It's been eight years since I published my first novella, Death Sword, with Lyrical Press. During those years, I published two other novellas, Exterminating Angel with Lyrical and The Ripper's Daughter with BlackWyrm Publishing. When BlackWyrm closed its doors, I took the rights back to Ripper's Daughter, revised it, bought a new cover, and re-published it.
The Ripper's Daughter was my first self-published book. And it would be nearly four years later when I would make the decision to self-publish any new paranormal suspense books I wrote. Not because I had anything against the publishing industry, but because the more I learned about publishing and marketing/promotion, the more I knew I wanted to be in control. Covers, release dates, categories, keywords, prices, all things publishers controlled I wanted to be in charge of.
I didn't go into this with visions of dollar signs in my eyes or believing I'd be the next Amanda Hocking. Instead, I realized I was going to have to start at the beginning and start from step one. But what was step one?
I started taking online classes/workshops on Amazon Ads and Facebook Ads, and the more I learned from these instructors, the more I realized if I'd gone my way on my self-publishing journey, I'd be aimlessly wandering around.
The first thing I learned was an author needed a mailing list and a website. Having no idea how many readers I have, the thought of setting up a mailing list seemed an exercise in futility. But it's one way to let readers know about new releases. At the time when my publications were few and far between, a newsletter seemed a moot point. What would I talk about? How many times would I release an issue?
Funny thing, when I decided to self-publish, ideas for book series came into my mind. Knowing that, starting a newsletter didn't seem so scary. And I was coming up with subjects to talk about so it wouldn't be only about my books but other things.
My goal this month is to get the initial newsletter sent out, finish the first draft of the first book in my PI series, and work on edits for my paranormal suspense novel.
Here's to a new writing/publishing journey.
