I write because it is part of who I am, who I always have been.

Wordless Wednesday

Maybe Monday

Ok… I didn’t sleep well… And I have been so busy lately that I literally do not have any poetry to share… (I will be sharing a link to coffee house writers later)…

So, I was debating what to do on Mondays that are not good for poetry… Or when I don’t feel up to fighting with it… And I could not think of a exact topic or specific interest to delve into… I think that I will do a few different things. One is echoes from the void… That is where I will be letting the more philosophical content take over. Another is going to be Monday Money. It will be where I discuss both the costs and income of writing/art.

It feels like having 2 or 3 possible topics per day give me a good chance of keeping the blog active.

Wordless Wednesday

And as a bonus… Here is a piece titled Dryad.

Coffee house writers – Tending to your bones

Tending to your bones

May Links (delayed)

First off… Two preorder links to start with. http://Www.books2read.com/throughthesunshine & http://www.books2read.com/poeticreminders

Serena’s books-

************************************
The Death Of Neverland

Mobi – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06VTCKZ3H

Paperback – https://www.amazon.com/dp/1729360181/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_StH1Bb9MJD9M5

Draft to digital – https://www.books2read.com/u/mVB5p5

************************************

Rust, Gore, and the Junkyard Zombie

Mobi – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07B7J5FSS

Paperback – https://www.amazon.com/dp/1980471320

Draft 2 digital – https://www.books2read.com/u/47ZAa7

************************************

Under the Mists (a multiple author anthology)-
https://www.books2read.com/underthemists

************************************

Faery Footprints (a multiple author anthology)-
https://www.books2read.com/faeryfootprints

Monday Poetry

Both of today’s poems are in my newest volume… Preorder today! Www.Books2read.com/poeticreminders

Preorder Excitement

So I knuckled down and put the newest volume of my poetry yesterday. Usually formatting and publishing takes longer. Updates on my platform and the new computer made a world of difference.

So I proudly present the link to preorder Poetic Remimders, which includes two collaboration poems I have done with another talented poet. https://books2read.com/PoeticReminders

Please share and check it out!

Organization demons eating motivation

So I may have been mistaken. I was thinking that I would be a while before I could release another poetry volume… Except for the fact that I have been writing… I just had no organization. I have a few poems still out for other publication and I did not want to use them until I knew what they were going to do.

I have been writing and not putting the new stuff in folders. So when I told y’all I was not releasing soon… Well it felt like a failure. I don’t like that. So I started organization. I decided that I don’t want to release heart drops yet. That title and cover feel better for love poetry, which I don’t write often. So I will be releasing Poetic Reminder instead. More info later this week. Hopefully including a preorder link.

So you want to promo your book

Ok… You have a manuscript written and ready for publishing… Now what? Here comes what I think is the hardest part of it… You have to build up interest. If you are a introverted shut in like me, you don’t do well with face to face. Personal sales are always going to be better. People always find it harder to say no in person.

Still, it is not hopeless. Eye catching promotions with a good blurb, a good cover with a intriguing title…. These are essential for a online sales campaign. Setting up a preorder helps too. (I found that out the hard way. Impatience is a flaw… Lol)

So you start with the title and cover. You have a blurb (it is the description you wrote for the back cover). This is enough to start doing some promo images.

I have recommended Canva before, it is free to use. Premium only opens fonts and images that are locked. Having recently dealt with new authors learning about this, I think that the advice most need is to experiment. You want easy to read and pleasing to the eye.

The images above are examples of promo images. These were all done for Fae Corps Through the Sunshine anthology. Note that the text is eye-catching but readable. All include the story blurb, the cover, and the author picture and name. Each is a little bit unique with a common theme. You can do multiple images, that is ok. You should share to each of your social media outlets and try to get your friends to do the same.

Some of the marketing is understanding your ideal reader. Not everyone is your reader. If you try to please everyone you will fail. Like Serena… Her ideal reader for her books is generally one who enjoys a good dark side. Horror and dark fantasy that is blunt in how it deals with the story. One that doesn’t shy away from a little gore. The story in Through the Sunshine is a little lighter for her usual. My reader is usually children or those who love poetry.

You also want to consider the world stage. This affects the reader greatly. Right now people are clamoring for escaping from the mess of the real world.

So you have the reader in mind…make an image to appeal to that person. For example… For Serena’s The Death of Neverland I searched for bloody journal… Added the book cover, some text to invite curiosity, and the link to buy the book.

Note that the link is in red to make it more visible. Be careful with colors. You need for people who are color blind or visibly impaired to be able to read it without trouble. Brighter colors in fonts often hamper such. Also bright yellow and white background colors can be painful.

Hope that this helps. Do you have any questions on marketing? (Another thing to look for is blogs that are willing to post book promotions. I do on occasion. So does Functionally Fiction who also does book reviews.) Reviews are your biggest promotion. Many readers will base their choice on reviews.

Pattimouse

A glimpse into the mind of a half mad poet

Category: Publishing my art

Thursday Tea Party

Wordless Wednesday

Maybe Monday

Wordless Wednesday

Coffee house writers – Tending to your bones

May Links (delayed)

Monday Poetry

Preorder Excitement

Organization demons eating motivation

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: