Promoting, There's a Reason You Pay People to do This...

Hello, world. It's me, Tanjlisa Marie. So, my YA urban fantasy, CODENAME FAIRY GODMOTHER: REASSIGNED is available at Amazon.com and Smashwords.com; I threw my official book launch party...now what? Now comes the promoting. The part where we self-published authors have to dig in and find creative ways to promote our work since we don't have a big publishing house (who have armies of people to do this type of work) at our disposal. *sigh* On the bright side, I have to say I've already met a lot of interesting people by networking via Facebook, Goodreads, and Twitter, so I don't regret a moment I've spent thus far on promoting my book.

Me signing my #1 fan's (Dai'Quan Jackson)
manuscript that I gave him two years ago 

I want to know if anyone out there is using Authonomy.com. I stumbled upon this website when I was researching publishing houses. HarperCollins created a website where undiscovered talent has a chance to display their writing and a chance for an editor to read their work. Don't get too excited. I joined the site last week and holy cupcakes it is a lot of work!! You would have to spend an exuberant amount of time reading other peoples' work, politicking to get backings (it takes 200 backings to get to the Editor's desk), increase your ratings (both you and your book get ratings, which consists of people giving your writing 1 to 6 stars and you commenting on others' writings to increase your ratings), etc. Aren't you exhausted just from reading that! I know I do not have time to go that route, but wondered if anyone has heard any success stories about Authonomy.com...

Goodreads is the best and where I spend majority of my time with Facebook coming in a tight second.   I am on my second giveaway with Goodreads. My first, 1059 people signed up for the book and currently there are 569 people with my book on their shelves (for non-Goodreader patrons that means there are 569 people who are aware of my book and want to read it). I am pleased with this pace. I also started a group on Goodreads called Codename Fairy Godmother Fans. Once I get enough people who have the book we will go through the book chapter by chapter and the members will get a chance to ask me (the author) questions about the writing, things they may not understand, and just general discussion about the world I created. I'm pretty excited about that as I would love to ask Stephen King some questions about his wacky imagination! Hopefully, the group will be interesting enough where people will keep inviting their friends and more people will find out about the book and more people will add it to their shelves.

Whew! Promoting...there is a reason you pay people to do this!!

So please check out my giveaway at Codename Fairy Godmother: Reassigned giveaway. And join my fan club at Codename Fairy Godmother: Reassigned Fan Club.

Wearing the Marketing Hat

Hello World:

It's me, Tanjlisa Marie. In the world of self-publishing, a writer has to be more than the writer. The writer is also the promoter, public relations rep, admin, legal department, researcher, and finally the marketing department. (You guys can chime in with other titles that I missed.)

This weekend I had on my writer and marketing hats. While going through my CODENAME FAIRY GODMOTHER: REASSIGNED proof correcting mistakes, I also had to figure out ways to get the word out about my book. I was a Twitter-tornado! *Shout out to all my Twitter followers!* It's a full time job alone just Tweeting, reading Tweets, re-Tweeting, etc. I was exhausted! Next, was Facebook. *Shout out to all of my Facebook like-ers!* I put out an ad on Facebook and while some may not like the Pay Per Click method, I like the stats the Facebook Aps page shows. Over 50k people has seen my add so far and I've had it up since 9/8/2012. That's 50k potential buyers!

Last, I just placed an order for 250 bookmarks. This is a great promotional tool. I ride the subway to and from work Monday through Friday. So I've started asking young adults (YA) to look at my book, read the synopsis, and tell me if they would be interested in buying the book. So far, all positive responses! The flaming fairy godmother on the front just really draws their attention. Right now, I'm handing them my business card telling them the book releases on Halloween. But when I get the bookmarks, I think my marketing ploy will go even better. Plus, I can hand the bookmarks out without jamming a 584-page book in peoples' hands. The front of the bookmark is like the front cover of CODENAME FAIRY GODMOTHER: REASSIGNED. The back has the release date, and all of my social contact info: Tanjlisa Marie, website, etc. You can't really get a clear view but here's what they will look like. Tell me what you think . . .

As always, I hope this info has been useful!

Book Proof/Party Update

Hello World:

It's me, Tanjlisa Marie. I received my proof this week for CODENAME FAIRY GODMOTHER: REASSIGNED and I have to report . . . no other feeling compared to opening the package and seeing my book. It was beautiful! See for yourself . . .

I've already went through the book once to look at formatting issues. I found a lot of mistakes and corrected them already. Now, my editor and I are going through the book one more time (hopefully) for grammar and whatnot. My deadline is next Friday. I have to make corrections and resubmit to the website so they can approve my newest draft. Hopefully, the website will not find any mistakes and approve my manuscript before October 1st. That is when I will have to order 100 copies for my book launching party in time for a no-later-than October 30th delivery date. WHEW!

As for the book launching party itself. Here is an update on my To Do list.

• Budget - so far so good. Have not overspent; still in range.
• Venue - We reserved the Chopsticks International Events Center in Jacksonville, Arkansas for a reasonable price. The place is perfect because it is already stylishly decorated so that means I can move money from the decorating budget to something else.
• Guest List/Invitations - So far I have 17 confirmed guest from my Facebook efforts. I'm really trying to install in my friends a sense of urgency because I have to have my guest count by Monday so my promoters can offer the remaining seats to the general public.
• Decorations - we only have to decorate the tables.
• Press Kits - I emailed over 60 Arkansas media personnel. Hopefully, I will get a response from some. I only have 25 slots reserved for media/blogger types so it will be first come, first serve.
• I put out two Craigslist ads looking for Arkansas bloggers, no hits yet.
• Program/Events at the Party - My promoter and I had a meeting Friday. The program looks exciting and filling. I don't want to give anything away, but rest assure there will be plenty of photos and video footage to share later on.
• Party Favors - So far we are giving away pens, magnets, and book markers.

New Bookcover

Hello world,

I am excited!  Kennbaker.com just finished my bookcover and I love it!  I also finished my website tanjisamarie.com.

 

 

Busy, busy, busy.

I'm working on the book formatting for Createspace.com.  They have a template so that makes it a little easier.  Wow!  No one said realizing your dream was easy but the thought of seeing my book in print keeps me going!

Project Update

Hello world,

I took somewhat of a hiatus for the summer but I am back!  I found an editor via Craig's List to take on my project and she went through my manuscript once.  I made the corrections and sent it back to her for the second edit.  I'm pretty excited about the progress.

I am redoing my book cover.  After conferring with several people and researching YA book covers, I don't feel the one I currently have fits with the genre.  I worked with Kenn Baker (http://www.kennbaker.com/illustration.html) and I am satisfied with my new picture.  I loved working with him.  He was professional, accommodating, and talented.  I will share it with you all soon. 

My targeted launch date is October 31, 2012.  I will meet with my promoter next week to ascertain if this is a realistic date. 

More to come.