The Grey Wolf Posted October 13, 2020 Share Posted October 13, 2020 @Lord Patrek I'm not but I'll add it to my list of avenues for publicity. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Patrek Posted October 13, 2020 Share Posted October 13, 2020 The three of you need to remember that you're basically on your own. Marketing basically means whatever effort you can put into it. The fact that you're not on Reddit, which is the most indie friendly online venue I know, (based on their reactions, I doubt that Derfel and the Marquis are) shows that you're not exploring your options the way you probably should. I think you guys should be more proactive, get in touch with SFF self-published authors and writers published by small presses who've "made it" to see what advice they have for you regarding what you could do moving forward that might increase your sales. In the end, it will all depend on how good the books are. But if they're indeed good, you should move more than 150 copies for sure! The Grey Wolf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 I am on reddit (though I only identify myself via authorial flair on r/fantasy). It's just you have to be really careful with self-promotion there, lest it be considered spam. I generally latch onto any r/fantasy thread that comes up about necromantic books, though I always put the disclaimer that I'm the author in question. For obvious reasons, I also post a lot on r/tolkienfans. But I don't mention my own works there, because it'd not be relevant - reddit is much more forgiving of you if you actually contribute to discussions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Patrek Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 Well, given the high number of indie authors on that board, it's pretty easy to go around the rules. I don't know if you three are friends, but perhaps you could read and review each other's novels. Posting the full review on Reddit, provided it's good and well-written, could get the ball rolling and wouldn't be considered spam because it's not your own book. Just an idea. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Grey Wolf Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 Need to finish my anthology first but I have thought of that. (Med school and writing don't mix easily.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 52 minutes ago, Lord Patrek said: Well, given the high number of indie authors on that board, it's pretty easy to go around the rules. I don't know if you three are friends, but perhaps you could read and review each other's novels. Posting the full review on Reddit, provided it's good and well-written, could get the ball rolling and wouldn't be considered spam because it's not your own book. Just an idea. . . Problem: there'd be a conflict of interest going on. The reviews would have an incentive to be as glowing as possible, since you want the other person to be glowing towards you. And ultimately, the purpose of reviews is to assist the reader, not to promote. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Patrek Posted October 14, 2020 Share Posted October 14, 2020 No, if the book sucks, you don't write a glowing review, of course. If you guys haven't been able to sell copies because you have a hard time raising awareness on your novels, that's one thing. If you don't sell because the books suck, that's another. But if it's good and you enjoy the novel, then by all means write a review and post it there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Grey Wolf Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 Between five authors (including myself) I'm hopeful everyone finds at least one short story they like though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Patrek Posted October 15, 2020 Share Posted October 15, 2020 The market for anthologies being so much smaller, I'd try to raise awareness for your novels. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Grey Wolf Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 I've been trying. I post progress updates on my Facebook and Tumblr as well as here. I've also been keeping all my old acquitances up to speed via text or email and I've been compiling a list of ways to further publicize it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Patrek Posted October 16, 2020 Share Posted October 16, 2020 The r/fantasy message board on Reddit has 1.1M members. Just saying. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Grey Wolf Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 I get what you're saying. After I survive next week's round of exams I'll look into it. Thanks for the advice. Any other suggestions? (Debating now if I should have a separate Facebook for my writing...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derfel Cadarn Posted October 17, 2020 Author Share Posted October 17, 2020 15 hours ago, Lord Patrek said: The r/fantasy message board on Reddit has 1.1M members. Just saying. . . I’d signed up to r/fantasy after Werthead mentioned it some weeks ago in another thread as sonewhere fantasy is discussed a lot. It does warn new membersto establish themselves before self-promoting (or promoting others), so the past week I’ve been posting occasionally on threads that interest me. I’ll wait before promoting my works, though seen little small press or self-pub mentions; it seems to be mostly Sanderson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Patrek Posted October 17, 2020 Share Posted October 17, 2020 20 hours ago, The Grey Wolf said: I get what you're saying. After I survive next week's round of exams I'll look into it. Thanks for the advice. Any other suggestions? (Debating now if I should have a separate Facebook for my writing...) Unless you have at least a few hundred followers, a dedicated Facebook page makes little sense at this point. Otherwise, it would be a good idea. As Derfel is doing, post and comment on Reddit for a couple of weeks, and then you should consider reading and reviewing each other's works (if you like them) and see if that can entice potential readers to give the books a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Patrek Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 10 hours ago, Derfel Cadarn said: I’d signed up to r/fantasy after Werthead mentioned it some weeks ago in another thread as sonewhere fantasy is discussed a lot. It does warn new membersto establish themselves before self-promoting (or promoting others), so the past week I’ve been posting occasionally on threads that interest me. I’ll wait before promoting my works, though seen little small press or self-pub mentions; it seems to be mostly Sanderson. Speaking of Werthead, have you guys asked Adam if he'd be willing to give your novels a shot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Grey Wolf Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 A bit shy tbh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Patrek Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 My friend, seriously, if you're not willing to knock on doors, you'll never make it. The worse thing that can happen is he'll say no. The Grey Wolf 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Marquis de Leech Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 23 hours ago, Derfel Cadarn said: I’d signed up to r/fantasy after Werthead mentioned it some weeks ago in another thread as sonewhere fantasy is discussed a lot. It does warn new membersto establish themselves before self-promoting (or promoting others), so the past week I’ve been posting occasionally on threads that interest me. I’ll wait before promoting my works, though seen little small press or self-pub mentions; it seems to be mostly Sanderson. I've been on r/fantasy for three years now... I do make a point of trying to contribute, though this past week I was a naughty boy, and posted too many of my own blog links/references to my works, earning me a mod warning. In my defence, it was relevant to the discussion at hand, it's just that there were too many links at once. So I'm keeping my nose clean... The Grey Wolf and Derfel Cadarn 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Grey Wolf Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 1 hour ago, Lord Patrek said: My friend, seriously, if you're not willing to knock on doors, you'll never make it. The worse thing that can happen is he'll say no. Fair point. I'll ask him once it's complete. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Patrek Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 Don't you have any complete work you can ask him to read and review. As I mentioned, an anthology comprised of stories from unknown and unpublished writers could be a hard sell. But if you have already written a book that he likes and reviews, then it could help get things in motion when the anthology comes out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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