Week 8: Waiting for feedback. Faffing around lead to next steps.
If you would like to follow from the beginning, start here.
It’s time to think about promotion while beta readers enjoy (or not!) my book.
What I Did This Week
I said I would review my launch plan and add to it. In my mind, I thought I would organize it. That didn’t happen but I did add to it, just like I said I would.
I didn’t know where to start so I was faffing around and picked any idea from the list and started to explore the possibilities.
Beta Reader Update
Before we get into the marketing ideas, I have had feedback from three beta readers.
- The first beta reader had some time on her hands and finished it. She answered all the questions I posed. Super grateful for that. And she liked the book!
- The second beta reader sent me the first few pages back and asked if he was giving me feedback that was helpful. Turned out he was willing to do a style edit, which is a lot of work. I said thank you, of course. I am also reading for this person, who is a writer. Exchanges are great! He is not my ideal reader but he does have editing experience.
- Then another reader emailed me back to say that the deadline was too tight for him. I did ask readers to let me know if that was the case. He suggested a deadline that worked for him, and I agreed.
Memoir Groups on Facebook
Not knowing where to begin, I checked out a few Facebook groups. I was already a member of two of them but hadn’t been participating as much as I should.
- We Love Memoirs – Run by a group of admins, including Victoria Tweed, who is a New York Times and Wall Street Bestseller. She is a prolific writer. This is a group for memoir readers. After joining, I read the rules (NO PROMOTIONS!) and learned the accepted way to promote your book through them. I jumped in and started interacting, which I will do on a regular basis from now on. I also downloaded Victoria’s book, How to Write a Bestselling Memoir. I emailed her as well asking about participating in an author groups she runs. I think I will enjoy being part of this group.
- We Love Biographies and Memoirs – I don’t know as much about this group. I did join it. It doesn’t have rules outlined so I will listen and observe before I dive in. I want to get a feel for the group first to make sure I am a fit and that the group is right for me.
- The National Association of Memoir Writers – This group is loosely associated with the formal association. I browsed through and will listen and participate in this group as well. I also looked at the formal association, signed up for their emails, and scoped out their workshops. They have one coming up talking about what made Heavy by Kiese Laymon a bestseller, which looked interesting. I haven’t read the book yet so I think I’ll do that first.
StoryOrigin
The other tool I looked at was StoryOrigin. They offer many valuable services to authors: review copies, reader magnets, downloads offers, a universal retail link – so one link that sends readers to their preferred online store in their region. Plus I can write newsletters and cross promote with other authors. Lots on offer for $100.00 a year which I think is good value.
I decided not to join quite yet. When I sign up I will need to add an author profile and a link to my website. So, I am going to add those items to next week’s to-dos. It gave me food for thought and a place to start though.
I need to work on adding my book to my website, and wording my author profile so I can get that profile up in the right places, like StoryOrigin, Amazon, my website, Goodreads, and so forth.
Just Start
When you don’t know where to start, just start. That is my lesson of the week. I could have spent time trying to figure out where to start. Instead I dove in. I took on an explorer mindset and got somewhere.
What I Am Doing this Week
My faffing around has given me some insights as to what to do next.
- Work on my author profile – that means finding other profiles I love, figuring out why I love them and working on my own.
- Add my book to my website.
Tell me about your week!
– Keep writing
Melody Ann
Author Nation is your go-to resource for becoming a successful nonfiction author, from planning to promotion and everything in between.