There Should Be Unicorns
Well, I did it. I wrote a book. Of course I did! I’m a writer but I’ve been doing this and a whole host of other shiz over the last 2 years so I’m kind of surprised that I made it this far!
So now what? Well, in the words of the Flaming Lips, there should be unicorns. The ones with the purple eyes, not the ones with green eyes. Whatever they give them, they shit everywhere — I mean, it makes perfect sense if you write a book. Because it’s right now that the work starts. I’ve got book launches, pr, interviews, radio and TV stuff on the go (behind the scenes and in front of the camera or mic). Yeah, it’s why it takes so long to write a book.
Fortunately, I’ve got no time to constantly press refresh on the KDP page. Thank the universe for that! However, I do have a bit of time to share some quickfire tips for getting your book in the charts.
- Unless you have a magic wand, you are gonna have to work on getting that book actually published. Kindle et al are amazing, but they won’t do it all for you.
- Think about your audience — all the way through. My latest book was influenced by Philip K Dick, E E “Doc” Smith, Peter F Hamilton. All of those Sci-Fi heavyweights. Sci-Fi has an audience. Do you know who your audience is?
- If your agent/publisher/editor allows it, take some time to beta test your book on readers. I offer a free signed book in return for a beta read. It’s great to get some horses mouth feedback through Skype or Facebook.
- Don’t price yourself out of the market. The book marketplace is saturated, I’ll save that for another blog post, but don’t think that because you put an 80 hour week into writing for 2 years that somehow you should be rewarded for it. Hopefully, you’re a writer because it’s a compulsion rather than a money-making opportunity.
- The days of million dollar contracts are long gone. You need to make your own community, your own fan base and your own scene. Make shit happen by having supporters around you who are willing and driven by the words you write — not by big publishing machines.
Finally, and this is a something of a marketing coup. I’m one of the only authors providing a Spotify playlist with my book. Why? Because it makes sense. I love the idea that you, the reader can hear everything I heard when I was writing the book. That’s so cool to me. So have a dive in! Tell me what you think. Share with me your fears and wishes for your book(s). I’m all ears, literally.
Published May 7, 2018May 7, 2018
Originally published at afternoonteaforbeginners.wordpress.com on May 7, 2018.