In my last “Confessions of an Indie Author” blog I wrote about reviews and reviewers. In this blog I want to share the importance of promoting and marketing your book especially if you have self-published your book.

Since I’m fairly new to this process, please bear with me as I tell you a little about what I’ve done. First off, I got reviewed and from there I entered any available contest as well as started to contact some independent bookstores for information on how to get my book listed for sale in their stores. Most are on a consignment basis so it’s a definite possibility for anyone who is also looking into self-publishing and would like to go that route. E-books are another way to get out there as they are cheaper and are beginning to be the new trend in the book market, but I personally still like the print version. J

Have your friends read your book; get them to write a review or tell others about it. You have to somehow spread the word about your novel or book. Social media has become a large part of marketing and spreading the word so most likely you have a Facebook and Twitter account. If not you might want to look into getting one. There are many other possibilities as well and I’m sure I don’t need to list them, but a few of the ones I know about are Google+ and LinkedIn.

Another way to spread the word is to have a novel trailer made and to upload it to You Tube. I had a trailer made. You can check it out on my home page if interested. You can also pay for advertisements and promotional options. There are many websites that offer a page and/or promotional package for either a monthly or yearly fee. Some are re-occurring fees that you pay monthly others are one time fees. It all depends on the service offered and how the company wants payment. Some of the one’s I’ve heard of or found include Book Daily and The Independent Author Network. Both of these sites have been helpful to me and I recommend them. There are many others though, you just have to search for them and decide whether or not you think it is worth joining or purchasing what they offer.

Some sites that offer review packages may also offer promotional packages or will set up a page for you and your novel(s) upon completion of the reviews.

You can check out some of the pages I have through the links below:

Book Daily: https://www.bookdaily.com/book/3608146/nothing-more-nothing-less-kindle-edition

IAN: https://www.independentauthornetwork.com/ashley-dukart.html

Reader’s Favorite: https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/7702

Overall, promotional packages are a good idea in the marketing of your book. They help spread the word of the published novel and you as an author. But how you plan to promote and market your book is entirely up to you, the author. Good luck. 🙂