Seeking bookaholics looking for a freebie....

This week my seven actions for...

Operation Author: 365 Actions to Becoming A Successful Author

...are dealing with the fall out of releasing Solomon's Secrets...

My first action was to shout about it all over social media. 

I've scheduled in lots of updates etc. 

I'm conscious that I don't want to be one of those people who just tries to sells everyone their stuff on Twitter so I've scheduled in announcements in intervals with other content in amongst my usual tips and content sharing.

There's an 80/20 rule with Social Media:

80% is sharing content 
20% is promotion

My next action is to offer the eBook for free to anyone willing to review it.

Calling all bookaholics - Would you like a free eBook in exchange for a review?

If you're looking for something new to read and would like to help an indie author out, email me: amy@tomcatdesigns.co.uk

This offer expires 31st October 2014 - so hurry!

My third action has been to follow up all of the people who pledged to the crowdfund and send out book and eBooks. I set my husband the mission of converting the books into an eBook format that I could email out to people. He had a battle with it but got there in the end. 

Getting in touch with them all individually and responding to them is taking a lot of time this week - Can I count that as a few actions? I've not had time to do much else this week!

...why not...

My last few actions this week have been to; post a student placement vacancy on Missionly. 

Their site was down at the time of writing this so I can't share the link to my advert, but here's the general one: www.missionly.co.uk


Fingers crossed there is a student in the Bristol area looking for a Publicist Placement who'd be up for helping me out - I could do with an extra pair of hands!

An action that came out of the Books Are My Bag event with Southville Writers and Bristol Women writers is that I've started working on a guest blog on for an online Bristol Lifestyle blog. If it gets accepted I'll share it with you. 


Another action is that I have been editing the short story 'I met someone'.

It's a conversation between the heroine of my books, Sasha Blake, and her grief counsellor, Lucy. It's set in 2004 and picks up from the scene in The Bronze Box where Sasha first meets Tom Sheridan in a seemingly chance encounter at The British Museum. They have a brief affair, before going their separate ways and not meeting again until 2013.

A follow up action is to take it to our Southville Writers critique group this week and get some feedback from the others.

When I'm happy with it I'll post it here.

I've just counted back...result... that's seven actions - I've done more than I thought this week!

What marketing actions have you got planned for this week?




 

 



 

Super Exciting Announcement and Hanging Out at the Post Office

This week my seven actions for...
 

Operation Author: 365 Actions to Becoming  A Successful Author

...are all about Solomon's Secrets

It's here! It's landed and available now on Amazon.

Hoorah!

My first action was receiving a lovely big box of shiny new books in the post, ready to send out to everyone who pledged to the crowdfund.

My books! A beautiful thing...

My second action was to post an update on the Fundsurfer page telling everyone what to expect next:

https://www.fundsurfer.com/project/independently-publishing-solomons-secrets/update/and-were-done

 

The third action, following the announcement on the crowdfund page, was to start contacting all of my backers individually and finding out what they'd like me to write inside their books and where I should post them.

 
My fourth action was to get some thank you leaflets printed so that I could write a note to each of my backers to send out with their parcels.

I used Brunel One printers who's roof I can see from my back bedroom, they are that local!

I was really happy with the quick turnaround and good value for these leaflets and will definitely use them again.

Once I received responses from my backers, the next step was to pack the books up and take them to the post office.

Here's my first pile of books ready to post. 

I was queuing outside the local post office at 8:30am.


My fifth action has been to reduce the price of the Kindle version of my first book, The Bronze Box. 

It's now £1.99 on Amazon. Hopefully people who've been drawn to Solomon's Secrets will get the first book as well.

My last two actions are unrelated to the launch of Solomon's Secrets:

Firstly, my sixth action was to publish a really awesome guest blog by Anita MacCallum on personal branding.

Read it here:

http://ideaism.blogspot.co.uk/2014/10/know-yourself-know-your-brand-who-is.html

Anita's creativity is infectious and her blog post gave me an idea - I've set up a 'vision board' on my Pinterest. I asked myself;

What's my 'brand' as an author? I write under different names so why not have another identity? How does Amy C Fitzjohn, Author present herself....? 

Here's what I've been pinning: http://www.pinterest.com/amymorse184/amy-c-fitzjohn-author-vision-board/ 

My seventh action is to report back on the Books are my Bag event hosted by Southville Writers and Bristol Women Writers at Foyles on Saturday.

The fact that between us we managed to collect lots of local writers in one place was in itself an achievement, organising writers is a bit like herding cats!

It was a really good event in the end with writers reading out their work in a series of categories, including; fiction, poetry, non-fiction and flash fiction.

Here is the table of books for all the writers involved:

Because I'm published by Amazon I was banned from selling my books at the event :( so my job was to be the MC - Here I am on the stage with a microphone, conducting proceedings:

Have you been to any good readers/writers events recently?

A call for writers and exploring my bubble...

It's been a strange week, for no tangible reasons, I've just been feeling like I'm in a bubble. After some personal emotional setbacks (just stupid stuff, nothing serious, I don't need words of sympathy!)  I've retreated into myself, putting myself out there is uncomfortable this week. 

I have some time out next week and I plan to embrace my inner hermit and mold it into a force for creativity!

I might do a short story a day for a week or something.

My 365 project

 Operation Author: 365 Actions to Becoming  A Successful Author

Hasn't been as focused this week and my seven actions are baby steps and a bit flaky

Action 1
I've sent off the first 10,000 words of  Solomon's Secrets last week to an editorial service in Bristol and this week I've paid for it from the crowdfund budget and arranged for a feedback and advice session with them.

Action 2
I completed editing Solomon's Secrets having had notes back from all of my beta readers now and I've ordered another printed proof to go through.

Action 3
I've made direct connections with a couple of writers that looked interesting on Twitter and having looked at their blogs I've been talking to them about guest blogging for each other or getting involved in blog tours together.

Here's one of the Twitter threads: 

 The other writer I connect with was Marla Madison 

Brandon's blog is: http://fictiondoldrums.blogspot.co.uk/

Marla's blog is:  http://marlamadison.blogspot.co.uk/

I enjoy connecting with other writers and promoting each others work, so look out for some guest pieces in the coming weeks.

Action 4:
I had an idea for a blog post about music associated with my main characters, Sasha Blake and Tom Sheridan. Mix Tape's for Tom and Sasha.

I've started drafting something but it involves some research so I've been working through that. Look out for it on a future blog post

Action 5:
I sent a piece over to Prowess Women in Business on guerrilla marketing about my mini manuscripts.

Action 6:
Speaking of mini manuscripts, I've still been doing them and leaving them around. 

I got chatting to the lovely lady at Bearpit Social yesterday where I stopped for a very nice cappuccino and left a manuscript there

 

Action 7:
I went to a 'Small Stories, Big Books' event with guest speakers Jeff and Ann Vandemeer


I had one 'non-action' this week. An epic fail on my part.

I completely forgot about a meeting I was supposed to attend with Bristol Women Writers to discuss the Books are My Bag event in October. I forgot to put it in my diary!

Sorry ladies, nothing personal, I've just been a bit of a flake this week! 


Now I have a minus-action, I should have a bonus eighth action to make up for it...

Calling all writers...

If you would like to guest post for me, get in touch. I'd love to hear from you.

I look for short pieces, 500 - 700 words. 
Top Tips or marketing ideas articles in particular.

Tweet me: https://twitter.com/TomCatDesigns
Facebook me: https://www.facebook.com/AmyCFitzjohn
or leave a comment

Thanks

 

Where in the world is Wiveliscombe, and other marketing stories

This week for my

Operation Author: 365 Actions to Becoming  A successful Author

I've been out and about in my home county of Somerset.

My first action was being invited to be interviewed on 10 Radio - A community Radio station in the village of Wiveliscombe in Somerset, just a couple of miles form the small town of Wellington in Somerset, where I grew up.

Suzie Grogan contacted me through Facebook and we set it up. Suzi is a fellow writer, here's her blog: http://nowrigglingoutofwriting.wordpress.com/

She writes non-fiction and has a new book coming out late this year. Shell Shocked Britain; exploring the issues around mental health and the First World War, more details here: http://www.suziegrogan.co.uk/.

A future action will be to write a guest blog for her No More Wriggling out of Writing blog.

While I was in the area, my next action was to put some mini manuscripts and some postcards about Solomon's Secrets around Wiveliscombe and in a few other places on my journey back up to Bristol

Another action is that Suzie is going to write a review of the second edition of The Bronze Box on her blog and I've offered to review her book too when it comes out.

Suzie has also invited me to the launch in Bristol which is in my diary. I'll look forward to seeing her again at that event. 

Speaking of The Bronze Box, another action this week was that I finished proofreading the paperback version and relaunched the 2nd edition. The first edition is now out of print, so anyone lucky enough to have picked up the first edition (in all it's rawness!), hang on to it - when I'm the next JK Rowling it may be worth some money! 



Another action was to get some postcards printed. 
  
I used a local printer in Bristol, Sebright. They were good value, I could go and speak to a human and support a local business. The problem with some of the online printers is, although initially they seem cheap, once you start adding your own images and including postage and packing the cost soon increases and then you get daily spam emails trying to sell you more products.

I always enjoy connecting and supporting other writers and in October Southville Writers are hosting a Books Are My Bag event with Bristol Women Writers at Foyles. 

 
Another action this week as to produce a special newsletter calling for writers in the network to get involved.













Another action is that I wrote an Amazon review for a fellow writer and friend of mine, Nicola Sellars, who's debut novel, Colour Me In came out earlier this year.

Nicki and I meet regularly for lunch and I think of it as an opportunity for us to mentor each other. We bounce ideas off each other and share some inspiration. This kind of informal arrangement with someone like minded is a really useful way to stay motivated and fresh.

Bonus 8th action this week.

I like to engage in conversations with people on twitter and connected with Jono Young. I asked what tip he would offer for marketing what you do and here was his response:

 

Thanks for contributing, Jono.

Have you got a marketing tip you'd like to offer to other creatives?