First bit of happiness: my print proof shipped yesterday! Depending on how fast the shipping is, I may have it in my hands by the weekend. Patience is not my strongest suit, so this is just about killing me. Best thing about it, though, is that if all goes well, and I don’t have to make any major corrections, there’s a good chance I’ll be able to release in all formats before the end of the month. Which means my book will be out in time for my mother’s birthday on the 29th. I think that’s a birthday present she’ll really like, especially since she has NO clue I’m doing this yet. I’ve been very stealthy.
While I wait for the proof, I’ve firmed up the Kindle and ePub versions for Amazon and B&N. I think they’re both ready to go once my print version is proofed and approved. I’m waiting for more information from Kobo about publishing to their site, and am debating whether or not to publish to Google Books as well. Sony and Apple, sadly, aren’t in the cards right now. Both are too difficult to get into without using an aggregator, and I have no interest in dealing with Smashwords. The only other option to get into the iBookstore is Lulu, but after researching that for a while yesterday, I’ve decided it doesn’t look as do-able as I’d originally thought. If I could just use them to publish to Apple and nothing else, I would. But it looks like if I used them, they’d want to handle other versions as well, and I don’t want that. I’ll keep checking it out, though. If I could afford it, I’d buy a Mac and upload it myself, but that’s not financially viable right now, and it seems to be the only way to publish directly to them. Too bad an iPad isn’t good enough: that I have!
So now that my formatting is all done and the print proof is ordered, I find myself turning my attention to the upcoming release and necessary promotion that goes along with it. I have to say, it’s a little daunting. Being an introvert, the idea of going out there and promoting myself to strangers is not as comfy as I’d like. But I know it needs to be done!
So far, I’ve got the Facebook and Twitter accounts set up, and have been trying to stay active on both. Today, I set up a GoodReads account (http://www.goodreads.com/AllisonKraft), which I will be converting into an author page once DESTINED is released. Sadly, it doesn’t look like you can set yourself up as an author until there’s a book to link to. Same goes for setting up an Author Central page at Amazon.com. I’m also considering doing a giveaway at GoodReads, and possibly buying some ad space there. I know personally, as a frequent user of the site, I have clicked on many ads and ended up adding quite a few to my TBR list, so I’m hoping advertising there will be a good investment.
That’s the easy stuff, though, because it doesn’t require too much effort on my part. But in order to really get my name and book out there, I’m going to have to find more active ways to put my book in front of people. Which means being more social. Eek!
I also really need to take a good author photo to use on all of these websites. I hate being photographed, and I never like pictures of me when I do allow them to be taken. This isn’t going to be fun. Too bad I can’t use my high school senior photo. I think that’s the last one I actually liked. I have a nice DSLR camera (photography is a hobby), and have tried photographing myself a few times with a tripod/remote combo, but haven’t liked any of the results. Frustrating.
