Trials of an Indie-author #1

May 31, 2017

B.M. Allsopp

"No one told me it would be like this!" The novelist wailed as she hurled her computer through the window. The cat sleeping beneath escaped by a hair's breadth. He fled up the breadfruit tree, yowling in terror."

The first sentence of my next Fiji Islands Mystery? No, it's my current state of mind as I wrestle with endless self-publishing tasks. You see, sales of Death on Paradise Island on Amazon have encouraged me to go about this gig in a more professional manner, so I enrolled in Mark Dawson's course, Self-Publishing Formula 101. Great course title, isn't it? Seduced me into thinking, "Okay, I'll follow the formula this mega-successful thriller author has developed. He did the blood, sweat and tears so I can just apply it, right?"

Well, not quite. See my first sentence above.

Don't get me wrong. Mark Dawson's course is packed with valuable information, expertly organised and delivered. It's just that for a novice like me, for whom IT skills are a necessary evil, implementing the recommended strategies has been, er, time-consuming. And that's an understatement.

But not without success. My e-book is now for sale on Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Apple iBooks, Scribd, Tolino, Inktera and other e-book retailers. My paperback is available through Booktopia, Book Depository and selected Sydney bookshops. Mr Dawson advises me that to get the book noticed, I must build up my email list through giveaways. A tough emotional decision, but even tougher to implement.

However, I'm doing it! Death on Paradise Island is now free from my website sign-up form. Simply enter your email address and the wonderful service BookFunnel will deliver your e-book to your Inbox in your favoured format for Kindle, Kobo, Nook, or iPad. BookFunnel will also help any readers who have problems. But I tested this out last week on my readers' group and none had any problems at all.

If you haven't yet read the first Fiji Islands Mystery, now's the right time while it's FREE.

Next, I need to get started on my Twitter profiile...

As ever, I'd appreciate your feedback and questions in the comments box below.